May 30 is Mint Julep Day

I can hardly believe I'm going to admit this, but I have never tasted a mint julep. When I realized that today, May 30th, was Mint Julep Day, I decided to look up a recipe for this most classic of cocktails and delve into the history of this very famous cocktail. Here's what I found out:

• The mint julep became the official beverage of the Kentucky Derby in 1938.
• Sara Moulton of The Food Network recommends that you let your mixture refrigerate for at least 24 hours to "marry" the flavors prior to serving.
• Churchill Downs goes through more than 10,000 bottles of Early Times Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 60,000 pounds of ice, according to mintjulepday.com.

Cheers!