Is any mint julep worth $1,000? Would you pay that much if the mint in your julep was imported from Morocco? What if the sugar came from the South Pacific and was hand-crushed by Brown-Forman's master distiller, Chris Morris?
For 50 sippers, it's all that and more, when Brown-Forman whips up $1K juleps to promote its Woodford Reserve bourbon and donate the dollars to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
The foundation rescues horses that no longer have a racing career because of age, performance and injury issues. 
But this drink is so much more than some imported mint and sugar. It's the cup, plated in gold by New England Sterling, the same company that crafts the solid-gold Derby trophy.
It's the silver straw, which bisects a tiny silver Woodford Reserve bottle. All this hardware is packed in its own wooden box made from the same white oak that ages the bourbon, complete with a certificate of authentication.
To make the drink, they've searched for the sweetest sugar they could find, according to Morris, and the water for ice was fetched by "our Finlandia (vodka) people" who went to the Arctic Circle to collect it.
The bourbon, he says, was chosen after lengthy tasting from a few chosen barrels by Churchill Downs chef Gil Logan and Levy Restaurants' beverage director Bob King, among others, to get the right flavor for the end result.
Only 50 drinks will be made, all on Derby Day at the Downs, which is co-sponsoring the sales along with Levy Restaurants and Brown-Forman.
Half of the mint juleps have been pre-ordered, and 25 more will be ordered on Derby Day. All will be prepared individually in front of the buyer by King, Morris or Brown-Forman's Tim Laird.
"We'll mix them the old-fashioned way," Morris said. First, by using a wooden-handled spoon to mix a few leaves of mint with "a level teaspoon of sugar" and a few drops of Woodford in the bottom of the mint julep cup.
The straw is added, and ice is tightly packed into the bottom half of the cup. Add Woodford, then finish with ice and a mint garnish. When you sip the drink through the straw, said Morris, it draws the bourbon down through the packed ice, chilling it as cold as possible, grabbing a little mint and sweetness on the way up.
For more information on the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, go to www.trfinc.org.