Ep. 136 The Impostor in the Glass: The Brown Derby and Derby Sour
From The Art of Drinking with Join Jules and Your Favorite Uncle by Redd Rock Music, LLC
March 18, 2026 · 44 min
About this episode
Jules and Brad explore the intriguing history of the Brown Derby cocktail and provide a detailed breakdown of bourbon whiskey profiles.
Jules showed up to the recipe section of this episode with a drink in each hand, fully convinced the Brown Derby was a Kentucky Derby cocktail. She was wrong - but her enthusiasm was entirely justified. It turns out the Brown Derby has one of the stranger origin stories in cocktail history: invented in London, stolen by a Minneapolis greeting card tycoon, falsely credited to Hollywood, ignored for seventy years, and then resurrected by the craft cocktail revival as if none of that had happened. Brad walks through the whole beautiful mess, while Jules delivers an exceptional side-by-side breakdown of bourbon whiskey profiles that makes this essential listening for anyone who's ever stood in a liquor store aisle wondering what difference it actually makes. Three ingredients. A lot of history. Surprisingly few of it true. Brown Derby In shaker add 1.5 oz Bourbon 1 oz Pink grapefruit juice (fresh) 2 tsp Maple Syrup Double strain into chilled coupe Garnish with grapefruit twist Derby Sour Ingredients: 1.5 oz Bourbon ¾ oz Grapefruit juice ½ oz Lemon Juice ½ oz Orgeat syrup 1 Egg white Dry Shake Shake again w/ ice Double strain Garnish with fresh cinnamon on top The Art of Drinking IG…
People in this episode
Host: Jules
Guest: Brad
Topics covered
- cocktail history
- bourbon whiskey
- craft cocktails
- Brown Derby
- Derby Sour
- mixology
Keywords
- Brown Derby
- Derby Sour
- bourbon
- cocktail recipes
- mixology
- craft cocktails
- cocktail history
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Redd Rock Music, LLC
Products: Brown Derby, Derby Sour, Bourbon, Pink grapefruit juice, Maple Syrup, Lemon Juice, Orgeat syrup, Egg white
Places: London, Minneapolis, Hollywood
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