Triple Crown Cocktails
Go-to recipes for the Mint Julep, Black-Eyed Susan, and Belmont Jewel
The three horse races in the American thoroughbred Triple Crown are some of my favorite events of the year. Each has its own traditions, pageantry, and spectacle. But most importantly, each has its own signature beverage: the Mint Julep (Kentucky Derby), the Black-Eyed Susan (Preakness), and the Belmont Jewel (Belmont Stakes).
The tricky thing with signature beverages attached to large, commercialized sporting events is that they’re easily corrupted. If you need to serve, say, 120,000 juleps in two days, you may be tempted to cut a few corners to make it happen. You might, for example, start using pre-bottled ready-to-serve mix.
Fortunately, behind each of the streamlined versions you may find at the racetrack is a legitimately good underlying recipe, if made well. I’ve included my preferred versions of all three.
Kentucky Derby
The official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby is, of course, the Mint Julep, made with bourbon, sugar, mint, and lots of ice.
Weirdly, the official recipe seems incorrect, in that it calls for 3 oz pre-bottled Old Forester Mint Julep (which already includes sweetener and mint flavor), and then also calls for ¾ oz simple syrup and muddled mint. The previous version of the recipe was correct in 2018, calling for Old Forester Straight Bourbon Whisky and homemade mint simple syrup, but was updated sometime in 2019. I’ve reached out to the Kentucky Derby about this, but have not heard back.
Despite the confusing state of the official recipe, the Mint Julep is a very straightforward cocktail. Rather than making mint syrup, I prefer to muddle fresh mint leaves in the cup, which is actually easier — provided you’re not making thousands of drinks — and produces better results.
Mint Julep
2 oz bourbon
½ oz simple syrup
10-15 mint leaves (you really can’t use too many)
mint sprig, for garnish
Add simple syrup and mint leaves to a julep cup. Muddle gently, avoiding crushing the mint. Fill cup with crushed or nugget ice. Pour bourbon over the ice. Add more ice to top off the cup and garnish with a mint sprig.
☞ Alan Joyce / The Sunken Galley
Preakness
The official cocktail of the Preakness is the Black-Eyed Susan, made with a vast array of potential ingredients, but typically including at least orange juice, vodka, and bourbon. It’s named after Maryland’s state flower, a blanket of which is draped over the winning horse after the race.
The recipe for the Black Eyed Susan was apparently created in 1973 by the track catering company and it’s not very good. It calls for 1 oz bourbon, 1 oz vodka, 1 oz peach schnapps, 2 oz orange juice, and 2 oz sour mix — resulting in a syrupy cocktail without much to redeem it, apart from its visual resemblance to the flower.
I do, however, love this quote from Preakness VP of Communications Tiffani Steer (as reported in Forbes):
“I’ve seen bartenders make it with tequila instead of bourbon, and I’ve seen people ask for less orange juice or to be topped with soda. Much like the Preakness itself, it’s not fussy”
Unlike the Mint Julep, there’s no fussy heritage to the Black Eyed Susan, which means we can make what we want of it. My preferred recipe comes from David Solmonson, co-author of The 12 Bottle Bar (Workman Publishing, 2014) and the accompanying now-defunct blog. Fortunately, Solmonson’s recipe is preserved by The Washington Post, and I think it’s a fantastic variation. It swaps the bourbon for rye whiskey, the vodka for white rum, and leans on fresh juices instead of schnapps and sour mix.
Black-Eyed Susan
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz rye whiskey
1 oz white rum
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz rich simple syrup (2:1)
⅙ oz orange liqueur (e.g. Cointreau)
½ oz black rum, to float
Add all ingredients except black rum to a mixing glass with ice and stir to combine. Pour into a double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed or nugget ice. Top with a float of black rum. Garnish with an orange wheel with a cocktail cherry in the middle of it.
☞ David Solmonson / The 12 Bottle Bar (slightly adapted for clarity)
Belmont Stakes
The official cocktail of the Belmont Stakes is the Belmont Jewel. Its official recipe calls for 1½ oz bourbon whiskey, 2 oz lemonade, and 1 oz pomegranate juice. It’s not as bad as the Black-Eyed Susan recipe (at least it’s using fresh juice), but 3 ounces of sweet juice really drown out the bourbon.
For my Belmont Jewels I increase the bourbon to 2 oz to help it stand up better to the other ingredients. I also use lemon juice and simple syrup instead of lemonade, which provides more reliable control over sweetness. Finally, I swap out the pomegranate juice for a much smaller amount of real grenadine (not Rose’s, but one made from actual pomegranate).
Belmont Jewel
2 oz bourbon
1½ oz lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup
¼ oz real grenadine
lemon twist, for garnish
Shake bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and grenadine with ice. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.
☞ Alan Joyce / The Sunken Galley