New and Classic Ways To Drink A Mint Julep

Barrow's Intense Mint Julep

For those of you who plan to celebrate at home, we are telling you everything you need to celebrate the Kentuck Derby at home, starting with the infamous mint julep. Mint juleps were originally made with brandy but we're giving you an extensive list of brands and cocktail recipes to freshen up this fan favorite cocktail. Similar to a Horizontal Tasting, you can give life to mint juleps with tequila, ginger, and gin. For those who prefer the classic, we've got you covered.

While those at Churchill Downs will be drinking the refreshing combination of brandy, mint, sugar, and bourbon over crushed ice, will teach you our favorite recipes and brands. And if you're not a cocktail fan, don't worry, shots on us.

Makers Mark

Maker’s Mark is Kentucky’s bourbon darling. Made using soft red winter wheat (vs. rye) to create a bourbon with a flavor that finishes on the front of the tongue, it’s a delicious addition to any Julep. The caramel and vanilla play deliciously with mint in the Julep and it doesn’t hurt that Maker’s first ever customer in the 1950s was a horse race course – Keeneland in Lexington Kentucky!

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength goes straight from barrel to bottle at 110 to 114 proof. Cask Strength retains the signature front-of-the-palate flavors of Maker’s Mark, but amps up those flavors to create remarkable new bourbon that really stands up in Juleps, especially those with added ingredients like fruit or other liqueurs. The robust spice and oaky flavors of the bourbon, balance the sweetness and minty essence of a classic Julep or a more inventive version.  

Wild Turkey Master's Keep Decades

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades: The second premium expression from Master Distiller Eddie Russell’s Master’s Keep series, uses some of the rarest and precious barrels in Wild Turkey’s heralded stock. Made from a blend of whiskies aged 10 to 20 years, this 104 proof (52% alc. /vol.) whiskey will retail for a limited time, at $150 per bottle. More background in the release below.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed: One of the pioneers of small batch bourbons, Rare Breed is pure barrel proof whiskey, meaning no water is added to reduce the level of alcohol during the bottling process. This year we’re celebrating an even higher proof with a new bottle design.

The Union Horse Distilling Company Reunion Straight Rye — a small batch, 100 percent rye whiskey handcrafted from the finest quality rye and aged in Union Horse’s signature oak barrels. Reunion unites smooth complex notes of butterscotch, caramel, ginger and cinnamon spice. (93 proof). 

How to make a mint julep

The typical directions consist of muddle mint in the bottom of cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice and add remaining ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain into glass with crushed ice. Garnish with sprig of mint

Our Favorite Recipes (Use directions above and check the gallery beow for final results)

Intense Ginger Mint Julep Created by Barrow’s Intense

• 2 oz bourbon

• 1 1/2 oz Barrows Intense Ginger Liqueur

• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

• 3-4 sprigs of mint

NOLET’S Silver Bulleit

• 1 oz. NOLET’S Silver Gin

• 1 oz. Bulleit® Bourbon

• 1 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice

• 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

• 0.75 oz. Simple Syrup

Mexican Mint Julep:

• 2.5 oz. Avión Reposado

• 0.5 oz. Simple Syrup

• Mint

Cynar Julep

• 2 oz. Cynar

• 3/4 oz. Lemon

• 1 oz. Grapefruit

• 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

• Julep cup/Mint/Crushed Ice

NOLET's Bulleit

Cynar Julep

Mexican Pharaoh Julep

Food & Wine Pairings To Try This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the time of the year where you surround yourselves with the ones you love. This Thanksgiving, why not surround yourselves with the ones you love and a bottle of these wines to share with the table? Not sure what to drink or how to pair it with? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered with a food and wine guide is guaranteed to make your guests think you’re secretly a sommelier.

For Those Drinking White

Sauvignon Blanc

Enjoy a glass of fruity Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2018. Cloudy Bay, produced in the Marlborough region which produces wines with an extra fruity aroma and flavor. If you enjoy the taste of lime, grapefruit, and nectarine, you'll definitely enjoy sharing a glass with your loved ones this Thanksgiving. We suggest pairing this with your sides like scallops and green beans.

Bordeaux

Made from the best varieties of white grapes in the Bordeaux region 2016 Mouton Cadet Blanc will fill the room with a wonderfully fruity smell. Meanwhile, it will fill your tastebuds with a delicious blend of grapefruit and lemon flavors. Since white bordeaux is rare, you may not want to miss out on your chance to share a bottle around your Thanksgiving table this year. This too will pair well with scallops with citrus fruit, oysters, seafood linguine.

For Those Drinking Red

Grenache

Bonterra Grenache 2015 will give you the taste of Thanksgiving dinner all on its own. The grapes used in this wine were grown on a previous cherry farm, so keeping with history, this wine features black cherries. You'll also enjoy the taste of sage, rosemary, and cracked black pepper, which is perfect to go along with your turkey this year. They even have a whole list of recipes you can find here.

Bordeaux

The Château Couronneau 2015, Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux ($19) is biodynamic wine from Côtes de Bordeaux’s newest and smallest appellation. This Merlot-forward red has a bouquet of ripe plums, blackberries, dark cherries and violet. This stunning wine enhances any dish with a fruit component such as duck with cherry chutney or a pork roast with winter fruit and Port sauce.

Merlot

The Elysian Merlot, the debut wine in Bonterra Organic Vineyards’ Elysian Collection, plays off the bucolic ideals and pastoral tranquility of northern California’s organic farmland, highlighting the diverse natural elements that create unique environments for grape cultivation, handpicked from plots teeming with life and biodiversity. The Elysian Merlot embodies the essence of a wine vinified from organically grown grapes, with a harmonious chorus of black plum, carob, raspberries and soulful minerality. This will pair perfect with any red meat you may be eating.

Cabernet Sauvignon

For those who can’t resist dessert this Thanksgiving, Spoken Barrel's Cabernet Sauvignon gives off the aromas of cherry, black currant, dark chocolate, and roasted oak, which are all symbolic scents of fall. This wine also tastes of blackberry, cherry, and vanilla. Whatever dessert you plan on serving this Thanksgiving, consider serving a glass to your guests with their dessert. Will be using the recipe below for the perfect tart,

Spoken Barrel Apple, Shallot and Blue Cheese Tart

 Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 ½ cups shallots, thinly sliced, (about 3 large shallots)

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator overnight

• 1 small pink lady apple, thinly sliced and seeds removed

• 1 ½ tsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped

• 4 oz mild blue cheese, crumbled

• 1 Tbsp honey

1.       Preheat oven to 400°F.

2.       Over medium high heat, sauté shallots with 1 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt until soft and starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool slightly

3.       Using a rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry until 12x12”, dusting your work surface with flour as needed.

4.       Assemble the tart by evenly spreading the shallots over the pastry, followed by the apples, thyme and blue cheese allowing a ½“ border.

5.       Bake the tart for 20 minutes or until golden brown, puffed and crisp. Drizzle over the honey and serve warm or at room temperature with Spoken Barrel wine.

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A guide to pairing up drinks with BBQs with love

We embrace the concept of LOVE in families, business, and also in food. Barbecuing is not just another form of getting foods on the table but a total skill that should be driven by a piece of passion.

Passion births the essence of skill in choosing accompaniments for barbecues which is why we hold it dearly at heart; hence, this bbq and drink pairing chart.

Many days before we discovered the skill to this art, we couldn’t care about what drinks we took with what food, so obviously, enjoyment downplayed.

Now, as BBQ professionals, we love to walk you through this wine and beer food pairing path for we attest to the fact that there is some real good to be felt when a perfect pairing is done.

Are we sure you really need this guide?

Have a think through this - have you ever been in a state where you had a good meal but yet a few minutes after, you had a strong craving to gobble up on some drink?

Exactly! Food and drinks are meant to be paired as a satisfying balance to the tummy and tongue so it is pretty old-fashioned to leave one out of the other. In the same way, barbecues should always have a fantastic drink pair up to enjoy the complete taste and flavors that it sits in.

A few questions for you to ponder over.

• Why do certain foods get spicier on the tongue after a cold drink to stop the spiciness?

• Some drinks make the taste of food bitter, why so?

• You had champagne with meat and you didn’t like the after-taste in your mouth. What went wrong?

Right here, we have all these questions answered

It is wrong to take just any drink lying on your counter with just any barbecue. There’s a skill to this, chap, and from this infographic, you will be well in the know on how to go about it.

Imagine putting in work to make some well-thought-out seasoned pork chops on your grill smoker combo and after, the taste goes bad simply because you had it with the wrong drink.

As a general rule of play, always pair spicy and sour foods with drinks with lesser levels of tannin and alcohol content while sweet foods can go with stronger drinks.

In the same way, thicker meat portions should go with stronger drinks because of the strong flavoring while leaner meats, cheese, fish, and vegetables can go with mild flavored and sweet drinks.

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The Cool New Collaboration Between Moët and Chandon With Virgil Abloh

By Shaunna Redman

A good rosé goes a long way, but a designer bottle goes even further. For those of who have tried and love Moët’s Nectar Imperial Rosé, the #1 rosé champagne in the U.S., you can look forward to a new limited edition bottle design by Virgil Abloh.

Virgil Abloh

Moët’s iconic Nectar Imperial Rosé is getting an exclusive, limited edition collection of custom designed bottles created by Virgil Abloh. Virgil Abloh is currently the artistic director of Louis Vuitton, and has previously worked with companies such as Nike and IKEA. This was Virgil Abloh’s first time working with a liquor brand.

Virgil Abloh has been spending the past year working with Moët and Chandon. They came up with an all-white design of the bottle’s original design. There is also a special message on each bottle which says, “Do Not Drop”.

Starting on October 15th, 750ml “ready-to-wear” bottles will become available both nationwide and in select cities according to the listing. Meanwhile, Virgil Abloh will also be revealing special, limited number 3L jeroboam bottles some time in early October. These 3L jeroboam bottles will be exclusive to friends and family.

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