By Nanette Wiser
HORSEY COCKTAILS
Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails is hosting their Fifth Annual Kentucky Derby Formal 5/6 4-8pm with the Run for the Roses live, an oyster pop up bar, live music, mint juleps and prizes for best hat and outfit. The Mint Julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century. Each year, almost 120,000 Mint Juleps are served over the two-day period of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill Downs Racetrack. That’s a feat that requires more than 10,000 bottles of Old Forester Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 60,000 pounds of ice. It’s easy to make at home. Ingredients: 3 oz. Old Forester Mint Julep, 0.75 oz. simple syrup, 8-10 mint leaves and 3 mint sprigs for garnish. Directions: Pack mint julep cup with crushed ice. In a mixing glass, combine bourbon, syrup, and mint leaves. Lightly bruise mint leaves with a muddler, strain contents into julep cup. Garnish with 3 generous sprigs of mint. *Make sure to slap mint and insert straw into ice near mint.
SPRITZ ME
The popular Italian Spritz (three parts prosecco, two parts bitter liqueur (Aperol or Campari) and one part soda morphs as you travel through Italy. Spring cocktail trends of botanical/floral flavor and low ABV characterize the spritz. Try The Hugo Spritz for a taste of the season. This aperitif is made with elderflower cordial in northern Italy and is a lovely addition to your Mother’s Day (or any weekend) brunch. I like LaMarca Prosecco best for a spritz. For more ideas, check out Spritz: Italy’s Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail by Talia Baiocchi/Leslie Pariseau. Ingredients: 1/2-ounce St-Germain elderflower, 1 sprig mint, 4 oz. chilled prosecco, 1 oz chilled club soda and a mint sprig and lemon wheel for garnish. Directions: Add the St. Germain and mint sprig into a wine glass. Muddle and let sit for three minutes. Add ice, prosecco, and soda water; stir briefly and gently to combine.
BLOOMING BEERS
Fruit beer represents a beverage that is prepared by blending and fermenting various malt-scented fruits, such as raspberries, plums, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries, with additional extracts, syrups, flavorings, and spices. Local craft beers are seasonal but there’s at least one fruity brew at Mad Beach Brewing (Passionfruit or Strawberry Hard Cider), Rapp Brewing (Mango Habanero, Blueberry Donut), Arkane Aleworks (Cherry Poppa Gose, Pineapple Dreams) and more.
