The Double-Wide
An Alternative Cocktail for The Kentucky Derby
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I’m sharing an essay I wrote a few years ago, which has been edited but remains relevant as we count down to the 151st Kentucky Derby. Nowhere is tradition more evident in Kentucky during springtime, specifically during the first Saturday in May. From the foothills and hollers of Appalachia through the Bluegrass in the center, past the corn and soy fields, the slopes and streams in the west, one annual tradition defines Kentucky — The Kentucky Derby.
For many Kentuckians, watching “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” while sipping Mint Juleps is like a religion. Just as frilly hats, bespoke suits, and betting on horses because of the jockey, the jersey, or superstition are all the rage. But sometimes we need to shake things up and make new traditions. Enter The Double Wide.
I’d love to hear your take on my story. Please drop a comment or hit reply to let me know your thoughts. And if you’d like to listen to me read this in a posh British accent, hit the article voiceover button above.
Maureen xo
As a Florida transplant to Kentucky in the Autumn of 2011, I was unsure of many things during and after the transition. I coined my new digs ‘Madville’ because I wasn't sure how I'd adapt to a small rural town where camouflage, churches, cornfields, and tattoo parlors defined the landscape. I might go mad! But one thing I quickly became enthralled by was the excitement and traditions of the Kentucky Derby in May.
That first Spring, I mixed a Mint Julep, the drink of the Derby, and as Southern a tradition as it gets. One sip in and I winced. Too sweet. Too dusty. Too minty. I remembered that I’d first tried a Mint Julep during a tour of a Plantation just outside of New Orleans in the mid-1990s. I didn’t like it then either, even though it was served warm-ish in a tiny sampling plastic cup.
As much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to like or enjoy the tradition that so many Kentuckians hold dear. No matter how I adjusted the ratio of bourbon to sugar to mint, I didn't care for the sugary, smoky, minty concoction. It seemed Mint Juleps and I would not be friends.
Still hungry for a tradition I could call my own during this monumental annual event, I queried the largest group of Kentucky food and beverage professionals I could find, the now-defunct Kentucky Food Bloggers on Facebook. KFB was the quintessential cross-section of the state in the food world: journalists, cookbook authors, food enthusiasts, dietitians, mothers, chefs, restaurateurs, and farmers.
I posted my query: “What’s a great bourbon Derby drink other than a Mint Julep?”
Within a day, Jonathan Piercy, radio and podcast entrepreneur, messaged with two words: Double Wide.
Those two words flooded my mind with a range of imagery and emotions that took me straight back to my youth in Pennsylvania. Growing up, I learned a double-wide was synonymous with “low rent." Of course, now the politically correct term is “affordable living.” Little did I know that my childhood living conditions were only one step above low rent. I'm sure that if I'd grown up in a rural community instead of the inner city, I'd have lived in a double-wide.
But I texted back intrigued: Tell me more.
Piercy offered the ingredient list: Ale-8-One, a ginger soda made exclusively in Kentucky, my choice of bourbon, ice, citrus, and a rocks glass. Simple enough. Yet, not simple at all. I’d never grown accustomed to drinking ginger ale for ginger ale’s sake because growing up, whenever I had a stomachache, Mom’d give me a warm, fuzzy ginger ale. And I learned to drink it despite my aversion to the warm, bubbly ginger flavor. But I am nothing if not someone who will try anything once.
The Double Wide’s dusty bourbon flavor is paired with a sweet bite from the ginger ale and bright citrus notes to make a heady, smoky, tart, not-too-sweet drink with a kick. So if you don’t like a Mint Julep either, want to shake up your bourbon mojo, start a new tradition, and you don't mind offending a few traditionalists, mix a Double Wide for the upcoming 151st Kentucky Derby.
As it turns out, I like ginger ale after all. Just don’t offer it to me warm.
How To Make a Double Wide
Fill a rocks glass with ice, preferably large cubes, not shaved ice. Pour bourbon over the ice. How much? Glug-glug-glug. Top it with cold Ale-8-One. Run a lemon or orange slice around the rim of the glass. Stir and sip responsibly.
Happy Derby!
Maureen xo
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