Whiskey Issues Kentucky
Issue 161 | Whisky Magazine 35they join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Craft Tour along with continuing
to promote the newest Kentucky
Craft Trail Distillery, Neeley Family
Distillery in Sparta along with New
Riff, Boone County Distilling and Old
Pogue Distillery in Maysville,” says
Kirkpatrick. “We will wrap up the year
partnering with an exciting new festival
in Northern Kentucky, “Kentucky’s
Edge” that will be held October 4 and 5.
This flip on a traditional festival will be
hosted all over Covington and Newport,
an event in a cool urban environment
celebrating all things Kentucky.”
In Lexington, organised efforts have
resulted in a passport program offered
by 21c Lexington, a boutique hotel with
strong ties to the Bourbon industry. The
distillery tours, whiskey bars, and other
businesses there have been drawing
Bourbon lovers for a few years. One
business, Justins’ House of Bourbon,
capitalised on the passing of the
‘Vintage Spirits Law’ to offer the public
the largest retail collection of vintage
whiskeys in the world.
“So far it’s been better than expected.
Probably 70-80 per cent of the people
who walk through the doors are there
for tourism,” says co-founder Justin
Sloan. “They are always interested to
see the stuff they can’t see in their area.
It’s experiential retail, we have more
than what they can find at a distillery.”
The concept has been so popular,Justins’ will open a new location in
Louisville this summer.
While Bardstown, Kentucky has
always been a leader in tourism, recent
growth has made an additional impact
on the community.
“According to the official economic
impact numbers compiled by Kentucky
Tourism, Bardstown’s direct economic
impact from tourism has grown from
$43.6 million in 2009 to $63.2 million
in 2017, a 45 per cent increase,” says
Bardstown-Nelson County tourism
commission executive director Mike
Mangeot. “The continued
investments by distilleries in their
visitor experiences... have greatly
impacted Bardstown.”
“Three new distillery experiences
opened in 2019: LuxRow Distillers,
Preservation Distillery and Bottle &
Bond Kitchen & Bar at the Bardstown
Bourbon Co.,” says Mangeot. “Kentucky
Owl Distillery revealed plans for
Kentucky Owl Park, a 400 acre ‘Bourbon
Disneyland’ that is scheduled to break
ground in 2020.
"This year, Heaven Hill is investing
nearly $18 million in an expansion
of the Bourbon Heritage Center.
Bardstown Bourbon Co. will start a new
tour operation, and we have two new
hotels under construction – and a third
in the planning stages.”
The State of the Commonwealth of
Bourbon is stronger every day.region and the “Edge” of Bourbon
country in more ways than one.”
Northern Kentucky is a suburb of
Cincinnati, Ohio by many measures,
but because Ohio is a control state it’s
also a point where people funnel into
the Commonwealth in search of better
Bourbon options. The local tourism
board seized the opportunity last
year to form The B-Line, which is a
sort of passport program for Bourbon
tourism in the area which encompasses
distilleries, bars, and shops, and the
response has been astounding.
“We will welcome another new
distillery partner, Second Sight, as© MAGGIE KIMBERL | BOURBONCITYCRUISERS030-035-StateoftheUnion-WM161.indd 35 27/06/2019 16:59