Every year the first Saturday in May is reserved for the Running of the Roses, that is the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville and the official drink of the Derby is the Mint Julep.

Derby weekend includes the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and the Kentucky Derby on Saturday and over that weekend Churchill Downs will empty over 10,000 bottles of Old Forrester bourbon to create more than 120,000 Mint Julep cocktails.

The Old Forrester recipe calls for the making of a simple syrup by boiling 2 cups of sugar with 2 cups of water for 5 minutes and then cooling in an airtight container with a few sprigs of fresh mint thrown in.

When it is time to get you Mint Julep on start by using a highball or tall Mint Julep glass and fill with crushed ice and add one ounce of the simple syrup and two ounces of your favorite bourbon (Churchill Downs is preferential to Old Forrester).

Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint, get your Derby Day game face on and enjoy a taste of the south.