The annual whiskey extravaganza that is the sold-out Kentucky Bourbon Festival will take place Sept. 11-13 in Bardstown, and my inbox is blowing up with exclusive bottles distilleries are bringing for fans. Now that distilleries can sell bottles from their own booths, the sky is the limit on what they can bring any given day.
Well, I take that back. I believe I heard each distillery can bring five different products per day to sell. So five skews, so to speak. So along with sipping and mingling and trying new pours, be prepared to haul a bounty of bottles home with you. They even have lockers you can rent during the festival so you don’t have to carry them around all day.
Or I’m happy to take them off your hands … I just can’t guarantee they’ll be returned. Heyo! Only kidding.
So my goal when starting this post was to present you each and every special bottle that each and every Kentucky distillery was planning on bringing to KBF. But then I realized it’s now Tuesday — three days before KBF — and I am but one lowly journalist who also has a full-time job to attend to this week. And that job, my CaskX gig, is taking up most of my time this week, because we are planning BIG THINGS at KBF as well! I hope you at least come spin our big wheel and try to win you a pour of Pappy.
So let me tell you about the KBF Distillers’ Row Series, and you can just plan on buying lots of bottles from lots of different booths. I’m sorry. I truly wish I had the time to write what I should have written last week. Arg.
Kentucky Bourbon Festival Distillers’ Row Series (single barrel picks)
During the months leading up to the event, the KBF crew typically tries to make it to each participating distillery for an exclusive single-barrel pick. These will be for sale at each distillery’s individual booths, and you can click on this link to find out more about each one. I helped them pick a barrel at Heaven Hill, Whiskey Thief Distilling and at the Blending House (E.J. Curley & Co.). Basically, you can’t go wrong with any single-barrel pick, but you might want to purchase them when you get there on Friday, because there’s no telling how long they’ll last.
Quick Tip
Yes, of course you’re going to run to the big distilleries in the hopes of scoring a rare bottle. Distilleries like Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Angel’s Envy and so many more will be selling some pretty great things during KBF.
But after you’ve made your rounds and swiped your card and amassed a collection so big you’ll have to hide it from the husband or wife, please do yourself a favor and spend several hours in the craft distillers section of the festival. This is truly where you get to experience everything fun, innovative and immersive about Kentucky bourbon. You’re going to taste things you’ve never tasted. You’re going to find a new favorite distillery that you’ll be talking about for years to come. You’re going to buy T-shirts and bottles and hats and maybe even ass-less chaps.
The craft distillers section is always one of my favorite parts of the festival, and you don’t want to miss it.
Sunday Session
If you’re going to KBF on Sunday, I’ll be on the Bourbon:30 Stage from 1:30-2pm for the “Whiskey Writers’ and Influencers’ Panel: Stay or Go?” Moderated by fellow spirits writer Steve Coomes, I’m joining Jesse Jones of the Bourbon Showdown Podcast; Claudia Coffey of The Best Bet Podcast; and David Thomas Tao, a fellow spirits writer as well. We’ll be talking about trends, gift shop gadgets, new finishes, etc., and figuring out what we like and what we could do without.
I hope you have a fun and bountiful Kentucky Bourbon Festival! And remember to hydrate.