5 Ways KENTUCKY BOURBON FESTIVAL Will enrich your fine tastes
This is for all the bourbon lovers out there. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is the riveting yearly event that takes place at the Bourbon Capital of the World, Bardstown. This location holds a special significance (but if you are a bourbon enthusiast, you probably know this already) as it has served as a site for bourbon distilleries since way back in 1776.
This year’s edition is not that far away, running from the 16th of September through the 22nd. Based on estimates, the number of expected visitors will be anywhere from 20.000 to 50.000, while the number of exhibitors varies between 100 and 500. For a complete schedule of the more than thirty events that are in the program, you can check out their official website.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival will not only indulge your expensive taste, but will help you to elevate it so that you can better appreciate this fine product. Here are 5 ways this can happen.
Bourbon tasting
Let’s start with the obvious. You will have the opportunity to attend tasting events, including the signature The Great Kentucky Bourbon Tasting & Cocktail Party. There is an art to tasting and savoring each blend, and this will be the perfect context in which to do so. You will have access to top shelf bourbon that you can enjoy a sip at a time, prolonging the pleasure.
At the event Sip & Savor in the Spirit of Old Kentucky you will have the delicious opportunity to sip your bourbon while pairing it with some high quality chocolate. Quite a decadent experience. Furthermore, the event will also enrich your knowledge. There will be experts to offer tantalizing insights into what makes certain flavors go together. So, you will gain a fresh information package to back up your intuition.
Behind the scene access
One of the best things about this festival is that it can take you behind the closed doors of distilleries to see where and how all the magic happens. An intimate tour will be organized for a select group of people who will embark on a delectable journey, which tops off the experience with a five course meal prepared by renowned chefs. The culinary experience of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is worthy of mention and praise in itself.
Information exchange
During the week of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival there will be plenty of opportunities to gather some expert knowledge on all things bourbon related. Participants will have the opportunity to gather data while on tour at a local distillery or at some leisurely seminars, which will include delicious bourbon sampling and food. So, don’t be frightened off by the title of seminar, these are fun and informative events, without being boring.
During the course of your attendance you can look into different facets of the bourbon making process. It is a complex procedure, with a lot of secrets still lurking in dark cellars. Among many other things you will receive valuable information and instructions on topics like:
- profiling the grains
- fermentation
- fermentation environment
- aging process inside the barrel
- the influence of external factors on the aging process
- analysis of barrel pulls
Bourbon Cocktail Mixology
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is quite an interactive experience. Among its numerous events it also hosts a series of seminars, where you can get your hands dirty, as it were. For example, you could try out the Bourbon Cocktail Mixology. In this class you will not only delight yourself by tasting the classic Kentucky Bourbon cocktail, but you will actually learn to make it like a pro. Experts will share the recipe with you, teach you the technique of making it and even offer some secret tips. What is more, you will also be able to play around with variations of this classical gem.
If you are really into cocktails, there are a couple more events that could also be worthy of your consideration. You could attend the USBG Bourbon Battle Cocktail Competition Finals to watch the seven competing bartenders face off in an epic battle behind the bar. All the while, you can enjoy some appetizers and drinks.
Some cigars and all that Jazz
Nothing goes together with bourbon, quite as well as cigars. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival takes you far beyond the drinks and will expand your taste into other areas as well, like fine cigars. One of the events that is dedicated to this is Bourbon, Cigars, & Jazz, which actually incorporates all the important elements to make the night a perfect blend and absolutely unforgettable. You can ravage your way through a select combo of the finest cigars and challenge yourself by finding the perfect taste combination for your bourbon.
All these delightfully indulgent vices will occur with the backdrop of some quality music, namely Jazz. So, this is another venue that you might expand your expertise in. It will be a great opportunity to show off what you already know about music, but also a chance to learn new things. You will be listening to select bands, who take art to the next level.
If you feel elevated by their music, feel free to chat to the artists after their show and gather some valuable insight. Of course, you can always just sit back, relax and let the jazz riffs carry you away on clouds of expensive cigar smoke to the magic land of bourbon.
As you can see, the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is a complex multi-dimensional event. Although centered around the star of the show, bourbon, the experience is made complete with other things that an iconic man loves: high end cigars and some great jazz.
This year’s edition is not that far away, running from the 16th of September through the 22nd. Based on estimates, the number of expected visitors will be anywhere from 20.000 to 50.000, while the number of exhibitors varies between 100 and 500. For a complete schedule of the more than thirty events that are in the program, you can check out their official website.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival will not only indulge your expensive taste, but will help you to elevate it so that you can better appreciate this fine product. Here are 5 ways this can happen.
Bourbon tasting
Let’s start with the obvious. You will have the opportunity to attend tasting events, including the signature The Great Kentucky Bourbon Tasting & Cocktail Party. There is an art to tasting and savoring each blend, and this will be the perfect context in which to do so. You will have access to top shelf bourbon that you can enjoy a sip at a time, prolonging the pleasure.
At the event Sip & Savor in the Spirit of Old Kentucky you will have the delicious opportunity to sip your bourbon while pairing it with some high quality chocolate. Quite a decadent experience. Furthermore, the event will also enrich your knowledge. There will be experts to offer tantalizing insights into what makes certain flavors go together. So, you will gain a fresh information package to back up your intuition.
Behind the scene access
One of the best things about this festival is that it can take you behind the closed doors of distilleries to see where and how all the magic happens. An intimate tour will be organized for a select group of people who will embark on a delectable journey, which tops off the experience with a five course meal prepared by renowned chefs. The culinary experience of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is worthy of mention and praise in itself.
Information exchange
During the week of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival there will be plenty of opportunities to gather some expert knowledge on all things bourbon related. Participants will have the opportunity to gather data while on tour at a local distillery or at some leisurely seminars, which will include delicious bourbon sampling and food. So, don’t be frightened off by the title of seminar, these are fun and informative events, without being boring.
During the course of your attendance you can look into different facets of the bourbon making process. It is a complex procedure, with a lot of secrets still lurking in dark cellars. Among many other things you will receive valuable information and instructions on topics like:
- profiling the grains
- fermentation
- fermentation environment
- aging process inside the barrel
- the influence of external factors on the aging process
- analysis of barrel pulls
Bourbon Cocktail Mixology
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is quite an interactive experience. Among its numerous events it also hosts a series of seminars, where you can get your hands dirty, as it were. For example, you could try out the Bourbon Cocktail Mixology. In this class you will not only delight yourself by tasting the classic Kentucky Bourbon cocktail, but you will actually learn to make it like a pro. Experts will share the recipe with you, teach you the technique of making it and even offer some secret tips. What is more, you will also be able to play around with variations of this classical gem.
If you are really into cocktails, there are a couple more events that could also be worthy of your consideration. You could attend the USBG Bourbon Battle Cocktail Competition Finals to watch the seven competing bartenders face off in an epic battle behind the bar. All the while, you can enjoy some appetizers and drinks.
Some cigars and all that Jazz
Nothing goes together with bourbon, quite as well as cigars. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival takes you far beyond the drinks and will expand your taste into other areas as well, like fine cigars. One of the events that is dedicated to this is Bourbon, Cigars, & Jazz, which actually incorporates all the important elements to make the night a perfect blend and absolutely unforgettable. You can ravage your way through a select combo of the finest cigars and challenge yourself by finding the perfect taste combination for your bourbon.
All these delightfully indulgent vices will occur with the backdrop of some quality music, namely Jazz. So, this is another venue that you might expand your expertise in. It will be a great opportunity to show off what you already know about music, but also a chance to learn new things. You will be listening to select bands, who take art to the next level.
If you feel elevated by their music, feel free to chat to the artists after their show and gather some valuable insight. Of course, you can always just sit back, relax and let the jazz riffs carry you away on clouds of expensive cigar smoke to the magic land of bourbon.
As you can see, the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is a complex multi-dimensional event. Although centered around the star of the show, bourbon, the experience is made complete with other things that an iconic man loves: high end cigars and some great jazz.
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