Kentucky Derby: Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky

The Kentucky Derby might be steeped in tradition, but if a significant portion of that is decadence, we'll reserve the right to sidestep it a little. This Derby season we urge you to indulge your inner Playboy and invoke those customs in a way that's more you riding the tradition than tradition riding you.

We wouldn't be Playboy if we didn't subvert something, so we've created this handy guide to help you do Derby Decadence in the vein of our own tradition.

Drinking | Dressing | Betting

The most exciting two minutes in sports is cause for celebration, which is itself cause for libation. Brew won’t do this time, folks, so sit back and relax with a cocktail made with the finest bourbon either side of the Mason-Dixon Line.

What can we say about a classic so ingrained that it’s the official cocktail of an American institution other than, “May we have another?”

A cocktail after our own heart, the Ginger Julep puts a spicy spiral on the Kentucky Derby standby. And it’s just sweet enough to stomach another.

If you’ve got your eye on a certain prize, do the Derby good and offer her a jewel that doesn’t carry a colonial and two kids to match in its sweet aftertaste.