The Belmont Breeze is the official drink of the Belmont Stakes. Created by Dale DeGroff, head bartender of the Rainbow Room, the profile of the Belmont Breeze comes from the colonial recipe: “One of sour, one of sweet, three of strong and four of weak.”
“I wanted to use a spirit that has significance in New York,” DeGroff said. “I chose rye whisky because New York has always been a big rye town. Rye was one of the first spirits to be distilled in quantity in America and by none other than George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson.”
The ingredients are:
1 1/2 ounces of a good American blended whisky
3/4 ounces Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce simple syrup (1 ounce sweet and sour mix may be substituted)
1 1/2 ounces fresh orange juice
1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
1 ounce 7-Up
1 ounce club soda
Shake first six ingredients, then top with 7-Up and club soda. Garnish with mint sprig and lemon wedge.
The Belmont Stakes Trophy
The Belmont Stakes trophy is a Tiffany-made silver bowl, 18 inches high, 15 inches across and 14 inches at the base.
Atop the cover is a silver figure of Fenian, winner of the third running of the Belmont Stakes in 1869.
The bowl is supported by three horses representing the three foundation thoroughbreds – Eclipse, Herod and Matchem. The trophy, a solid silver bowl originally crafted by Tiffany’s, was presented by the Belmont family as a perpetual award for the Belmont Stakes in 1926.
It was the trophy August Belmont’s Fenian won in 1869 and has remained with the Belmont family since that time. The winning owner is given the option of keeping the trophy for the year their horse reigns as Belmont champion. The owner of the winner of the Belmont Stakes also receives – permanently – a large silver tray with the names of the previous Belmont winners engraved on it. There are also trays for the winning trainer, jockey and exercise rider, as well as mementos for the groom.
