Sunday Fun Day just got a lot more interesting in Louisville.
Mint Julep Experiences is leading the charge on the brunch brigade with a Sunday brunch experience like no other food tour in Louisville. The Boozy Brunch & Bourbon Bonanza will take thirsty guests on a morning and afternoon tasting experience that includes a Southern-inspired brunch, Mimosas , Bloody Marys with Jeptha Creed’s Peppered Vodka, and two bourbon distillery tours and tastings along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
Tours begin May 18, 2020 and will continue each Sunday through November, so gather your friends and prepare to eat, sip and sample your Sunday away!
Boozy Brunch itinerary
The Boozy Brunch adventure, which can accommodate up to 22 people, will depart from the Omni Louisville Hotel at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday. The first stop will be at the quaint southern-style restaurant. Guests will be treated to a family-style brunch, complete with Mimosas and Bellinis.
After the meal, the group will be whisked away to Jeptha Creed Distillery in Shelbyville, where they’ll build their own Bloody Marys and also enjoy a full tour and tasting at the craft distillery. Plus, you can take that Bloody Mary with you on the tour bus! After all, there should be nothing rushed on a Sunday.
And last but not least, there will be one more stop at the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville, where guests will go on another full distillery tour and sensory bourbon tasting. The Bulleit Visitor Experience opened its doors to the public in 2019 and offers unique bourbon-tasting experiences on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
“We wanted to create an experience that would be fun for both locals and travelers,” said Mint Julep’s Fun Enthusiast Chasta McIntyre. “We’ve been offering exciting food tours for custom tours for a while now, so it’s been a blast putting together this ultimate Sunday Fun Day for anyone who wants to explore Kentucky, eat a souther- style brunch and, of course, enjoy some fine Kentucky bourbon.”
Tickets to the all-inclusive Boozy Brunch Bonanza are $159 per person. The new adventure is one of several culinary-themed tours Mint Julep Experiences offers.
The History of Sweet Mimosas and Savory Bloody Marys
While the exact origins of the classic Mimosa cocktail are unknown, we do know the delicious combo of sparkling wine and orange juice has been enjoyed in Spain for centuries. It is named after the yellow-flowered plant. The popular morning drink is served everywhere from airplanes and trains to bars and restaurants all over the world, and the ratio of bubbly to OJ differs per establishment.
Frankly, we prefer ours at a 75/25 ratio (75: bubbly; 25: OJ), and we also like to add a little pineapple juice to cut the acidity of the orange juice. Plus, the pineapple adds another level of bliss to the cocktail.
If you’re wondering, a Bellini is just a fancier version of a Mimosa — made with Prosecco and fruit purée. This one we do know was invented in Venice, Italy, in the 1930s. It is said that drink creator Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Venice’s Harry’s Bar, named the drink after 15th-century Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini because its pink color reminded him of one of the artist’s paintings.
Just like the Mimosa, the origins of the Bloody Mary are unknown, although many claim to have been the originator, including French bartender Fernand Petiot. In 1921, he was working at New York Bar in Paris — which is where you might find Ernest Hemingway, among others, on any given night — when he whipped up the first version of a Bloody Mary to help alleviate a customer’s hangover.
It mostly consisted of vodka and tomato juice, but as you know, the recipe nowadays also includes numerous ingredients, based on a bartender’s whim, that might include Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic, herbs, horseradish, celery, olives, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, lime juice and/or celery salt. We’ve also seen bars serve them with bacon, Buffalo wings, shrimp, cheese (gotta love Milwaukee!), and anything else they might have in the kitchen.
While the cocktail may not 100% cure a hangover, it does help alleviate some of the symptoms, like headaches, dizziness and nausea because of the vegetable base, the salt and, you know, the alcohol. It’s like a meal in a glass!
Some folks also prefer to swap out the vodka for tequila (Bloody Maria), gin (Red Snapper) and — of course! — bourbon (Bloody Belle).