This Derby cocktail might not be the favorite to win the cocktail race, but it’s still an excellent bet.
When it comes to the Kentucky Derby, there’s one drink that rules them all – the Mint Julep. A sweet blend of sugar, mint, and bourbon, it’s awfully hard to beat a Mint Julep on a warm derby day. That combination makes it easy to understand how the Mint Julep has survived for more than two and a half centuries and why the Kentucky Derby claims it as the official cocktail. And even though Churchill Downs serves around 120,000 Mint Juleps each Derby, that hasn’t stopped people from expanding their cocktail horizons.
During the annual Run for the Roses, you can celebrate with something sweet like the Woodford Spire and Oaks Lily, something refreshing like a Horse’s Neck or Rickey, or something sophisticated like the Jockey Club or the Man o’ War. But in this huge selection, one drink constantly gets overlooked – The Derby. You’d think with a name like that, this cocktail would at least place in the cocktail race, but it’s sadly not even on the scoreboard. And that may just be due its tiki roots.
The Derby cocktail was the creation of Victor Bergeron Jr., more commonly known as Trader Vic. In the 1930s, Trader Vic opened a bar in California named Hinky Dink’s that, for some reason, was decorated to look like an Alaskan hunting lodge. Obsessed with making a bar that was relaxed, casual, and filled with colorful cocktails, Trader Vic spent a lot of time in Cuba and was extensively mentored by big name bartenders at the time. By the 1950s, Trader Vic had partnered with Hilton Hotels to expand his bar collection and the tiki culture of that era. Today, he is (arguably) credited with inventing the Mai Tai and a few other tiki drinks like the Scorpion Bowl and Fog Cutter.
In all of that, it’s easy to overlook the Derby drink. Another of Trader Vic’s creations, this cocktail appeared in his book, “The Bartender’s Guide” in 1947. With a dash of orange Curaçao and lime juice, this bourbon beverage has a hint of a tiki, but is still a far cry from something like the Mai Tai. Essentially, the Derby isn’t quite tiki enough to be part of the tiki canon, but is too tiki to be widely adopted by most bourbon drinkers.
The Derby may be a longshot drink for the Kentucky Derby, but hey – who doesn’t love an underdog?
The Derby
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail Shaker
- 1 Coupe Glass
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Bourbon
- ½ ounce Sweet Vermouth
- ½ ounce Orange Curaçao
- ½ ounce Lime Juice
- 1 sprig Mint (garnish)
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 ounce of Bourbon, ½ ounce of Sweet Vermouth, ½ ounce of Orange Curaçao, and½ ounce of Lime juice.
- Shake all of the ingredients together until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled Cocktail or Coupe glass.
- Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.
