This Saturday, Louisville will host the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby where every well-known celebrity from Hollywood and the sports world will be seen getting the royal treatment in Millionaire’s Row.  Regular attendees include paparazzi prizes like Michael Jordan and Brad Pitt.  The geniuses at Woodford Reserve have solved the problem of these big names having to drink the race’s most popular drink (the mint julep) from plastic cups and the same ingredients that will be sold 120,000 times that day.  For $1,000 Derby visitors can purchase the Woodford Reserve Mint Julep Cup that honors the three living Triple Crown winning jockeys and contains a mint julep that almost requires a tree-top flyer to import.

The actual cups are made by the official Kentucky Derby trophy makers, New England Sterling, and are sterling silver with a 24-karat gold-plating.  The ingredients are outrageous and include: sugar cane cut and crushed by hand from Sainte Marie in the Reunion Island of France; Turkish mint grown near the Euphrates River; ice made of water from an aquifer in the wilderness of Central Norway; and a small batch of the Master Distiller’s personal selection of Woodford Reserve super-premium bourbon.  Not bad for a grand.  But this is the best part.  Proceeds from these sales will go towards the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the Robby Albarado Foundation charities. 

These cups can be purchased online at www.woodfordreservemintjulep.com but don’t wait too long fans of Turkish mint.  There are only 99 cups available.

bourbon | Woodford Reserve | Kentucky Derby | Mint Julep