Mint julep is a signature dish of United States; we have verified places to eat it in Lexington and Louisville. Bourbon, sugar, mint and a mountain of crushed ice in a frosted cup, Kentucky's ceremonial race-day drink.
Mint julep · Lexington
Bourbon, sugar, mint and a mountain of crushed ice in a frosted cup, Kentucky's ceremonial race-day drink. Lexington pours them all spring, from Keeneland weekends to downtown bourbon bars.
The julep began as a medicinal early-American whiskey drink and hardened into ritual in Kentucky during the 19th century, silver cups and all. Churchill Downs made it the official drink of the Derby in 1938, and Lexington drinks them every April and October when Keeneland runs. Local bartenders argue endlessly about crushed ice, mint bruising and whether the straw belongs beside the mint or nowhere at all.
Where to eat Mint julep in Lexington: the editor picks
Mint Julep · Louisville
Kentucky bourbon poured over crushed ice with sugar and bruised mint, served in a frosted silver cup. The official Kentucky Derby drink since 1939.
The Mint Julep was already a Kentucky genteel-society drink when Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark founded the Kentucky Derby in 1875; the story goes that Churchill Downs planted mint outside the clubhouse for the first Derby's juleps. The drink became the Derby's official cocktail in 1939, and Churchill Downs began ordering the signature souvenir julep cups in 1937. Today more than 125,000 Mint Juleps are served at the racetrack over the two-day Oaks and Derby weekend, requiring 10,000 bottles of Kentucky bourbon, 2,250 pounds of mint and 475,000 pounds of ice.
Where to eat in Louisville:
- Lobby Bar at the Brown Hotel
- Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar
- Down One Bourbon Bar
- 8UP Elevated Drinkery and Kitchen
Where to eat Mint Julep in Louisville: the editor picks