The Mint Julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century. It is made from a mixture of bourbon, water, powdered sugar, and mint. According to Churchill Downs, they serve over 120,000 for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, which requires 10,000 bottles of bourbon, 1,000 pounds of mint, and 60,000 pounds of ice!
Chris Morris from Woodford Reserve Bourbon says “Centuries ago, there was an Arabic drink called julab, made with water and rose petals. The beverage had a delicate and refreshing scent that people thought would instantly enhance the quality of their lives.” When the julab was introduced to the Mediterranean region, the native population replaced the rose petals with mint, a plant indigenous to the area. The mint julep, as it was now called, grew in popularity throughout Europe.”
Why the Mint Julep? The drink’s ties to the Kentucky Derby can be traced back to a struggling bourbon industry during the 1930’s, but it did not start out as a festive drink. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the drink was originally given to prevent diseases and provide pain relief from body aches. Other stories I have read said they were served for breakfast. It was the spirited equivalent of coffee. What a way to start the day!
The Julep is said to have its origins in Virginia. Much of Kentucky’s heritage and traditions began when it was still part of Virginia. They would have been made with rum or brandy and served in a silver cup. Having sterling silver cups, ice, and the servants to make the drink, was a sign of wealth. As the drink moved to Kentucky they started using bourbon.
Henry Clay, the famous Kentucky United States Congressman, Senator, and Secretary of State in the early 1800’s introduced the drink in Washington, D.C. at the famous Willard Hotel.
In 1938, it was named the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. According to Cocktail Times, Churchill Downs served the drink in a souvenir cup and charged 75 cents per drink. The Derby glasses went through several phases of glass, aluminum, Bakelite, and back to glass in the late 40’s. A complete collection of the glasses is quite valuable.
Since the 1940’s the track has commissioned a new design for the Mint Julep Glass every year. The popularity of the Mint Julep, synonymous with the Kentucky Derby, encouraged the other Triple Crown races to create their own drinks. Today, many sporting and special events have their own special cocktail or drink. We have all heard the term “The official drink of….” To think it all started very innocently with Kentuckians enjoying their favorite beverage on the first Saturday in May in the early 1900’s.
Each year, Woodford Reserve puts out a special edition Kentucky Derby bottle. The official bottle for 2017 has been released and is available in specialty liquor stores across the county. I had the opportunity to interview Thomas Allen Pauly, the artist who created the art for this year’s label.
The 2017 Woodford Reserve bottled, art by Thomas Allen Pauly
Woodford Reserve has been releasing a special Kentucky Derby bottle for 19 years (it’s also the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby). They are always a work of art – colorful, and exciting. Each one is different. This year’s art was inspired by the view Tom saw when he got his first glimpse from the roof of Churchill Downs. He has photographed there for years but never from the roof.
Tom was born and raised in Chicago not far from Wrigley Field. He got his introduction to horse racing at Sportsman’s Park in 1978, going with a friend who had a horse in one of the races. The horse, Rusty, won, and Tom got his picture with the group in the winner’s circle. He was hooked on horse racing. Tom decided to use the picture as inspiration for a painting. Once he had finished the painting he showed it to his friend who wanted to purchase it. This led Tom back to the track to watch more racing, shoot pictures, and do more painting.
His first Kentucky Derby was in 1999 when Charismatic won. He did a painting of Charismatic from images he had taken that day. He now makes it an annual event. Most recently he has been there taking pictures for Illinois Racing Magazine. This year he will be covering the race from a different perspective for Chicago Style Magazine.
In 2010 and 2011, Churchill Downs and The Game invited Tom to have a solo exhibit at the track for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. It was here he met Don Berg, the CFO of Brown Foreman. Berg liked Tom’s work and bought a piece. It was this friendship that brought him the opportunity to pitch them on doing the bottle art. In 2016 he did his first Kentucky Derby bottle for Woodford Reserve. With this year’s bottle he is now the first artist to be awarded the honor of doing a second bottle. What an honor for him to do the art for one of the best bourbons in the world depicting the “greatest two minutes in sports.”
Last year’s Woodford Reserve bottle, art by Thomas Allen Pauly
Tom’s art has taken him around the world to see, photograph and paint horses from the Arc de Triomphe, to the Dubai World Cup, the Hong Kong Cup, and numerous Preakness, Belmont’s, and Breeders Cup Races. He has also been to painted steeplechase races in the U.S. and abroad. And, he was the official artist for American Pharoah when he won the Triple Crown.
Back to the bourbon. Woodford Reserve is an amazing, balanced bourbon. It has hints of spice, fruit, nuts and of course the grain. Everyone’s palate is different and you will pick up different overtones of flavor. It is good neat, on ice, in a Mint Julep, or mixed if you must.
It was delightful talking with Tom. We are both fans of horse racing and bourbon. And how does Tom like his Woodford Reserve? In an Old Fashioned made with a mix he calls “The Elixir” from the Pair O’ Lakes Lodge in Spooner, Wisconsin.
I got my bottle of Woodford Reserve from Hi-Times Wine Cellars. The bottles will start to appear in most good liquor stores. They make a great addition to any bourbon collection. Enjoy the bourbon and the bottle with a good friend any day, but especially on Derby Day (Saturday, May 6th this year).
Lynn and I have been wanting to eat at Vaca in Costa Mesa, CA, ever since we saw Amar Santana on Top Chef. We have been to his restaurant Broadway in Laguna Beach several times. The food is amazing and the bartenders are friendly and very knowledgeable. We love to sit at the bar to eat and enjoy talking with the bartenders and other restaurant goers we have met from all over the world while sitting at the bar (I have embarrassed our kids for years because I will chat up anybody that will listen).
We had tickets to see “Finding Neverland” at the Segerstrom Center and decided to have some of the Tapas at Vaca before the musical. Vaca is very conveniently located literally around the corner from Segerstrom, so it was easy to park for the musical and then walk over to the restaurant for dinner. Well we had a great time. Vaca has a nice long bar with a back bar with shelves and bottles 20 feet tall.
Writing these blogs is always an education for me and hopefully you, my readers, as well. To go along with Amar’s Spanish cuisine, he has also replicated Spain’s love of the ultimate Gin and Tonic. Their signature drink is the “The Vaca Tonic” made with Brooklyn Gin, Frozen Gimlet, Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, and Basil Blossom. What they don’t include in the description is their amazing ice. The drink was served with a handmade, perfectly clear round ice cube. I watched them make it, what a work of art. It was a very refreshing drink and went well the Ensalada de Remolacha, a roasted beet salad with cana de cabra, and walnuts. We followed it with the Pulpo a La Gallega, a warm Spanish octopus, with fingerling potatoes, pimenton, and Spanish olive oil.
After those 2 dishes and finishing my gin, it was time for a bourbon drink and some pork. First I ordered the “That’s the Spirit” which is made with Baker’s Bourbon, Bittermans Hiver Amer, Clear Creek Cranberry Liquor, and Lemon. My drink was very refreshing.
Lynn had an excellent Spanish Tempranillo from the wine list. Both were a nice compliment to the pork and beef we ordered. We tried the pork belly which was amazing. For our last dish we tried the La Bola, crispy potato balls with ground beef, aioli, and spicy tomato sauce. All were amazing and all so different.
We enjoyed the environment, company, food, and drinks. I would heartily recommend Vaca. We want to go back soon and enjoy some steak. Steak is not something you normally describe when talking about Spanish restaurants but Amar focuses on steak, tapas, ham, paella, and Spanish wine. If you plan to be in the area, make reservations. If you are not in the area, make a trip. Go to theatre, or shopping and end the day at Vaca.
People enjoy whiskey at host of different ways. Some like it neat, some with a little ice, or mixed in a cocktail (check out my blog post on the different ways to drink whiskey). No matter how you like it there is a glass for the method of choice. I am only going to explore a few of those glasses today.
The Glencairn whisky glass is a style of glass developed by Glencairn Crystal in Scotland for drinking whisky (in Scotland it is whisky without the “e”). The glass has a capacity of over 5 ounces but it was designed to hold 1.5-2 ounces of whisky or bourbon. The glass was designed to give you the maximum aroma from the spirit you are drinking. You will find these for sale at many of the distilleries with their logos engraved in the glass. They can also be found at most nicer liquor stores like Hi-Times, Bev-Mo, and Total Wine. Amazon even has a selection of them.
I enjoy tasting bourbon neat in Glencarin glasses. They aren’t really sized for any ice in them. What I like most about Glencairn glasses is how light and smooth the glass is. It really helps to get the full aroma of the whisky I’m tasting.
The next glass I want to discuss is the traditional style whiskey glass, an Old Fashioned tumbler. This is a glass you see in every bar. They come in a variety of sizes. The first one I have pictured I bought at Old Pogue Distillery. It is a standard smaller size old fashioned glass that they had their logo engraved on. You can find similar glasses (without the engraving) at a lot of home stores with a barware selection. The real advantage of this size and style over the Glencarin glass is you can add a small amount of ice, or whiskey stones to open up your whiskey. I will sometimes start a new bourbon neat and then add a very small ice cube to open it up and change the experience.
The next glass is my favorite. A Rogaska mouth blown, hand cut and polished by an expert craftsman, crystal rocks glass. I like this glass because first of all its very pretty, and very heavy. It has the feel and look of quality. It will hold the large round ice cubes, or big square cubes. You can drink neat out of this glass but it has such a large opening you lose a lot of the nose. This type of glass is great for cocktails as it holds a lot of liquid. I use it to make our Old Fashioneds and Manhattans. These glasses are available at Bloomingdales for $60.00 a pair.
It would take volumes to discuss all the glasses designed to hold mixed drinks. As anyone who follows my blog knows, horse racing season and Mint Juleps are upon us. There are 2 main ways to drink a mint julep: the traditional silver julep Cup or the Libby glass mint julep tumbler. But I will go into more detail in April about Mint Juleps, specialty cocktails, and Kentucky in the spring.
There are a ton of great options out there for enjoying your bourbon (or whiskey in general). You can find old fashioned glasses and other fun barware at just about any home store these days. You will find just as there are, “Different horses for different courses,” there are also “Different glasses for different bashes” (made that up – not sure I’ll use it again).
As many who read the blog, or follow me on Facebook, know our whole family was doing Whole30. I can’t say enough good things about Whole30. I want to thank my niece and her husband for introducing it to all of us. I was a 63 year old junk food junkie. I loved my Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. I also have a sweet tooth that goes all the way to my Big toe. No more. I learned a lot and lost a lot of weight. I will now work hard to keep it off!
I am back to eating and drinking some of the things I enjoy and working hard to staying on the straight and narrow to be healthy (everything in moderation). I AM NOT giving up my bourbon and will continue to enjoy it.
Last week, on Day 31, I sat down after dinner in my favorite chair with a rocks glass and a little Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon. Wow, it felt so good to relax with a wonderful bourbon after a day of work. One of the simple pleasures in life.
As I sat there I thought of the cowboys depicted in the movies riding into town after a long day on the trail. They would belly up to the bar and ask for, “A whiskey or a bourbon, bar keep.” When you don’t do something every day it makes it special. My first bourbon drink post-Whole30 was special. Reflecting back on many life, family, friends, and experiences.
We spent the weekend on a short vacation in Virginia and I’ve returned with more exciting and fun places to recommend to all of you my faithful readers.
Football season ended with Sunday night’s exciting Super Bowl. So, now we turn to spring baseball, and, welll, just spring. I’ve talked about the Bourbon Trail before, but with spring upon us I wanted to talk about it more! There is no better time to visit Kentucky than spring, although fall is pretty spectacular as well.
The Bourbon Trail, which officially began in 1999, announced this past week that together the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Craft Bourbon Trail saw over 1,000,000 visitors last year. That is an impressive number and shows the interest and growth in bourbon and whiskey. There are two unique trails, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and the Craft Bourbon Trail. There is also a third experience, the Urban Bourbon Trail, which is a tour through Louisville’s bourbon bars (but all bars in Kentucky serve bourbon).
The Bourbon Trail is many of the larger distilleries and in a fairly concentrated section of the state. These are the big boys but that doesn’t mean you don’t get a very informative and personalized tour.
Town Branch’s distillery
Because they have the bigger budgets their visitor centers are like visiting a museum and candy store with their gift shops. At Jim Beam Lynn got to fill a barrel before it was sent to the warehouse.
Jim Beam’s visitor’s center
Then we got to bottle our own bottle of Knob Creek. We tasted right out of the cypress wood fermenting tanks at Four Roses. Woodford Reserve does 3 different tours. They have their general tour, a historic tour, and the one we took which is called “Corn to Cork.”
On our tour at Woodford Reserve
The Corn to Cork tour is an educational experience that takes you from where the corn is unloaded into the storage facility to the corking of the bottles. We learned a lot, had a great time, and even got to taste out of a barrel.
Front porch at Woodford Reserve – doesn’t it look inviting!?
Maker’s Mark lets you dip a bottle in the red wax for you to take with you. At Maker’s Mark it’s an interesting story, I don’t want to spoil, about why they painted the buildings black.
Maker’s Mark’s tasting room
The Craft Bourbon Trail includes: Barrel House, Corsair Artisan Distillery, Hartfield & Co., Limestone Branch, MB Roland, New Riff, Peerless Distilling Company, the Old Pogue Distillery, Wilderness Trail, and Willet Distillery. These are your smaller distilleries and give you a close up look at the guys making small batch, craft spirits. The craft distilleries are spread throughout the state. This tour is a real challenge to complete in one trip to Kentucky. We did not complete it but look forward to going back this year and completing it. We did make it to Old Pogue, Willet, and Barrel House. They are all so different, and so interesting. One of our favorites was Old Pogue where it was just the 2 of us. We also got a personal tour of the family’s Antebellum home overlooking the Ohio River. Willet is also one you do not want to miss. Their pot still is famous because their Pot Still Reserve Bourbon is in a bottle the shape of their still.
There are other outstanding distilleries not on the official bourbon trails but a must on your trip. Those include Old Barton and Buffalo Trace. Anyone who knows their bourbon knows Buffalo Trace has a lot of brands. Just a few of their brands are Buffalo Trace, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor, Sazerac Rye, George T. Stagg, Stagg Jr., W.L. Weller, and one other brand might have heard of — Pappy Van Winkle.
As you can see there are a lot of stops you can make on the Bourbon trail and I haven’t even mentioned other things to do while you are there. There is always horse racing at Churchill Downs in Louisville, or Keeneland in Lexington.
Or for something different plan a picnic and go to Steeplechase Racing or Polo. These events are always fun, exciting, and feature the food and drink of the region. Churchill Downs makes a mean Mint Julep in the spring. There is always a tour of a horse farm around the Lexington area.
Visiting Calumet Farm while doing the Bourbon Trail. They have produced the most Triple Crown winners in horse racing history!
When in Louisville any sports fan is going to want to tour the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. The Louisville and Lexington visitors websites have a ton of great information on them about the area and other things to do besides sip bourbon!
So where do you stay? The bourbon trail is very spread out, so you have to decide where you want to start and end if you’re trying to see a lot of distilleries. We stayed at the Seelbach Hilton in Louisville. A grand of Hotel with a great history. The Brown Hotel in Louisville is also a great place to stay. The Brown Hotel is home to the original Kentucky Hot Brown (another blog to come – I’m a big fan). In Harrodsburg, the Beaumont Inn has been highly recommended by friends. But Lexington, Frankfurt, Bardstown all have wonderful places to stay. In Bardstown you must stop in the Talbott Tavern for a bite to eat. It is the oldest western stagecoach stop in America having been built in 1779.
I could go on and on about bourbon, horses, and Kentucky. Leave a comment with some of your favorite stops along the bourbon trail if you’ve been before!
These days there are a lot of options when it comes to chilling your bourbon (and drinks in general). Today we’ll walk you through some of the different options like how to order your bourbon and the many different styles of ice cubes.
Neat, straight up, and on the rocks are still the standards. Neat means without ice. Typically a bartender would serve it in an old fashioned glass. Neat is also how most distilleries on the Bourbon Trail serve their bourbon for tasting. It definitely takes some getting used to if you’re like me and like your bourbon chilled.
Straight up means chilled but without ice in it. This is similar to how a martini is served. This is becoming trendier for drinks beyond martinis as bartenders get increasingly creative with their drink list. It’s also a very classic way of serving drinks.
And then there is on the rocks, which is what we are all most used to when it comes to sipping bourbon. Just some ice with bourbon poured over it.
Now, these days there are a ton of ice options. There’s your old standby of standard ice out of the refrigerator or ice maker. I tend to prefer this if I’m mixing my bourbon. The ice melts quickly, especially on a hot day, which waters down the bourbon.
So when I’m sipping bourbon I generally use a large ice cube from molds that I’ve purchased from Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table. There are a ton of ice mold options out there. These are very common in restaurants now too. Some restaurants I’ve visited have even installed ice makers that make larger ice cubes (there’s a Japanese ice maker that makes ice cubes that are larger than the normal squares an ice machine makes but smaller than the large square mold ice cubes).
You can purchase ice molds in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I have a bunch of large square molds, and some round ice molds made by Tovolo – they seem to make the best ones (found in stores all over the place). I even have a tray to make Purdue P ice cubes!
For those who want chilled bourbon with no added water whatsoever there are whiskey stones. Whiskey stones are just that, small pieces of stone made in all sorts of shapes, but usually small squares. Most of them are made from Granite. Granite is very hard and dense. It doesn’t absorb liquid and also retains temperature very well. There are also metal stones with a coolant inside which freezes. This is a way to chill your bourbon without watering it down at all. Admittedly I don’t use my whiskey stones very often. I prefer the large ice cube option – chills the bourbon and dilutes just a bit as you get to the end of the glass.
If you read the tasting notes of many of the bourbons being released today they suggest you serve the bourbon slightly chilled. How you achieve that is really up to personal preference! Right now, I think by a fire is the best way!
As many of you are aware, by law bourbon has to be aged in a new American Oak barrels. I recently heard there are over 4,000,000 barrels in warehouses all over the state of Kentucky.
That’s a lot of bourbon barrels. Some of the bourbon warehouses hold only a few hundred barrels. Some of those warehouses hold tens of thousands of barrels. Barrels need to be inspected regularly for leaks and condition.
They go through the heat of summer and the cold of winter as the bourbon migrates in and out of the wood based on the temperatures and humidity. Keep in mind some of that bourbon is in those barrel for only a few years, some for 10 or 12 years, and the lucky barrels get to hang around for 20 or more years.
So what do they do with those barrels after they empty the out the bourbon and bottle it? Well, there are as many things done with those barrels. The majority end up getting a second life. Those barrels are sent to Ireland, Scotland, Barbados, and all over the Caribbean for scotch, whisky, rum, and other brown liquors. Some end up in wineries from all over the states. In the last few years there has been a HUGE demand from craft beer brewers to use bourbon barrels to finish and age their beers.
And in the past few years more and more condiments like maple syrup are being aged in bourbon barrels. On my Woodinville Whiskey Co bottle is as tag that says, “Why age syrup in a whiskey barrel. By aging our all-natural, pure, American maple syrup in a whiskey barrel, it absorbs the barrel’s rich, oaky, flavors: vanilla caramel, wood spice, and best of a a hint of whiskey.” Even Trader Joe’s is carrying a Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup with their own name on it. There are all kinds of different sauces being aged in bourbon barrels as well.
The good news there is they get more and more use and less end up as furniture or planters. But there is still a lot of really cool stuff made from barrels. One of the favorite things in my bourbon collectibles is a barrel head from Rip Van Winkle Distillery signed by Julian Van Winkle III. You will see barrel heads in many bars. What do they do with the staves from that barrel? Many become tables, chairs, votive holders, etc.
The next time you are in a distillery or specialty cooking store look at the items they have for sale. You will be amazed at the repurposing and culinary delights you can find with that nice bourbon finish.
Reservoir Distillery is a Double Gold award-winning distillery located in Richmond, Virginia, created by lifelong friends Jay Carpenter and David Cuttino. While tailgating at Virginia Tech football games they decided if they combined their talents and passions for fine whiskey they could produce a highly exceptional spirit that reflected their Virginia roots.
I first saw Reservoir when we visited Taylor and Carter in Richmond. They distill three distinct whiskies, bourbon, wheat whiskey, and rye whiskey. They suggest you try their wheat first, then the bourbon, and last the rye. They age their whiskey in small (some 5 gallon) barrels. The theory is that a smaller barrel gives the whiskey more exposure to the wood and speeds aging. One of the examples on their website says 2 years in a smaller barrel is equivalent to 15 or more years in a 53 gallon barrel. The focus is on quality not quantity. And, both Jay and David are personally involved in every barrel and bottle.
Their mashbill is 100% local corn. Most bourbons add some rye to their mashbill, some even add a little wheat. On their website they say, “Reservoir trusts the full force of local corn and deep aging in our small barrels to produce a unique bourbon that is different from any other product available on the market.”
I received a bottle of Reservoir Bourbon from Taylor and Carter for Christmas and tried it for the first time over the weekend. Each bottle is labeled with the year, batch, and bottle number (mine is 2016 batch 15). It is a very full bodied 100 proof bourbon. They state their bourbon is “built to be bigger than the average bourbon.” Lynn and I both tasted it and got a very strong spice. You may also taste coffee, and pecans. It is a fantastic sipping bourbon neat or with one ice cube which they recommend once you have tried it neat (at the price point it is definitely one for savoring, not mixing!). It is very bold, and very flavorful.
If you are going to buy a bottle you are going to have to purchase it on the East Coast in Virginia or one of the surrounding states. I highly recommend you pick up a bottle. It’s a very unique, well-crafted bourbon to add to your collection. If you are not on the East Coat, pick one up on your next trip that way and bring it back with you in your suitcase. I look forward to swinging by the distillery the next time I’m in Richmond!
I had a unique experience last night. Whenever I visit my college roommate, Jeff, and his wife, Sandy, I have a unique experience. Let me set the stage. Jeff and Sandy live in a log cabin in the middle of 12 wooded acres in Indiana. It’s a fantastic home with a big fireplace and this time of year there is always a roaring fire. They regularly have 4 dogs laying around that fire. And they have an incredible collection of bourbons, whiskeys, and wine. I had my first sip of Pappy in front of that fireplace on a cold winter evening a few years ago.
Last night they poured me some of Kavalan Soloist Vinho Barrique Single Malt Whiskey they had recently purchased. Kavalan, established in 2005, is Taiwan’s first and only family owned whisky and maker. Kavalan takes the name of Yilan County where it is located in northeastern Taiwan. Boasting pure water and fresh air, this part of the subtropical island provides the ideal environment for the production of whisky.
I must admit my knowledge of Asian whisky is very limited. I had to read up on Kavalan to understand more about this whisky. It was a very unique experience of taste and reading. At 59 proof it is a very bold whisky with a lot of bite but it has an impressive flavor profile.
To mature their Vinho Barrique expression, the King Car distillers (who blend for Kavalan) in Taiwan use casks which have held both red and white wines, before being re-toasted. The whisky is fully matured in these casks to help their Taiwanese single malt develop a bold, expressive flavors of berry, plum, and caramelized sugar notes. A very strong caramel finish.
The price point on this whisky is not for the faint of pocket book. This whisky and distillery has racked up an impressive number of awards in a short amount of time. If you get a chance to try it, by all means don’t pass it up.
Bourbon Bill 