YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Perfecting the Official Drink of the Kentucky Derby: The Mint Julep

    By | Shine Food – Fri, May 6, 2011 6:27 PM EDT

    Just in time for the Kentucky Derby, Kelly Hayes shares ingredients and techniques on making this sweet concoction

    Along with the donning of extravagant chapeaus, and the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" one of the more hallowed Kentucky Derby traditions is the consumption of more than one Mint Julep. This sweet, toxic concoction has led many a race goer to ruin and frankly, the syrupy sweet offerings at the Churchill Downs are about as inviting as a New Orleans Hurricane. Both are merely headaches in a glass.

    But done right the Julep can be a taste of spring. It is all about using the right ingredients and techniques.

    • Start by buying a bottle of Woodford Reserve, "The Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby" (which is not to be confused with The Official Drink of the Kentucky Derby, a julep made with Early Times, a Kentucky Whiskey). Woodford is an excellent small batch Bourbon and it will make all the difference.
    • Take a Collins or highball glass, basically a tall tumbler, and add either ½ oz of simple syrup (Homemade simple syrup is easy. Just place a half cup of sugar into a half cup of water, put on a stove and stir until the sugar melts, pour into a bottle and let cool) or two sugar cubes.
    • Add a few sprigs of mint and muddle (mash) the sugar and the mint together in the bottom of the glass. Let the concoction sit for a minute or two to truly infuse the flavors and aromas.
    • Next add three ounces of the Woodford Reserve.
    • Finish it off with crushed ice to the top of the glass and stir vigorously to chill the cocktail. Garnish with a sprig or two of mint.

    This is basically a Mojito with Bourbon instead of Rum and it will pack a punch. The drink is made for sipping so don't try to down one in the time it takes the horses to run mile and a quarter.

    By the way, my pick for the Roses is "Twice the Appeal" with Jockey Calvin Borel aboard.

    Good luck.

    More from Kelly Hayes:


    About the Author:
    Kelly J. Hayes is a wine writer for the Aspen Times, a lifestyle expert on genConnect.com, and lives in the soon-to-be-designated appellation of Old Snowmass with his wife, Linda, and a black Lab named Vino.


    Want more genConnect?

    • For more daily expert updates, follow genConnect on Twitter and Facebook.
    • To stay on top of Kelly Hayes' latest posts, as well as the latest contributions from other experts on the site: Sign Up for genConnect.

    SUPPER CLUB PICK

    • Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club
      View Photos
      Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club
      Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club

      My after-school snack was a sacred ritual. I sat on the carpet in my parents' bedroom at a low table, the television turned to "I Dream of Jeannie," and ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich cut into neat squares. I wasn't fussy about crusts. I just loved the sticky pairing of creamy peanut butter with syrupy golden sweetness drizzled from a honey bear in diagonals across the soft white bread. Nothing else--save for maybe apples and peanut butter in a pinch--could have made for as sweet an