COUNTDOWN TO KENTUCKY DERBY 2020 IS ON!

If you are planning to attend the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky then you are in for a magical day! We all know that the Run for the Roses is touted as the "fastest two minutes in sports", but that is only part of what makes the magic. Beautiful horses, gorgeous outfits, good food, and of course, the Mint Julep.

The Mint Julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby for nearly an 100 hundred years.

Each year, almost 120,000 Mint Juleps are served over the two-day Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend. This undertaking requires more than 10,000 bottles of Old Forester Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 60,000 pounds of ice.

So, if you are unable to be there in person, but are planning on hosting your own Kentucky Derby party, it's time to plant your mint. ;-)

The following recipe for The Old Forester Mint Julep, provided by The Kentucky Derby is as follows:

Ingredients:

3 oz Old Forester Mint Julep

0.75 oz Simple Syrup

8-10 fresh mint leaves

3 mint sprigs for garnish

Directions:

Pack mint julep cup with crushed ice. In a mixing glass, combine bourbon, syrup and mint leaves. Lightly bruise mint leaves with a muddler, strain contents into julep cup. Garnish with 3 generous sprigs of mint. Insert straw into ice near mint.

Charred Oaks Inn is the perfect place to make your home-away-from- home for a weekend at Churchill Downs. Derby Weekend at the inn is fun-filled and celebrates the Run for the Roses in many different ways ranging from Derby related foods like the Kentucky Hot Brown; sweets like Race Day Pie; cocktails like a Mint Julep; a best of hat contest; and more. Charred Oaks Inn is now accepting reservations for Kentucky Derby 2021.