Tag: Kentucky Derby

One Thing I’ll Be Drinking on Derby Day This Year

I have always admired horses, and if I owned land enough would love to share my life with a few of them. One of my uncles raised cattle — Black Angus — and also always had a horse two around. They were my introduction to the equine world.

Since then, I have ridden on occasion, and I’ve attended horse shows and equestrian exhibitions. And I’ve been an avid fan of the Kentucky Derby.

I don’t know which year marked my first Derby viewing, but it’s must-see television for me. In 2013, I was in Louisville for the running, and neither inclement weather nor a haunted bed and breakfast dimmed my experience.

A day at the Derby, 2013 edition

This year, I will not be in Louisville for the Derby. I’ll be in Los Angeles, but the horses will be running and the television will be on and I’ll make a cocktail to celebrate the occasion. The foundation of that cocktail is already chilling in the refrigerator …

It’s a bottle of G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon, and with it I’ll concoct a (modified) Ken-Tiki Derby Julep (more on that soon). This Brut Champagne is 45 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Chardonnay, and 25 percent Pinot Meunier (residual sugar is 8 g/l). It is cellared for 30 months.

Lots of tradition in this bottle.

During the past several months I have tasted a number of Mumm Napa sparkling wines, including a Brut Prestige, a Brut Rosé, the 2013 DVX Rosé, and the 2011 DVX, and I’ve featured Tami Lotz, the Mumm Napa winemaker, in Wine Talk. I’ve also popped open a few G.H. Mumm bottles in that time, and not one of them was less than highly pleasing.

Here’s how I’ll make my Kentucky Derby cocktail:

Ingredients:

2 ounces G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne
1.5 ounces Aberfeldy 12 (the original Ken-Tiki uses Jameson Black Barrel)
.5 ounces lime juice
.25 ounces pineapple syrup
5 mint leaves

In a highball glass, combine mint, pineapple syrup, and lime juice. Muddle the mix, then add the Aberfeldy. Next comes crushed ice and a stir to combine. Pour Champagne over the top and add 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.

Storm the Court is my pick to win the 2020 Kentucky Derby. (Photo: Emily Shields)

My Derby tip, you ask? Well, if I was betting, I’d pick Storm the Court to win, followed by, in this order, Authentic and Ny Traffic.

Want more wine? Read on:

Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life

Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs


The Derby, One Year On

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This exact time last year Angela and I were in Louisville, for the Derby, enjoying a great breakfast of grits and bacon and eggs in a little bed and breakfast in Indiana, just over the Kentucky border and about 10 miles from Churchill Downs. We were not alone. In addition to the promised ghosts – which the proprietor told us existed but whom I never saw – we were there with Colby and Kim and David and Nicole and Zack and Susan and Michael, an eccentric and lively crew if ever there was one. (Come to think of it, I know why the ghosts stayed in their closets.)

The weekend began with food and drink and ended the same way; when Angela and I spend time with Colby and Kim that is the order of the day, whether it be Spain or Dallas or Austin. I wagered $50 or so on the horses, failing to add to my holdings, and made a Derby style statement with my knickerbockers.

I am not at the Derby this year, but I am sure I will make another appearance in Louisville in May in another year. And today I will be spending time with Angela, and am certain we will find ourselves in a bar, watching the horses run. (And you read it here first: California Chrome will wear the roses.)

 

 

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