The Kentucky Derby is Saturday and mint juleps are the guaranteed drink of choice at viewing parties throughout Las Vegas. So what’s the story behind the classic cocktail?
🥃 🤔 Let’s Make One
The modern-day “classic” mint julep recipe is bourbon, sugar (or simple syrup), and fresh mint over crushed ice. City Cast Las Vegas co-host (and mint julep fan) Sarah Lohman published some vintage variations on her blog, but feel free to experiment and modify to your liking.
🥃 😉 Pro-Tips
Just press or gently muddle the mint sprigs. Crushing them will produce too much bitterness. Use a straw to drink from the bottom instead of sipping from the top.
🥃 🧐 The History
The origins predate the cocktail era. Middle Eastern medicinal juleps go back to the year 900, mixing sugar with herbs and a spirit of some sort. The recipe evolved, rising in popularity with pre-Prohibition drinking and the availability of ice. Soon, mint juleps were a “morning cocktail” for American farm workers with bourbon to ease aches, sugar for energy, and mint to help wake up 🥱
🥃 🤠 Kentucky Connection
Nearly 120,000 mint juleps are consumed at Churchill Downs in Louisville over the two-day Kentucky Derby celebration. The cocktail has been served at the event since 1875 and became the official drink of the race in 1939.
- City Cast Las Vegas co-host Sarah Lohman listed the Kentucky Derby as one of her top things to do in May and suggested a few places to watch it in Las Vegas 🏇 [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
