As Kentucky’s bourbon industry continues to grow — from 19 licensed distilleries operating in eight counties in 2009 to 95 distilleries operating in 75 counties in 2021, according to the Kentucky Distillers Association’s economic impact report — interest in bourbon tourism has grown at a similar pace.
Bourbon tourists now make nearly 2 million stops along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour each year, according to the KDA. More than 70 percent of those visitors live outside Kentucky, and guests spend an average of $400 to $1,200 during their trip.
The expectations and expertise of bourbon tourists are heightened, as well. While most distilleries host traditional tours and many have invested in expanded visitor centers, restaurants and other amenities, a trend toward more hands-on, immersive offerings has also emerged to satisfy a growing thirst for unique bourbon-related experiences.
In June, Angel’s Envy debuted an $8.2 million expansion that includes a Bottle-Your-Own experience where guests fill, label and seal a distillery-exclusive, single-barrel selection of Angel’s Envy bourbon. At Barrels and Billets, which recently opened in downtown Louisville next to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, guests blend their own custom bourbon with the option to bottle and label their one-of-a-kind recipe. Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery, also in Louisville, offers an opportunity to bottle and label a distillery-exclusive bourbon, as does the new Heaven Hill Experience in Bardstown.
For the well-heeled, the recently announced “Roll Out the Barrel” tour offered by Mint Julep Experiences whisks you and your group by private helicopter to either Maker’s Mark Distillery or Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Tennessee for a meal and private barrel selection. With pricing beginning at $38,000 for the two-day experience, it seems the sky is the limit.
The trend of unique bourbon-related experiences also extends to Lexington.
Daniel LaCour
Distillery District Bottlers, located on Industrial Avenue, launched a Build Your Own Blend experience earlier this year. Guests taste through several barrels of sourced whiskey and then work with a master blender to customize a blend to their liking. Bottling and labeling options can also be customized, including a wax-sealed top, unique label or glass engraving.
“Our goal is, within a 60- to 90-minute time frame, you’ll be able to leave with a customized bottle, wax-dipped with a printed label and with a generic COLA [certificate of label approval],” said founder Daniel LaCour. “It’s meant to be a fun, personalized experience.”
Blending and bottling sessions, in-person tastings and other immersive experiences also offer alternatives to a traditional distillery tour, many of which are increasingly difficult to book depending on the day and season.
Abe Owen and Jeff Phillips
“The biggest problem we have right now is getting tickets to distilleries,” said Abe Owen, co-owner of Horse and Barrel Tours in Lexington. “You cannot get a tour at Woodford Reserve on any Friday or Saturday between now and the middle of August. It’s a problem.”
Owen believes he has an alternative solution. Along with business partner Je. Phillips, Jill Bakehorn, owner of 903 venues, and Ronald Mack, managing partner of The Legacy Group, they’re set to launch an experience called Bourbon Live beginning in July.
Operating in part of The Grand Reserve event venue on Manchester Street, Bourbon Live is an immersive virtual bourbon tasting that promises to bring the distillery experience to as many as 60 guests at a time. Participants enjoy a guided tasting of four half-ounce pours during the presentation, which is moderated via filmed segments by bourbon aficionado Bill Meck, chief meteorologist with WLEX-18. Original film segments
Via high-definition footage projected onto three walls, Bourbon Live aims to provide an engaging, immersive experience for guests to learn about bourbon while tasting through a sample flight.
of barrels being made and charred, the bourbon production, cocktail preparation and other footage supplements the tasting, with eight projection cameras filling the walls with high-definition imagery.
“As [Meck] walks you through it, the more the film goes on and you get that virtual, theater-style feeling,” Bakehorn said.
Owen likens the idea to the popular Van Gogh immersive experience and the 360-degree “Greatest Race” film that airs at the Kentucky Derby Museum. “When you come in and sit down, we might start with footage from Kelvin Cooperage of barrels being flamed and coming all the way around,” he said.
“My experience with a traditional bourbon tour is, after a while, you maybe get a little fatigued … and you’re ready to move on,” Mack said. “Here, you get a great experience and the atmosphere of a traditional distillery in a convenient, comfortable and really cool setting.
“It’s not only for people who are visiting,” he said. “Local residents are also grateful to have something new and different.”