Happy Mint Julep Day – May 30th ! 

Were you desperately hoping for a refreshing bourbon cocktail but frustrated that you didn’t have a good enough excuse? Thankfully for you, Mint Julep Day is here to pander to your wildest fantasies… just as long as those fantasies involved sipping this classic cocktail.

Mint julep originates in the southern USA and still counts this area as its heartland. This is especially true of Kentucky where the annual Kentucky Derby horse race sees around 120,000 juleps served each year. Premium versions of the drink are served in gold-plated cups with silver straws at a cost of $1000, but you don’t need to spend quite as much as that to enjoy the day. The ingredients are simple: bourbon, mint leaf, sugar and water. However, no two bartenders seem to make the drink in the same way, which is all the more reason to sample a few before this special day is over!

Classic Recipe Southern Living magazine recipes

Served Since 1938 at the famous Kentucky Derby –

But If you can make the Derby – you can catch Thoroughbred Racing in Louisiana -just down the road from me is the exciting Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La. 

Evangeline Downs – Louisiana travel

This Racino is the first new facility of its kind to be built from the ground up. More than 1,400 slot machines, live horse racing, music, nightlife and great food, makes Evangeline downs the perfect place play. Enjoy live thoroughbred horse racing April through September and live quarter horse racing October through December (Wednesday through Saturday).

Louisiana’s racing and breeding industry plays an important role in the state’s economic well-being and contributes a significant source of state revenue. The combined impacts of both racing and breeding and their related industries generates over $1 billion annually and employs nearly 13,000 people.

Many of theses horses goes on to run in the Kentucky Derby.