The Kentucky Bourbon Festival (KYBF), Bardstown’s annual celebration of all things bourbon, just keeps getting bigger and better.
This year’s 33rd iteration welcomed more than 6,200 visitors from all 50 states and other countries. The three-day event let visitors walk the grounds, taste samples from the 62 participating distilleries, talk to brand ambassadors and distillers, shop at a growing number of whiskey-related artisans and vendors, listen to bourbon experts talk and local musicians play, and partake of a variety of tasty local food trucks.
45 Single Barrel Picks
The latest trend is single barrel picks especially chosen for sale at the KYBF. This year there were 45 different choices on sale.
“The Kentucky Bourbon Festival has become the best place in the world for bourbon enthusiasts to not only enjoy incredible whiskeys, but to also meet the people who make them,” said Cordell Lawrence, KYBF Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Light Distilling.
This year’s event sold out for the third straight year. The festival got a glow up a few years ago when the local distilleries became more involved and transformed it from the small community-based event it had been for three decades.
The daily schedule now wraps up at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The evenings offer a chance to explore the beautiful main street in Bardstown, which is filled with stores, bars, and restaurants. There are also after-hours tastings, parties, master distiller dinners, and other activities at the local distilleries that are in and around the Bardstown area.
A Joyous Celebration of Bourbon
My visit to the KYBF this year was another immersion into a joyous celebration of Kentucky bourbon. It’s great to see and talk to visitors who have come from around the country to feel the “Kentucky hug.” Most of the folks I spoke with said it was their first time at the festival, and they would definitely be back. Organizers said that 85% of the tickets this year were sold to people coming from outside Kentucky.
September is National Bourbon Heritage Month. The KYBF is just one of many events taking place around the Bluegrass to celebrate America’s National Spirit. The month kicked off with the induction of five new members into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.
Next year’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival will take place in Bardstown, September 5-7, 2025. A date has not been set for the start of ticket sales. For more information, visit www.kybourbonfestival.com.
Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2024 Facts & Stats
- 6,200 ticketed guests
- All 50 states represented and international attendees
- Kentucky Bourbon Festival’s 33rd year
- Third consecutive sell out
- 62 distilleries participating
- 45 exclusive single barrel picks
- 85% of ticket sales outside of Kentucky
“The Kentucky Bourbon Festival has sold out every year since we launched a re-imagined and re-invigorated format in 2021 and we could not be more excited for guests to see what we have planned for 2025.”
