Bottoms Up

Celebrate the Kentucky Derby with 4 fascinating facts about mint juleps

Feel fancy at home with your own official mint julep cups.

Photo courtesy of Woodford Reserve

The Kentucky Derby, or "the greatest two minutes in sports," is this Saturday, May 4, but don't worry — there's still time to press your seersucker suit, find a fabulous hat, and gather the ingredients you'll need for round after round of mint juleps.

The Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, has been partnering with the Kentucky Derby for the last two decades, and to honor that collaboration we've put together a few fun facts about the famous Southern cocktail.

Read on to learn more, then stock up on Woodford Reserve bourbon, the Derby's official presenting sponsor, before Saturday.

80 years and counting
The mint julep has been the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby since 1939, shortly after Prohibition ended. Traditionally, juleps are made using ice, simple syrup, mint, and bourbon.

If you're feeling extra fancy ...
For the last 14 years, Woodford Reserve has been selling a limited-edition julep served in an actual silver or gold cup. Made using local ingredients — some as local as from the actual race track — the special cocktail always sells out. The price for these posh drinks? $1,000 for a silver cup and $2,500 for gold.

Drink for a good cause
Each year, Woodford Reserve selects a charitable organization to receive the net proceeds from the silver mint julep cups sold at the Kentucky Derby. To date, more than $600,000 has been raised for equine and humanitarian causes. This year's recipient is the John Asher Memorial Scholarship Fund at Western Kentucky University. Asher was a longtime vice president of racing communications and spokesman of Churchill Downs who was beloved by many; he died suddenly in August 2018 at age 62.

Participate from afar
Can't attend the actual race? There are still ways to feel part of the action. Some of the special mint julep cups are still for sale at www.woodfordreserve.com, or you can purchase this year's limited edition Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Kentucky Derby bottle. The commemorative bottle features artwork by Keith Anderson, who during the day works at the Bourbon Street Cafe inside the Brown-Forman headquarters. It's the second year in a row that this budding artist has had the honor of being featured on the highly sought-after bottle.

How to make the 2019 Kentucky Derby mint julep cocktail:

Ingredients
2 oz. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight bourbon
2 bar spoons of Inspired honey sweetener
2 mint leaves
Shaved honeycomb and a sprig of mint for garnish

Instructions
Rub mint around the julep cup to express the essential oils, and place the mint leaf in the bottom of the cup.

Drizzle 2 bar spoons of honey sweetener in the cup, add 2 oz. of bourbon, and mix the ingredients together.

Pack ice into the cup, then place the sipping straw.

Layer loose ice on top, with a splash of bourbon to settle your drink.

Garnish with shaved honeycomb and a sprig of mint.

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Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45.2% Alc. by Vol. The Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, KY. WOODFORD RESERVE is a registered trademark. ©2018 Brown-Forman. All rights reserved. CRAFTED CAREFULLY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

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Firsts After 29 Years

Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek take spotlight at Austin Film Festival with world premiere

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

The festival is premiering more than one film for every year it's been going: so far, 29 years. (Pictured: Sam & Kate)

Here in Festival Land we don’t have too many events that are so firm in the zeitgeist they can be called something as straightforward as, say, the Austin Film Festival. The event is nearing three decades since its start in 1994, and is the city's default film event outside of South by Southwest.

The 29th annual event spans eight nights (October 21-28) with Q&A sessions, competitions, and world premieres. One world premiere, for Sam & Kate on October 28, is a bundle of firsts. Oscar-winning actors Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek join their respective children, Jake Hoffman and Schuyler Fisk, for the first time as co-stars. The story follows two romantic couples of two generations, with each parent-child relationship intact in the film through fictional characters.

Sam & Kate is also the directorial debut for actor and surrealist painter Darren Le Gallo, who is no stranger to familial relationships in the film industry through his marriage to Amy Adams, who executive produced the film. Roger O’Donnell of The Cure is hopping on the list of debuts, with his first original film score, assuming it is the one he teased without naming the project in August. Vertical Entertainment will release the film on November 11.

The festival plans “33 World, North American, US, and Texas Premieres,” including titles like Daniel’s Gotta Die (starring Bob Saget in his last film), The Wild Man, and Dance Dads. The opening night film The Whale — an A24 film featured alongside The Inspection, by the same studio — tells the story of a gay widower estranged from his teenage daughter, whose binge eating is a focal point of the film.

Brendan Fraser stars, wearing controversial prosthetics to add hundreds of pounds; reviewers seem to agree that the film handled the subject with relative nuance and sensitivity. (Viewers should still keep in mind that A24 is not known for pulling punches.)

The festival also announced the full schedule for its Writers Conference, which builds out a writer’s career track over the festival’s four days with advice on research, editing, funding, collaboration, and creative maintenance. Conference admission comes separately from a festival badge.

Passes (starting at $80) all festival and conference schedules are available at austinfilmfestival.com.

dustin hoffman sissy spacek sam & kate austin film festival

A Gelato for the Road

East Sixth Street's gelato and cocktail haven says ciao to Austin

Broken cones, negroni, and glasses of gelato by Gelateria Gemelli.

Gelateria Gemelli/Facebook

Gelateria Gemelli is known not just for its unique flavors, but for its progressive social commitments.

Gelateria Gemelli, an East Sixth Street gelato shop known for its creative flavors like Fernet stracciatella and Vietnamese coffee, announced its upcoming closure in a September 28 Instagram post.

“Y’all, it’s been a long road,” owner Andrew Sabola wrote. “8 years of negronis, spritzes, teaching people how to say ‘stracciatella,’ first dates that turned into marriages, pop ups, cones on cones on cones, birthday parties, Fernet shots, laughter, and tears.”

Sabola attributes the closure to the COVID-19 pandemic, which slashed the customer base. Some loyal supporters kept the business going, but it never returned to its pre-pandemic sales. The gelateria will keep the lights on until November 1, giving the business plenty of time to say goodbye to fans and get some last cones out there.

The shop opened in 2015, after Sabola returned from a trip to Bologna with a friend — both Gemini — learning from gelato masters and getting accustomed to finishing off dessert with aperitivi like negroni. Living up to this one-two punch, the gelato shop served coffee and old fashioned cocktails. It had a broad selection of amaro sorted by provenance.

Sabola has always been outspoken, and has made news in the past talking about social issues. In 2015, he told L Style G Style that in building the shop, he shrugged off the notion of gendered bathrooms with trans customers in mind. In 2020, he told Eater that his glass door, broken in protests against police brutality, did not matter compared to the sociopolitical issue at hand.

The business stayed closed a little longer than necessary in May of 2020 after Texas businesses started opening up again, to protect its staff. It also made CultureMap’s 2021 list of eateries that were continuing to require masks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that mandates would be lifted.

On the tail end of the pandemic, trends in closures and openings are hard to predict. Some businesses have gone so far through the rollercoaster of losing and gaining business that they have returned after seemingly permanent closures. Second Bar + Kitchen, G’Raj Mahal, and Ski Shores Cafe have all performed this very contemporary song and dance since June of 2022.

“From the bottom of my cold, gay heart: thank you for making Gemelli your own,” wrote Sabola. “I wanted to build something beautiful and put it out into the world and hoped that y’all would love it. You did.”

gelato desserts ice cream coffee cocktails closings

Not Nau

Nau's Enfield Drug closing historic Clarksville location after decades in business

Nau's Enfield Drug Facebook

Nau's Enfield Drug has been in Clarksville since 1951

Nau's Enfield Drug, a longtime fixture in Austin's Clarksville neighborhood, is closing.

The pharmacy and former soda fountain will close in March after the Labay family was not able to renew their lease for the building, manager Laura Labay told KVUE.

Nau's Enfield Drug has been at 12th and West Lynn streets since 1951. The Labay family has owned the drug store since 1971 when it was purchased by Laura Labay's father. She took over around six years ago.

Labay told KVUE it wasn't her decision to close up shop – the building's owners told her they weren't renewing the lease and that they are selling the building. She said they didn't provide much reason as to why.

Labay said being forced to shut down feels like losing a family member. Her parents, especially her father, are having a tough time with the news.

"I tried to hang on through closures, equipment breakages, and no staff," Labay said, adding, "Most people would have walked away from this a long time ago, but it is the customers and the relationships ... This is all I know."

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Read the full story and watch the video on KVUE.com.

Bottoms Up

Celebrate the Kentucky Derby with 4 fascinating facts about mint juleps

Popular Northwest Austin movie theater abruptly shutters after 3 decades

Immersive Halloween experience brings thousands of spooky, happy pumpkins to Austin this fall

Austin Studio Tour paints a picture with lineup of 520 participating artists this fall

Firsts After 29 Years

Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek take spotlight at Austin Film Festival with world premiere

Popular Northwest Austin movie theater abruptly shutters after 3 decades

Immersive Halloween experience brings thousands of spooky, happy pumpkins to Austin this fall

Austin Studio Tour paints a picture with lineup of 520 participating artists this fall

A Gelato for the Road

East Sixth Street's gelato and cocktail haven says ciao to Austin

Popular Northwest Austin movie theater abruptly shutters after 3 decades

Immersive Halloween experience brings thousands of spooky, happy pumpkins to Austin this fall

Austin Studio Tour paints a picture with lineup of 520 participating artists this fall

Not Nau

Nau's Enfield Drug closing historic Clarksville location after decades in business

Popular Northwest Austin movie theater abruptly shutters after 3 decades

Immersive Halloween experience brings thousands of spooky, happy pumpkins to Austin this fall

Austin Studio Tour paints a picture with lineup of 520 participating artists this fall

Bottoms Up

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Firsts After 29 Years

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome Get Austin intel delivered daily.

We will not share or sell your email address.

A Gelato for the Road

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome Get Austin intel delivered daily.

We will not share or sell your email address.

Not Nau

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome Get Austin intel delivered daily.

We will not share or sell your email address.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome

Get Austin intel delivered daily.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome

Get Austin intel delivered daily.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome

Get Austin intel delivered daily.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome

Get Austin intel delivered daily.