Juleps and Jockeys

Happy Wednesday everybody! 

Since it's the middle of the week, I hope this blog is a little pick me up for y’all! We’re going to chat about the 152nd Kentucky Derby coming this Saturday to get excited for the weekend. :) 

We all know about the prestigious race, the famous Churchill Downs, and the iconic hats. But what might surprise my West Coast readers is that the Kentucky Derby is a HUGE deal for bourbon businesses. Of course, bourbon is the official historic spirit of Kentucky, deeply intertwined with the region’s essence and dating back to the 18th century. The derby was founded in 1875, and though bourbon has been associated with the race ever since, the “Mint Julep” became the event’s signature drink in 1938. More about that later. 

Many distilleries and bourbon brands release special edition bottles, limited flavors, or even painted labels by featured artists just in time for the Kentucky Derby. Fans line up well in advance to purchase these sought-after bottles, and race day especially drives huge volumes for the official sponsor, Woodford Reserve. It is believed that, “Churchill Downs sells over 120,000 mint juleps, usually priced around $22, during the two-day event, requiring over 10,000 bottles of Woodford Reserve.” 

That’s a massive amount of bourbon! But I’m about to make you feel special, because if you own a bottle of Rockpile, you are part of a very small percentage who has the pleasure of drinking a 1/1000 bottle of bourbon that won’t ever be batched the exact same again. Which (I think) is even cooler than buying a $22 mint julep containing a widely available bourbon brand. And I’ll even go one step further, and give you a mint julep recipe that you can make yourself using RPB, to drink this Saturday while making your bets. ;) See below! 

By the way, I refused to have anything to do with the race for so many years after my dad made me watch Secretariat. He said it was an “inspirational movie”, but after I found out that Secretariat died in real life, I was furious! I seriously haven’t seen the movie since I was like 8 years old watching it for the first time- so this weekend, I might have to rewatch the movie and then the real race! Impressively, Secretariat’s last living daughter, named Trusted Company, just recently passed away in 2023! 

I hope all of y’all enjoy your weekend, as well! Rockpile might not be sponsored by the Kentucky Derby yet, but who would buy a limited edition bottle if we had one painted for the 2027 race? Comment down below to let us know, and we’ll get something special in the works! 

Cheers,
Brie