Overview
- Churchill Downs, which hosts Saturday's Kentucky Derby, says it serves nearly 120,000 mint juleps over the two-day event requiring over 10,000 bottles of bourbon, 1,000 pounds of mint and about 60,000 pounds of ice.
- Woodford Reserve, the event's official bourbon, says its Spire cocktail introduced in 2018 nearly matched julep sales last year.
- The Spire mixes 1.5 ounces bourbon with 2 ounces lemonade and 1 ounce cranberry juice over crushed ice with a lemon twist.
- The official mint julep recipe promoted by Churchill Downs uses 2 ounces of Woodford Reserve and a honey sweetener in place of simple syrup.
- A limited $5,000 mint julep on this year's menu sends proceeds to charity and comes in a gold-plated silver cup with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and a spiced syrup by master distiller emeritus Chris Morris.