47 days out may not seem like “just around the corner” to you, but the run-up to The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports typically approaches Louisville at warp speed, with the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby set for May 7.
Many weeks of festivities preface those 120-odd seconds, and the common denominator of many seasonal celebrations is the mint julep. It’s a mixed drink with deep cultural connotations, as Creative Loafing Tampa Bay notes.
The word “julep” comes from the Arabic word meaning “rose water.” But the drink lost the roses and the water somewhere along the way. The exact recipe varies, but one definition from the 1968 Dictionary of Drink and Drinking says this of the julep:
“The exact composition and making of a julep is a subject upon which any two Americans (one of whom is not necessarily a true Southenah, sah) are prepared to do verbal battle instanter.”
Every year, 120,000 mint juleps are consumed over the two days of the race, according to the Kentucky Derby website. And it takes 10,000 bottles of bourbon and 1,000 pounds of fresh mint to make.
Since 2013, the city Louisville has designated April as “Mint Julep Month,” and for the past 19 years, Four Roses Bourbon and the Kentucky Derby Festival have combined to stage the Rose Julep Cocktail Competition.
The competition was held last week, and this informative press release materialized over the weekend. Food & Dining Magazine heartily congratulates this year’s co-winners, Colleen McCarthy and Bill Whitlow, who appear in today’s cover photo.
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‘The Petal Pusher’ and ‘Storm Cloud Over the Downs’ both named People’s Choice in Rose Julep Cocktail Competition
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 17, 2022) – Eight bartenders from across the region competed for top honors at the 19th Annual Rose Julep Cocktail Competition at Mellwood Arts Center as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival’s “Festival Unveiled” event on Wednesday, March 16.
New in 2022, Four Roses invited only previous winners of the Rose Julep Cocktail Competition to go head-to-head in an effort to determine which creative julep recipe of the past truly stands out above all.
For the first time ever, the competition ended in a tie, with two mixologists taking home top honors, cash prizes and a shiny julep cup trophy. Colleen McCarthy of Louisville’s Martini Italian Bistro and Bill Whitlow of Cincinnati’s Rich’s Proper Food & Drink both claimed the first place People’s Choice title for their julep recipes.
McCarthy’s ‘The Petal Pusher’ is composed of Four Roses Single Barrel, lavender syrup, grapefruit juice, grapefruit bitters, grapefruit Italian soda and mint.
Whitlow’s ‘Storm Cloud Over the Downs’ is made with Four Roses Single Barrel, China-China liqueur, Spanish brandy, chocolate bitters, orange blossom water, smoked maple syrup, bananas foster syrup and mint.
The top eight finalists who qualified for this year’s competition included:
1. Bill Whitlow, Rich’s Proper Food & Drink, Cincinnati, Ohio
2. Colleen McCarthy, Martini Italian Bistro, Louisville, Ky.
3. Giacomo Ciminello, Woodburn Brewing, Cincinnati, Ohio
4. Isaac Fox, La Chasse, Louisville, Ky.
5. Jason Stark, Martini Italian Bistro, Louisville, Ky.
6. Mark Corley, The Silver Dollar, Louisville, Ky.
7. Natalie White, Belle’s Cocktail House, Lexington, Ky.
8. Oliver Winn, Belle’s Cocktail House, Lexington, Ky.
The event drew hundreds of people who sampled the competitors’ cocktails and voted for the first, second and third place winners. The winning cocktails will be served at the mixologists’ respective bars and restaurants throughout the Kentucky Derby Festival season.
