Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses and the Fillies Ball
2017 Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses
Today, I had the opportunity to meet the 2017 Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses. The Derby Princesses are a group of 5 college-aged women selected annually to reign over the Derby and the Derby Festival proceedings.
Me with the 2016 Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses
Tonight, one of the Derby Festival Princesses will be named Derby Festival Queen at the annual Fillies Ball. The Fillies, Inc., is a women's club founded in 1959 to further the mission of the Derby Festival Committee. All proceeds from the Fillies Ball will be donated to the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, which provides scholarships and grants throughout the community.
To read a first-hand account of a Derby Festival Princess's schedule, check out this post that fashion blogger Grace Wainwright of A Southern Drawl wrote for HerKentucky about her year on the Derby Festival Court.
Vineyard Vines Ties for Spring!
Gorgeous spring ties for the guys in your life!
The spring social season is in full bloom, and it feels like we're all planning our spring wardrobes. What should I wear to Keeneland? For holiday services? For spring weddings?
Here's a quick roundup of some adorable Vineyard Vines ties that will get the guy in your life ready for spring festivities.
For Easter Sunday
If you're a golf or basketball fan, then you probably love Jim Nantz. Even if you don't plan vacation days around the Masters or the NCAA tournament like we do here at HerKentucky HQ, you have to love the message behind the Jim Nantz Forget-Me-Knot Tie. Twenty percent of all proceeds go to the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at Houston Methodist Hospital.
For Keeneland's Opening Weekend
I love this tie from the Vineyard Vines Kentucky Derby Collection. It looks so perfect for Keeneland's Spring Meet!
For the Dog Lover
I LOVE this Vineyard Vines tie for anyone who has a Black Lab in their life. (Pretty sure Bob's going to need this one!)
For the Bourbon Lover
This mint julep tie is perfect for Derby season!
Happy Spring, y'all!
Star Hill Provisions at Maker's Mark
Maker's Mark's new restaurant brings hyperlocal ingredients and traditional recipes to the famed distillery.
Maker's Mark is one of my very favorite distilleries to visit. I love how the Victorian buildings have been so lovingly restored and maintained, keeping true to Margie Samuels's original vision.
Maker's Mark's Loretto, Ky distillery is so beautiful in the springtime. I love seeing the flowering trees in the gorgeous setting.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a press preview for the new Star Hill Provisions restaurant at Maker's Mark. For longtime Maker's visitors, the restaurant is located in the old Master Distiller's House.
Star Hill Provisions was named for Star Hill Farm, the original T.W. Samuels family farm and distillery prior to the establishment of Maker's Mark. Y'all, that kind of attention to hyperlocal detail is apparent in everything at this restaurant. In fact, Chef Newman Miller grew up, by his own estimation, about 7 minutes away from the Maker's Mark Distillery. Chef Newman clearly marries his love for the locale with a commitment to great food. A graduate of Sullivan University's culinary program, he worked at Louisville's legendary Brown Hotel, cooked briefly in Scotland, and then worked as a corporate chef in Chicago before returning to Bardstown to open the highly regarded Harrison-Smith House.
The first course of our tasting menu was a huge hit, even in a room of food writers. We started with one of the restaurant's signature cocktails, Maker's and Ale-8 slushies topped with just enough Angostura bitters to add spice and depth, served alongside the best sausage balls I'd ever encountered. According to Chef Newman, the secret is local sausage sold at a nearby gas station, along with house-made beer cheese and a hint of crumbled saltines. These were savory and hearty, and a perfect complement to the sweet cocktail.
Now, I never say no to a hot brown, and the Star Hill Provisions hot brown is a truly great one! Chef Newman joked that, as a former employee of the Brown Hotel kitchen, he's allowed to make a few adjustments to the recipe, serving the iconic sandwich in the Lexington style with the addition of country ham. Since tomatoes are out of season, the hot brown was topped with a roasted tomato half, which added sweetness and depth to the rich, salty mix.
The steak tartare and pork short ribs were delicious as well. The tartare mixed oh-so-well with a delightful little touch of siracha!
We finished up with a truly spectacular chocolate bread pudding served with a Maker's Mark caramel sauce. As I sat on the porch of Star Hill Provisions, taking in the scenery and discussing the Maker's Mark tradition with a few close colleagues, I promised myself I'd be back to Star Hill Provisions soon. It's a great new addition to the already-amazing Maker's Mark distillery site.
Visit Star Hill Provisions at Maker's Mark Distillery, 3350 Burks Spring Road, Loretto KY 40037. Restaurant hours are Wednesday - Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse Kentucky Derby Trunk Show
2014 Off BroadwayPhoto via Full Circle PR
Derby is just around the corner, y'all! If you're like me, as soon as April rolls around, you start thinking a lot about the right hat for all of your Derby season events. I'd love to see all of you next Saturday, April 8, at Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse in Shelbyville Road Plaza from 1-4 p.m. for a Kentucky Derby Trunk Show. You'll have the opportunity to shop hats from C.K. Nobles Millinery and enjoy special discounts including 20% off the purchase of all accessories as well as a Buy One Get One 50% off discount on all footwear!
I participated in the Off Broadway Derby Trunk Show a few years ago, and it is such a fun event! I loved watching the ladies who attended the show find the perfect hat for Derby or Oaks, and I may have even fallen in love with a hat or two!
As a fun bonus, the Kentucky Derby Princesses will be at the event for photos from 1 -2 p.m. It's always so much fun to get to meet the latest round of Derby royalty!
I look forward to seeing y'all at Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse (4600 Shelbyville Rd Suite 201) on Saturday the 8th, and I can't wait to see the hat you pick out!
(This post was sponsored by Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse. All opinions are my own.)
Coopers' Craft and Ale-8 Bourbon Cocktail
A refreshing spring bourbon cocktail made with Kentucky's own Coopers' Craft bourbon and Ale-8-One.
Spring is here and it's time for refreshing cocktails. Coopers' Craft reached out to me to try their bourbon cocktail made with Ale-8-One, and I'm so glad they did! It's like a crisp mix between a mint julep, a Kentucky Mule, and bourbon and ginger ale!
Coopers' Craft is the newest bourbon from Brown-Forman; only the third bourbon in their lineup! It's a low (82.2) proof and is great for mixing. The brand name pays homage to the Brown-Forman cooperage, the only cooperage owned by an American whiskey company, which allows for precision in selecting the woods selected for the barrels.
Of course, Ale-8-One is a Kentucky original as well. The unique ginger ale-type soft drink has been bottled in Winchester since 1926, and is something of a cult classic for Central Kentuckians. It pairs nicely with the soft, baked apple notes in the Cooper's Craft for a fresh, crisp cocktail.
Just mix two parts Coopers' Craft bourbon to four parts Ale-8 and serve over ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and a mint sprig for springtime in a cup!
Vineyard Vines 2017 Kentucky Derby Collection
Every day should feel as good as Kentucky Derby Day! HerKentucky's favorite styles from the 2017 Vineyard Vines Kentucky Derby Collection!
Derby is only 52 days away, y'all! While it's ridiculously cold in Kentucky today, the official Vineyard Vines Kentucky Derby Collection was just released and it has me thinking about warmer weather, mint juleps, and Derby festivities. (Not to mention the upcoming opening of the Vineyard Vines store in Lexington!)
I am simply OBSESSED with this mint julep recipe t-shirt. I'll definitely need this one!
The Bugler Whale shirt is so cute and commemorates one of my favorite racetrack traditions!
And this t-shirt has the coolest drawing of the track!
Y'all, I have to have one of these coffee mugs. I mean, Derby, Louisville Stoneware, and Vineyard Vines are three of my favorite things.
Shop more Vineyard Vines Derby looks at Nordstrom or Vineyard Vines. They have looks for you, your beau, and the kids in your life! They even have some Oaks gear!
This post may contain affiliate links; HerKentucky LLC may receive a nominal payment for your purchase or click.
Your Kentucky is Showing! (Giveaway with My Kentucky Tee)
Our friends at My Kentucky Tee, along with the talented artist Angie Boston at Thirsty Hearts Design, have come up with the cutest design, y'all! I mean, haven't there been times when your Kentucky was showing? (I know my Kentucky was showing many times when I lived in Nashville and had to explain to folks that Jack Daniels was NOT the same thing as bourbon!)
I was so excited when My Kentucky Tee sent me one of these shirts; I immediately put together some fun outfits with it!
Even better, My Kentucky Tee wants to send a "Your Kentucky is Showing!" tee to one HerKentucky reader. Just enter using the rafflecopter widget before tomorrow afternoon, February 28th, at 5 pm!
