There’s an alcoholic drink for every sporting event, but when the classiest of the classy gather for an entire day to watch a race lasting just two minutes, they need a drink to match. The icy cocktail — a mix of sugar water, whiskey and fresh mint — traditionally arrives in a souvenir cup, a custom since 1939. Each year, the derby doles out 120,000 mint juleps over the two-day event, which soaks up 10,000 bottles of Early Times’ ready-to-serve whisky mix and 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint.
Top 9 Icons of the Kentucky Derby
This weekend’s race has tradition awash in color, feathers and mint juleps.