Kentucky Derby Drinks

The Hemingway

Where: Firebox Restaurant, Hartford
What’s in it: Bacardi white rum, house-squeezed lime juice, mint simple syrup, fresh mint and lime
Damage: $7

Ernest Hemingway liked horses, and alcohol.

As anybody who’s ever read any of his fiction knows, the celebrated author certainly was not opposed to the occasional mid-afternoon cocktail, while wasting the better part of the day at a horse track or out riding. And old Ernest’s drink of choice, particularly when he lived and played in Havana, Cuba, was a variation on the Mojito.
   
Hemingway took his with a generous splash of Bacardi white rum, a hint of key lime, a dash of simple syrup, a sprig of fresh mint and one vigorous shake.
   
You can find this non-traditional take on the classic Mojito, aptly named the Hemingway, at the stylish Firebox Restaurant on Broad Street in Hartford, and with the Kentucky Derby fast approaching, the Hemingway might be the perfect cocktail to sip while cheering on your favorite horse as it gallops down the final straightaway at Churchill Downs.
   
It’s certainly a lot tastier than a mint julep—and if it’s good enough for the Nobel Prize winning writer, accomplished equestrian and rugged individualist, it’s probably good enough for you, too.