When the crowds in seersucker suits, floral prints and fancy hats pack Churchill Downs on Saturday for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, the racetrack's managers estimate Derby-goers will down some 120,000 bourbon-based mint juleps.That's a lot of drinks for a two-minute horse ride.Kentuckians love their horses, to be sure, but bourbon runs a close second in their hearts.
did a specific assessment of the carbon footprint of whiskey making and found that for each standard-sized bottle of booze produced, about 2,750 grams, or a little more than 6 pounds, of CO2 is released. That's the equivalent of the emissions from driving an average passenger car 7 miles.Simply put, our Derby party mint juleps and other cocktails are contributing to the climate crisis.