The Preakness Stakes will feature horseracing’s finest — and fans will celebrate with its signature cocktail
Story by Katie Riley | Pimlico Racetrack Photography by Paul Morigi / Getty Images
On May 15, the Preakness Stakes returns to Baltimore’s Pimlico Racetrack and its rightful place in the traditional Triple Crown schedule after being delayed a year ago due to COVID-19. Though Derby season conjures images of fancy hats and julep cups, around these parts, the drink of choice is the black-eyed Susan, the official drink of the Preakness Stakes. While the race may look a bit different this year — in-person spectators have been capped at 10,000 rather than the usual 130,000 — it’s easier than ever to celebrate at home. Of course, with cocktail in hand.
Though the mint julep dates to the 1770s, the black-eyed Susan was only invented 50 years ago. Longtime Pimlico caterers Harry M. Stevens Co. had the idea in 1973 to develop a signature cocktail to rival the mint julep served at the Kentucky Derby. Like a younger, sassier rival, the black-eyed Susan arrived on the scene to both criticism and admiration.
According to Tiffani Steer, vice president of communications for the Stronach Group, which owns the Preakness Stakes, it was not always love at first sip. “It was not a drink that was entirely lauded,” Steer says. “It took a lot of flack and got a little beaten down as the secondary drink to the mint julep.”
Named after the Maryland state flower, the original recipe, first printed in the 1985 Baltimore Junior League Cookbook, called for a sugary combination of vodka, rum and triple sec mixed with orange and pineapple juices. “It’s sweet and packs a serious punch,” Steer says.
The recipe has evolved many times throughout the years, with several Baltimore restaurants and bars featuring their own versions of the cocktail, an evolution that Steer says is a good thing. “Lots of recipes can be improved over time, and we aren’t overly precious about it.”
The current official recipe from Pimlico relies on bourbon, vodka and peach schnapps, and unlike it’s highbrow rival, doesn’t require a mixologist’s expertise to make at home. “The black-eyed Susan is just not as fussy as a mint julep,” Steer says. “It’s like the Preakness — you have everything from fancy hats and racing chic to in-field celebrations that are extremely casual. It’s what you make of it, but it’s always fun.”
BLACK-EYED SUSAN
Ingredients
1 oz. vodka
1 oz. Mount Gay Eclipse Rum
¾ oz. Cointreau
1½ oz. fresh-squeezed orange juice
1½ oz. pineapple juice
Build in a Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Add a Maraschino cherry, an orange wheel,
a pineapple cube and a lime wedge for garnishes.
Note: It’s imperative to squeeze the juice from the lime wedge into the drink.
THE PREAKNESS
Ingredients
2 oz. straight rye whiskey
1 oz. Martini & Rossi red vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters (though some early versions substitute Peychauds)
½ tsp. Benedictine
Stir with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a swatch of fresh-cut lemon
peel over the top.