Kentucky Bourbon Festival Inc — Local services in Bardstown

This was just a flat-out EXCELLENT event, all the way around. Super well-organized, and thought-through. The weather didn't hurt either - it was GORGEOUS throughout the weekend. The opportunity to sample SO many independent craft whiskies was unparalleled. Standouts for the weekend on the "craft" side of the fest included LAWRENCEBURG BOURBON COMPANY (Katie and Greg are just FANTASTIC, as are their products!) and HARTFIELD. And across the festival, even when the crowds were thick, you really never had to wait more than a few minutes to sample any of the whiskies (longest wait for me was 10-15 mins, for RABBIT HOLE - which was worth the wait). And my BIGGEST concern - that people would be drunken, unruly, and discourteous - was COMPLETELY off, as everyone seemed to be in GREAT spirits (no pun intended), and politeness was the norm. VIP Pass was TOTALLY worth it, as the "small bites" in the VIP area were DELICIOUS (THANK YOU to whoever did the catering!!!!), and the private restrooms great. But the absolute peak experience was sharing an hour with Pat and Shane from WILDERNESS TRAIL - their Saturday evening special event "Vertical Sip." They were simultaneously folksy, funny, self-effacing, down-to-earth, and INCREDIBLY brilliant in their scientific analyses of all aspects of the production process. No surprise that they're now one of "the big boys" - their product is truly second-to-none. THANK YOU, organizers of the KBC - it was an incredible experience, all the way...

KY Bourbon Festival 2021 has forgot the locals that put it on the map, who invited all their friends & families from surrounding counties to attend. If you do not have tickets, you’re out of luck. They sold out. Wait, you didn’t know you had to have a ticket??? Yeah, neither did most of the community. Since when have we done that!?!?! Also, If you have kids and loved to take them to the food trucks, booths and jumpy-houses, sorry about your luck. No one under 21 is permitted. No family time, no jumpies, no funnel cakes, no buying of caramel popcorn and bourbon flavored everything from soaps to sauces. Nope, nothing for families to do together.… NADA! If you were one of the lucky 7,000 to get these “golden tickets”, your ticket bought you exclusive rights to vendors, food trucks, and booths etc, that was once enjoyed by all. I am truly sorry to all of those vendors who will be loosing money due to KBF’s new ticket system. Thousands of us would have loved to have had the chance to support your small businesses. Traditions have been broken, as well as hearts. But KBF has forgotten just WHO put bourbon on the map. It was the distillery workers, their families and the LOCALS. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival has robbed our kiddos and their families of a wholesome tradition. If you agree at all, please...

Had a great time at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. We went on Friday night. We stopped at the car show before entering. We got tickets to the Bourbontowne tent. It was nice to sip on some drinks on some comfortable chairs. The merchandise shops from the distilleries were all pretty unique. The local crafts vendors had some neat items and snacks.

The food section was a little disappointing. Just felt like anything you could get at a fair. It would’ve been nice to have more local Kentucky foods available and/or some higher quality food trucks or booths.

• If we hadn’t done the Bourbontowne tent, I would’ve only given this event 4 stars. The bourbon list outside the tent was a little plain. It’s probably worth adding this. For us it was $20 and you got back $10 worth of drink tokens. $10 got you a drink or two, or a flight, depending on...