Derby Day or Brewfest? Juleps or Beer?

I know plenty of men, including the Mountain Man, who would not even pause when answering this question. We live a city with three award-winning breweries, for heaven's sake.  But since this Saturday is Derby Day, we served mint juleps at our wedding last May and I love any excuse to drink bourbon, well, it might be time to channel Churchill Downs this weekend and drink some juleps.  We never found reasonably priced silver julep cups to put on our wedding registry, so I guess we'll drink them out of old-fashioneds.  I would not mind inheriting a set of six. [My mother and grandmother both read this regularly]

Except that the forecast is calling for rain and highs in the mid-40s on Saturday.  This is neither good for BrewFest in Caras Park, nor for drinking anything meant to cool you down during a balmy day at the races.  Of course, the only thing weather-related that you can count on in Montana is that the forecast is usually wrong and if it's not, then the weather will change in 30 minutes and thus be wrong.....so we'll see how it all plays out.  Meanwhile, even if you don't plan to get dolled up like this on Saturday:

You can at least drink like you're there.  Check out the Garden and Gun article on the Julep from 2008, "A Drink for All Seasons," where you'll find the following recipe:

½ oz. superfine sugar
1 oz. hot water
8 mint leaves, plus one mint sprig
2 oz. bourbon
Dissolve the sugar in the water in an old-fashioned glass (or julep cup, of course). Add the mint leaves and press them lightly with a spoon — you want to seduce the oil from the mint leaves, not beat it out of them. Add the bourbon, fill the glass with cracked ice, and stir. Plant the mint sprig in the ice alongside a short straw, and serve.
Yield: 1 serving