If you haven’t heard yet, the Mint Julep and the Kentucky Derby are inextricably linked. Well, since 1875, anyway. That’s when their marriage at Churchill Downs began, and since that year, the Mint Julep’s popularity (and one can go so far as to say celebrity) has no doubt benefited from its close association with the fastest two minutes in sports. Our close association with the Mint Julep began seven years ago when the two of us would sip them on a warm spring night on the terrace overlooking Brooklyn and Manhattan. One of our first terrace cocktail parties consisted of four friends and a dozen Mint Juleps among us. Needless to say the party ended when everyone’s speech was compromised. Lesson learned: one is enough. Although much of our view of Brooklyn has been obscured by overdevelopment (some of our view of Manhattan is threatened as well), our love of the Mint Julep will never fade. It’s one of our top five cocktails, and its slightly sweet, minty bourbon zing will keep us sipping until our last gallop around the track.