Celebrate Derby Day with a cool mint julep, or a nonalcoholic mint cooler.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—There’s no need to travel to Churchill Downs to enjoy the Kentucky Derby festivities—throw your very own race day party instead. With some select Kentucky Derby recipes from the Rodale Recipe Finder, you can host a get-together that offers up lots of Southern flavors, including mint, the refreshing herb that’s featured in Derby Day’s classic julep.

Sprinkling mint throughout your party’s menu plan makes sense, since the herb has long been considered a symbol of hospitality. Using mint in your Kentucky Derby recipes yields other benefits, too. The two most common varieties of mint are peppermint (Mentha piperita) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). They’re often used interchangeably, though peppermint has a more pungent quality. And while it’s often thought of as merely a flavoring, peppermint happens to be a therapeutic herb with wide-ranging benefits. The leaves of the peppermint plant contain a menthol-rich volatile oil, as well as bitters and tannins; all three compounds work to aid digestion. The oil calms digestive tract nerves and blunts nausea, the tannins reduce stomach inflammation, and the bitters stimulate more digestive juices, helping you process food more efficiently.

In addition to treating tummy troubles, the vapors from peppermint oil freshen breath and can help you breathe better by relieving sinus, nasal, and chest congestion. And peppermint’s ability to alleviate coughing has made it an ingredient in many cough drops; it seems to increase saliva production and suppress the cough reflex.

When buying mint, choose fresh-looking bunches with evenly colored leaves that show no sign of wilting. Store a bunch of mint in the fridge in a glass with water over the roots and a plastic bag covering the leaves. It’ll keep for about a week (change the water every day or two).

To make mint juleps, start by making a minted simple syrup (this can be done in advance): Simmer a cup of sugar and a cup of water together, then add a bunch of mint. Steep the mixture, off the heat, for about 15 minutes then, strain and refrigerate. When you’re ready to make juleps, fill a julep cup or highball glass with crushed ice, and add the minted simple syrup (one teaspoon to one ounce, depending on how sweet you’d like your drink) and two ounces of bourbon. Stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.