The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is a weeklong activity consisting of more than thirty events in Bardstown, Kentucky, United States, dedicated to celebrating the history and art of distilling bourbon whiskey. The organizers of the festival promote the strong association between bourbon and the city of Bardstown, and have trademarked the phrase "Bourbon Capital of the World" to apply specifically to Bardstown. [1] [2] Bardstown has been the site of bourbon distilleries since 1776.[ citation needed ]
The event started in 1991 as a dinner and bourbon tasting for 250 people. The event now draws more than 50,000 visitors each year from more than a dozen countries including Japan and the U.K. The festival also is almost always a sold-out event, with over 10,000 tickets available and sold between both distilleries and attendees. This makes it one of Kentucky's largest events. [3]
Along with concerts with names like the Kentucky Headhunters, several local distilleries have commemorative displays on the lawn, as well as food and craft vendors. The event is home to the world championship bourbon barrel relay, a barrel rolling race between many of the Kentucky distilleries. On the property of Spalding Hall, the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey is often visited during the festival.
Along with these activities includes tasting events, cooking demonstrations, competitions, and historic tours on bourbon and Kentucky.
Before 2021, the festival was open to anyone, kids and adults, alike. But, in 2021, some things were changed. It is now only a 21+ event. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival states that their festival has been "reimagined" for this. This is a new change made to the festival, as children and families won't be able to get in.
The festival moved online in 2020 as the physical part was scrapped on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival, since 2021, has been moved back to an in-person event in its original place of Bardstown, Kentucky.
Bourbon is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the dynasty. The name bourbon may not have been used until the 1850s; the association with Bourbon County did not appear until the 1870s.
Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County.
Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795, seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the company that produces the brand. The brand name became "Jim Beam" in 1943 in honor of James B. Beam, who rebuilt the business after Prohibition ended. Previously produced by the Beam family and later owned by the Fortune Brands holding company, the brand was purchased by Suntory Holdings in 2014.
Evan Williams is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky, by the Heaven Hill company. The product is aged for a minimum of four years. It has been ranked as one of the world's best selling whiskey brands.
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a variety of other distilled spirits. Its current distillery facility, called the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery, is in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the seventh-largest alcohol supplier in the United States, the second-largest holder of bourbon whiskey inventory in the world, the largest, independent, family-owned and operated producer and marketer of distilled spirits in the United States, and the only large family-owned distillery company headquartered in Kentucky.
Wild Turkey is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey distilled and bottled by the Wild Turkey Distilling Co, a division of Campari Group. The distillery is located near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. It offers tours and is part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Woodford Reserve is a brand of premium small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced in Woodford County, Kentucky, by the Brown-Forman Corporation. It is made from a mixture of copper pot still spirits produced at the company's Woodford Reserve Distillery, and column still spirits from the Brown Forman Distillery in Shively, Kentucky. Each 45.2% alcohol by volume bottle bears a unique batch and bottle number. The brand was introduced in 1996. Domestic sales of Woodford Reserve surpassed one million cases in 2021.
The American Whiskey Trail is the name of a promotional program supported by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the distilled beverage industry in the U.S. The Trail was first promoted to the public on September 28, 2004.
The Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History is a museum in Bardstown, Kentucky, that chronicles the history of American whiskey from Colonial days through the 1960s. Located in Spalding Hall, built in 1826 and registered with the National Historic Registry, the museum harbors one of the finest collections of Bourbon, Whiskey and Whiskey Artifacts in the world. They include Abraham Lincoln's liquor license, advertising posters, prescriptions for the medicinal use of alcohol during National Prohibition, whiskey bottles, and other artifacts, including several moonshine stills and a still that quite possibly belonged to George Washington.The museum has a collection of over 3600 bottles and includes extremely rare one-of-a-kind bourbons and whiskeys. The museum also features the Bardstown Historical Museum, a collection of artifacts and personalities from 1785 Colonial Kentucky through the Civil War to the present day
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a program sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) to promote the Bourbon whiskey industry in Kentucky. The KDA has registered the phrase "Kentucky Bourbon Trail" as a protected trademark.
The Bardstown Historical Museum is a museum of local history in Bardstown, Kentucky, USA, that is located in Spalding Hall, along with the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History.
Willett Distillery, also known as Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD), Ltd., is a private, family-owned-and-operated company that produces bourbon and rye whiskey. Over the years, the company has bottled whiskeys that range from two years of aging maturity up to 28 years.
Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon is brand of a bourbon whiskey produced in Bardstown, Kentucky by the Willett Distillery. It is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey brand introduced in 2008 and bottled at 47% abv, with 8–10 year aging. It is sold in glass 750 ml and 1.75 liter bottles. The company is identified on the product label as the Willett Distilling Company, which was the original name of the company until its name was changed in 1984 to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. (KBD). In October 2012, the company announced that it would return to using the Willett name as its primary business name. Recent bottlings are identified on the labels as a small batch bourbon, whereas it was originally released as a single barrel bourbon.
Old Pogue is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Located in Maysville, Kentucky, the Old Pogue Distillery carries strong family ties dating back to the 1870s, and is privately owned by members of the Pogue family.
Atherton Whiskey was a pre-prohibition brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey first produced by J M Atherton & Co, a chemical and distilling business.
Chicken Cock Whiskey is a historic brand of bourbon that has been revived by Grain and Barrel Spirits.
37°48′40″N85°28′15″W / 37.8110°N 85.4707°W