Picture this: You’re the type of tony Southerner who really wants to stick out at the races this year. Ever since that blasted Elijah began rocking the same seersucker ascot as you and Ashley started breeding his own Plott hounds, you’ve really struggled to express your identity.
You may need this $1,000 Bluegrass mint julep cup from Woodfood Reserve. Or rarer still, the $2,500 Commonwealth mint julep cup from Woodford Reserve. Whatever it takes.
Essentially a pimp cup for genteel Caucasians, each vessel is handcrafted by a Louisville jeweler and comes in a silk purse inspired by how the winnings are awarded in the Kentucky Derby itself.
The costly cups are currently for sale online, with two available options.
As mentioned, there’s the silver-y $1,000 Bluegrass Cup, 90 of which have been made bearing the image of a thoroughbred and jockey, the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs, a single gold rose and gold-plated straw shaped like a bottle of Woodford, the event’s official bourbon. Subtle flowing lines are meant to signify the limestone water vital to making and drinking Kentucky bourbon.
If that’s not distinctive enough, you’ll do the Commonwealth Cup for $2,500. Only ten of these gold-plated cups exist with a silver sipping straw.
Although we’d like to think a scandalous third option may include giving your money away to someone less fortunate, Woodford also makes an annual Derby bottle with race-related artwork for just $50.
But if even that collectible feels too extravagant for a two-minute race, you can just make the brand’s $1,000 Mint Julep that’s going into those cups by following the recipe below with whatever sorghum and mint you’re able to get your hands on.
Woodford Reserve’s 2018 $1,000 Mint Julep Cup Recipe
- 2 oz of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- 2 leaves of Kentucky Colonel mint
- 1 teaspoon of Kentucky Sorghum syrup from Woodford County Kentucky
To complete the julep, add crushed ice made from limestone-filtered water sourced from the Woodford Reserve Distillery, which sets amid thoroughbred farms of Central Kentucky.
The drink is garnished with three small red roses, a sprig of mint and a single rose petal from the actual Garland of Roses, draped on the winning Derby horse.
