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Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Happy Derby Day from Walker Percy Weekend

Raise a glass to the ponies, to the South, and to the memory of the great Southern novelist

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Cheers! That’s a julep made from the recipe Walker Percy followed, which he received from his Uncle Will Percy, and related as follows:

You need excellent Bourbon whiskey; rye or Scotch will not do. Put half an inch of sugar in the bottom of glass and merely dampen it with water. Next, very quickly — and here is the trick in the procedure — crush your ice, actually powder it, preferably in a towel with a wooden mallet, so quickly that it remains dry, and, slipping two sprigs of fresh mint against the inside of the glass, cram the ice right to the brim, packing it with your hand. Finally, fill the glass, which apparently has no room left for anything else, with Bourbon, the older the better, and grate a bit of nutmeg on the top. The glass will frost immediately. Then settle back in your chair for half an hour of cumulative bliss.

If you’re not planning to come to Walker Percy Weekend this year (June 5-6) — there are only a few tickets left — then don’t you want to buy an official Walker Percy Weekend t-shirt? All proceeds go to support the arts foundation that sponsors the festival. That’s a facsimile of Walker Percy’s actual signature, which the Walker Percy estate was kind enough to let us use. T-shirts available via mail order right now, for $20 plus shipping. You can also buy at our online shop DVD copies of Win Riley’s brilliant documentary about Percy’s life, and official Walker Percy Weekend festival posters. Check it all out here.

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