• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog
  • Entertaining
    • Dinner Party Menus
    • Themed Dinner Ideas
    • Tablescapes
      • centerpieces
      • floral
      • candle
    • Cocktail Parties
    • Buffet tables
    • Designing Dessert Tables
    • Tips & Tricks
  • special occasions
    • Birthdays –>
      • for Adults
      • 1st birthday
      • for Girls
      • for Boys
      • for Teens/Tweens
    • Bridal shower
    • Baby shower
    • Engagement / Anniversary
    • Weddings
  • Seasonal | Holidays
    • Winter
      • super bowl
      • Awards Night Party
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patricks Day
      • mardi gras
    • Spring
      • Easter
      • Graduation
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Kentucky derby
      • Mother’s Day
    • Summer Entertaining
      • Father’s Day
      • 4th of July
    • Autumn
      • School Days
      • Football parties
      • Halloween
    • Holidays
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
      • New Years
  • by color
    • black
    • blue
    • brown
    • gold
    • gray | Silver
    • green
    • orange
    • pink
    • purple
    • red
    • white
    • yellow
    • neutrals
    • multi color
  • Food & Drink
    • cocktails & drinks
    • appetizers & snacks
    • main dish
    • side dishes
    • sweets
    • brunch
    • Food Presentation
    • the Bar
  • DIY
    • Projects
    • Printables & Freebies

Celebrations at Home

Inspiration for Stylish Entertaining

  • About
    • Disclosures
    • Privacy Policy
  • Let’s Work Together
  • Food Photography
  • contact
  • SHOP
  • Nav Widget Area

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Subscribe for Email Updates

You are here: Home / Holidays / Kentucky derby / Top Tips & Recipes to Host the Best Derby Viewing Party

Top Tips & Recipes to Host the Best Derby Viewing Party

These are my top tips & recipes to host the best derby viewing party, guaranteed! Decor, inspiration, classic food & drink, all right here!

best Derby viewing party tips and recipes

WHAT'S IN THIS GUIDE?

  • Tips for the Best Derby Viewing Party
  • Kentucky Derby Party Decor
  • Incorporate Hats into the party
  • Food for a Kentucky Derby Party
  • Drinks for a Derby Party
  • Derby Day Dessert
  • Kentucky Derby Party Favors

Tips for the Best Derby Viewing Party

I’m going to just be bold here and declare this to be the best list of ideas for hosting a fantastic Kentucky Derby party.

That’s right, you can add an embellishment here, or a banner there, but if you include the ideas shared here you’ll cover all the important bases for a derby viewing party including:

  • horses
  • roses
  • bourbon
  • hats
  • food and more!

What’s more is that you won’t go crazy trying to pull it all together. Items are easy to access, and set up is a breeze. That’s a good thing since the race itself only lasts 2 minutes! HA!

Plan the party to start a couple of hours before the final race so you can build up anticipation, have some cocktails, and place your bets.

tips for best Kentucky derby party, red roses in silver urn

Kentucky Derby Party Decor

  • Cover the refreshment tables with moss runners from the craft store. They will emulate the field and provide a fantastic base for food and drink.
  • Pick up toy horses from the Dollar Tree and add numbered sheets to their back like the horses wear in the race. Simply cut a rectangle of felt fabric and attach a number stickers to the sides.
  • Place a few horseshoes on the table.
  • Place a dozen red roses inside a silver urn or trophy cup.

Kentucky Derby party decor, hat on a stand

Incorporate Hats into the party

  • Make sure the ladies wear large, over the top hats! The gents can also wear hats and bow ties.
  • Use hats as decor too. Place 1 or 2 on a tall stand. Here I used a wreath stand to anchor one end of the table with height.

baby hot browns appetizers for Kentucky derby party

Food for a Kentucky Derby Party

Serve these quintessential derby dishes to your guests: hot browns, benedictine spread, mint juleps. The recipes are provided below.

Baby Hot Browns

  • 10 mini biscuits – I find them in refrigerator cans containing 5 biscuits each
  • 1 1/2 cups diced deli turkey
  • 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • about 6 or 7 plum tomatoes, sliced

cheese sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Cook biscuits according to package directions.  Let cool and slice in half.  Set aside.

To make cheese sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat and add flour.  Cook, whisking constantly, until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk; cooking over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add Cheddar cheese, while whisking until cheese melts. Stir in diced turkey, salt, and ground red pepper.

Top biscuit halves with cheese & turkey mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and half of bacon.  Cook at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes or until Parmesan is melted.

Remove and top with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with remaining bacon.

Benedictine spread for Kentucky Derby party

Make this benedictine as a dip or a spread. It’s a southern tradition at parties, from baby showers to bridesmaids luncheons. It’s also terrific to make stuffed cherry tomatoes as part of an appetizer buffet.

Benedictine Dip or Spread

  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and grated
  • About 1/4 of an onion, grated
  • 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper

Drain all the moisture out of the grated cucumber and pat dry with a paper towel.  Do the same with the onion.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate a couple of hours or over night so flavors can marry.

Serve as a dip for crackers and veggies, or spread on white bread to make small tea sandwiches.  Cut off crusts and serve.

I also suggest you serve these bourbon meatballs Everyone loves them and bourbon IS part of the theme here!

Best derby viewing party ideas include "whip" stirrers

Drinks for a Derby Party

  • Make these easy “jockey whip” drink stirrers. Use thin ribbon in different colors and tie them on to the ends of wooden skewers for a decorative touch to the glass.
  • I don’t know anyone who has enough silver julep cups for a party. I think the next best thing to do for a crowd is to use 8 oz. canning jars. They keep that Southern feel and they’re economical too.

derby party mint julep in glass jar

Naturally you’ll want to serve mint juleps. Use this classic recipe made with mint simple syrup.

Classic Mint Julep

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • fresh mint
  • crushed ice
  • bourbon whiskey

Make the mint simple syrup by combining the water, sugar, and mint in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.

Let syrup cool for at least 20-30 minutes before removing mint leaves.  Transfer syrup to a small pitcher or bottle, cover and refrigerate over night.

Make one drink at a time by adding 1 tablespoon mint syrup with 2 ounces of bourbon over ice.  Stir to combine and chill.

Garnish with a sprig of mint.

To change things up a little try these Southern Kentucky Mule cocktails.

Kentucky Derby party bourbon bar

  • For added fun, set up a bourbon tasting bar and let guests try some new flavors.

derby party mini pecan pies

Derby Day Dessert

  • Bourbon pecan pie is a derby classic, but why not serve it in mini pie shells so guests can grab and go. You can use muffin tins for the perfect portion size, or you can “cheat” by picking up some minis at the bakery.
  • Try this Kahlúa pecan pie for a wonderful twist, or this pecan pie trifle as a dessert centerpiece. 
  • Whip up a batch of bourbon balls to serve on the sweets table and to package as guest party favors. These bite size desserts can be made up to a week ahead of time.
  • This mint julep dip sounds tasty too. I think you can make it with or without the bourbon added.

Kentucky derby party favors on tray Bourbon balls party favors in jars

Kentucky Derby Party Favors

Win or lose the race, send your guests home with themed favors.

  • Mini bottles of bourbon are a great take home gift for the southern gents.
  • While packaged bourbon balls are a sweet treat for the belles.

Will you be hosting, or watching the race on Saturday? If you like these party ideas PIN, Share, or sign up for our Newsletter at the top of the page.

Previous: Beer Cheese Spread
Next: Nesting :: Home Made Simple

April 29, 2014 12:04 pm Chris Filed Under: Buffet tables, Entertaining, Kentucky derby, Menus for Entertaining, Spring

Primary Sidebar


The most important thing about parties & entertaining is the guest list! Next, it should be delicious, beautiful, unique, and fun. Calling on my years of experience, I’ll show you how to pull it all together with style. Cheers!

Footer

Search the Site

Celebrations At Home is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. All our thoughts and opinions are our own and we are not paid for or mandated to provide a positive review.

Categories

Archives

Tags

airplanes Alice in Wonderland art backdrops bacon birds books butterflies camping carnival & circus casseroles Chalkboard Ideas cheese cocktail party cookies fairy Fiesta frames French Chic GIRLS NIGHT IN hot cocoa & COFFEE ice cream Mexican Monkeys Moroccan Movie themes nautical nesting owls picnic pizza Princess pumpkin Quotable Safari & Jungle salad shabby chic soups & chili Sports tea party trains travel Western wine Woodland

© Copyright 2018 Celebrations at Home · Scroll to TOP · Log In · Hosted by Servously