By Dathan Kazsuk
The Kentucky Derby began in 1875, which means this past Saturday marked the 152nd running of the most famous two minutes in sports—a race watched by millions, and debated by people who suddenly become horse experts for one afternoon.
Across the country, Derby Day means house parties, restaurant specials, bar stools filling up early, and mint juleps being cranked out like shaved-ice treats with bourbon, mint, and sugar. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday, honestly.
We were fortunate enough to be invited to Durham’s Glasshouse Kitchen for a Kentucky Derby Bourbon & Chef Tasting Experience on Saturday, May 2. The evening featured cocktails, passed bites, a chef-driven Kentucky-inspired tasting menu, and partnerships with Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Bowerbird Flowers & Apothecary.
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We arrived right at 5 p.m., checked in, and were handed two drink tickets each, along with raffle tickets for drawings held after the race. We’ll save you the suspense: We did not win. Tragic, but we survived.
While Glasshouse had its full drink menu available, the Derby drinks getting the spotlight were a Strawberry Basil Whiskey Smash, a classic old-fashioned, and the traditional mint julep—all made with Blade and Bow bourbon. We tried all three because journalism is difficult work, and none disappointed.
The mint julep also came with an engraved Blade and Bow cup to take home, which felt like a small victory after our raffle dreams went down in flames.
As the restaurant filled, Derby fashion took over. Women arrived in colorful dresses, pastels, fascinators, feathers, and headpieces that looked like they had diplomatic immunity. The men leaned into jackets, seersucker, bow ties, straw boaters, and Panama hats.
Somewhere in the middle of the mingling, Glasshouse staff quietly kept an eye out for the best-dressed guests, eventually choosing one man and one woman to walk away with restaurant gift cards.
Blade and Bow also had a representative on-site, pouring samples of the smooth Kentucky bourbon, produced by Diageo and made as an homage to the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery. I also got to sample I.W. Harper 15-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which was a treat.
Then came one of the big reasons we were there: the Kentucky buffet created by chef Kyle Fletcher and his team. The spread included Kentucky BBQ chicken, house-made mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potato biscuits, Kentucky Hot Brown, and my personal favorite, grilled Wagyu tri-tip with Kentucky bourbon and green peppercorn cream sauce.
Fletcher was outside working the grill, and that tri-tip immediately took me back to California-style barbecue—the kind built around marinated tri-tip, smoke, fire, and the kind of beef that makes you stop talking for a minute. Around here, that is not always easy to do.
The evening was fun, even if Litmus Test, the horse I selected about 20 minutes before the race, did not exactly carry me to glory. Golden Tempo won the Derby in dramatic fashion, while Great White was scratched just before the race after a frightening pre-race incident.
Thankfully, reports indicated that the field remained at 18 horses after the scratch.
The Kentucky Derby is always a spectacle, but it is even better when local restaurants like Glasshouse Kitchen go all in with cocktails, bourbon, contests, giveaways, food, and the race playing on TV.
Next up: the Preakness Stakes on May 16. And yes, I guess we’re rooting for Golden Tempo now.
