Visit Louisville around Derby time and you’ll find a local specialty—a chocolate-pecan pie well-infused with bourbon called the Triple Crown Pie. This take on a traditional julep combines flavors of chocolate and pecan with bourbon and mint. It’s a match made in heaven, and choosing the right bourbon with notes of pecan and chocolate elevates the cocktail even more.
Single serving
1½ ounces 85- to 95-proof bourbon
¾ ounce Rivulet pecan liqueur
¾ ounce Ballotin Chocolate Whiskey or crème de cacao
3 dashes chocolate bitters
Cracked ice
Fresh mint sprig
Pecan-chocolate cookie for garnish
1. Fill a julep cup with ice. In a mixing glass or cocktail shaker, combine bourbon, pecan liqueur, chocolate liqueur and bitters. Fill with ice and stir or shake until chilled.
2. Strain into a julep cup filled with crushed ice.
3. Spank the mint sprig on your wrist, releasing the aromatics of the herb, and slide it into the cocktail. Place straw right next to the mint sprig. Add chocolate-pecan cookie if desired.
Batch to serve 8-10
1½ cups 85- to 95-proof bourbon
¾ cup Rivulet pecan liqueur
¾ cup Ballotin Chocolate Whiskey or crème de cacao
¼ cup water
12-18 dashes chocolate bitters
Cracked ice
Fresh mint sprigs for each cocktail
1. In a pitcher or empty bourbon bottle, combine all ingredients except the mint. Shake the bottle briefly (or stir the pitcher) to combine and place in the fridge until well-chilled, at least four hours but preferably overnight. Add more chocolate bitters as needed to taste.
2. To serve, pour into julep cups filled with cracked ice and garnish each cocktail with a freshly spanked mint sprig just next to the straw.
Find Heather Wibbels’ most recent creations at cocktailcontessa.com or follow her on Instagram @cocktail_contessa.