![]() ![]() Mint has grown at Churchill Downs since the earliest years of the Kentucky Derby, and it was a natural fit to accent cocktails. "It's easy to play with once you know what the foundation is." What kind of ingredients can I add to a julep cocktail? "Knowing the master recipe is what gives you the freedom to experiment," Brian said. ![]() This was a breakfast-time cocktail that frontiersmen were drinking, not a seasonal staple choked down while wearing a beautiful, yet, comically large hat.ĭerby 101: Mint julep recipes 2023: What to know about the Kentucky Derby's signature cocktail It needed that sweet to make it remotely drinkable. Whisky, back then, looked more like moonshine and less like the fine, aged Kentucky bourbon we know today. It was a hair of the dog remedy, she explained, that largely used "inferior spirits." Ice didn't become readily available in the United States until the mid-19th century, Brian said, and even that dramatically shaped how we thought about the beverage. It could be brandy, rum, whisky, rye, or really, whatever you had on hand. In its simplest form, a julep has two ingredients: a spirit and sweetness. What goes into a mint julep cocktail?įirst, let’s go back in time and consider what a julep was before Churchill Downs ever even thought about running a horse race. With a little help from them, I'm finally excited to drink a julep this Kentucky Derby season. Whereas talking with Sneegas, who once worked at Churchill Downs and now teaches a class on how to make a "perfect" mint julep at Log Still Distillery, was almost like working with a decorator to perfect a traditional time-honored task. Everything we talked about was in the spirit of the tradition without actually following it to the letter. Plevan and Brian helped me in a way that almost felt like putting Christmas lights and ornaments on a palm tree. You may like: Local bartenders put fresh twists on classic mint juleps in Festival Unveiled cocktail competition Mint juleps on Kentucky Oaks day at Churchill Downs. ![]()
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