The next foodie inspiration is not a food at all but instead a beverage. It is associated with the South, especially the Kentucky Derby. How appropriate for this celebration to have been on Derby Day! It has been reported the annual Kentucky Derby horse race sees around 120,000 servings each year. Yet, the beverage itself goes way back much farther than the beginning of America's most prestigious horse race. Ready to celebrate?

May 30 is...

Mint Julep Day

The true origin of the Mint Julep is clouded with mystery having never been completely traced but one thing for certain it associates the South as its heartland. For those of you into cocktails, enjoy the julep before retiring for the evening or simply any time of the day, on any day, for it is not reserved only for today or the Kentucky Derby.

Tidbits of Julep Trivia...

Mint Julep's popularity came to rest in the agricultural regions of the east and southeast, where farmers awakened at dawn. ...the julep was originally a morning drink as the spirited equivalent of coffee in today's society. "One sip and Pow! The farmers were ready to face the long day."

http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/04/28/cocktail-recipe-mint-julep/

Mint juleps are served in pewter julep cups with crushed or shaved ice for a specific reason: The purpose of the cups isn't immediately clear to most drinkers because they are holding them wrong. Julep cups should only be held by the top or the bottom so that the crushed ice inside them can create a frost on the outside.

Premium versions of the drink are served in gold-plated cups with silver straws - The $1000 Mint Julep. You've got to be kidding!

The Clovers: One Mint Julep
The song, which became a hit for The Clovers in the early 1950s, was one of the first drinking songs to really take off. The song is about a man who falls for a young woman only to realize a few years down the road that he’s been trapped into marriage. In the song, he laments that it all started with "One Mint Julep".