The Kentucky Derby is arguably one of, if not the most famous horse race in the United States, as well as one of the oldest. Considered to be the most prestigious of it’s kind, 3 year-old Thoroughbred horses race for a mile and a quarter as fast as they can, the whole thing lasting about two minutes. Yep, that’s what we said: Two minutes? All this fuss over two minutes? We are fighting to suppress inappropriate jokes. Regardless, it’s touted as the “Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports” and is the first “jewel” (race) in the Triple Crown, followed by the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, respectively. The prize for winning the Derby? About $2 million. Well, maybe it IS an exciting two minutes after all.

These days, the race comes at the end of a two week Kentucky Derby Festival and two days of races: the Kentucky Oaks and the Derby itself. We imagine it’s the festival and not the two minutes of racing that can account for why around 150,000 people in big hats flock to Churchill Downs every year for this very short race. By comparison, the first race was on May 17, 1875, and  was attended by only about 10,000 people. Worse still, financial troubles plagued the race until 1902, when a group of businessmen acquired Churchill Downs and made it the prospering club it is today.

Now, the Mint Julep has been around since before the inception of the Derby, with its roots stretching back to sometime in the 1700′s. It wasn’t an alcoholic drink to begin with, nor did it have mint, and it was first seen in a poem by John Milton, described as a “cordial julep”.  It’s roots come from an Arabic word, julab, meaning “rosewater”. It is unclear what a “cordial julep” in this context was exactly, but Milton did mention syrups and balm as ingredients. From what we can gather, “julep” was a style of drink instead of a recipe, and all different types of liquor were made into “juleps” in the 18th century, largely because alcohol was frequently used as medicine before the true nature of alcoholic spirits became known. Gin and rum enjoyed a lot of popularity at the time, so it follows that the most common juleps were made with them.

By 1803 there was written documentation of a mint julep, indicating that indeed, mint had made its way into the mix. Rum and gin were out, and had been replaced by brandy. By 1850, there was a recipe, brought forth by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. His recipe called for a silver cup, bourbon, mint, sugar, and a splash of water: the classic recipe that we still have today. The substitution of bourbon, it may be assumed, is due to the southern roots of the Senator. This incarnation of julep enjoyed huge success though the mid 19th century, but had fallen out of favor by the end of the century and was again replaced by cocktails with gin by the start of Prohibition.

The Kentucky Derby, unperturbed by the days of Prohibition and going strong, did not  actually take up the Mint Julep as its official drink until 1938. They originally served the drink in souvenir cups for 75 cents a pop, which today has blossomed to about 120,000 juleps sold during the two days spanning the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.  We can only guess what is now charged for the revered libation.

This relationship has its excesses. In 2006, gold plated custom made mint juleps were made for the Derby, costing $1000 bucks a pop. The juleps were for a charity benefitting retired race horses and were made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, along with imported mint, sugar and ice from various locations around the world. For the last 23 years, Early Times has been the official spirit of the Kentucky Derby Mint Julep, and in 2008, Early Times and Churchill Downs unveiled the world’s largest mint julep “glass”. It stood 6 feet tall, was made of acrylic, and could hold 206 gallons of julep, which was distributed at the Derby though the “straw” in the cup.  A little over the top, perhaps? We let you decide.

Cheers!

Thanks to Ted Haigh (Dr. Cocktail), who’s book ‘Vintage Cocktails and Forgotten Spirits’ provided much of the information about the venerable Mint Julep.

Bourbon whiskey