What Recovery Looks Like for Whiskey Events
Bourbon Classic photo credit Kriech-Higdon Photography
Throughout 2020, the pandemic claimed many businesses and jobs, and although the distilling industry has struggled, most distillers were able to maintain their businesses on a skeletal basis. Although a newly discovered $14,000 FDA fee being assessed on distilleries that pivoted to making much needed hand sanitizer adds insult to injury. Tourism has been down across the board, which has hurt many distilleries and whiskey festivals, which give enthusiasts an opportunity to learn more about their favorite spirits, took a major hit in 2020. Some festivals were cancelled within days of happening, while others switched to virtual or online offerings. Whiskey festivals are crucial for distilleries to get their products in front of consumers and for consumers to deepen their knowledge of their favorite brown water. So what will the recovery process look like for whiskey festivals?
The Bourbon Women were an early adopter of the virtual model. Their virtual festival featured pre-taped segments that were made in a studio, so the production quality was very high. “Doing and hosting virtual events at the start of the shutdown was daunting and awkward, but time (and equipment to help run technology) has now brought a better ease to doing tastings and social events,” says Founder Peggy Noe Stevens. “I believe that heading into 2021 you will continue to see virtual adaptations to conferences until well into Spring. My hope is that as businesses and travel open up along with consumer confidence that there will be a hybrid offering of in-person events with a virtual offering, as well. The events may appear smaller in-person but grow in reach with the virtual component. NOTHING in my mind will ever replace the energy of a live audience but being the social creatures we are, virtual sure fits the bill for now.”
Bourbon Classic photo credit Kriech-Higdon Photography
The Bourbon Classic was one of the last large-scale events that took place prior to emergency shutdown measures. It was a stroke of luck that may have saved this decade-old festival right in the heart of bourbon country. "We actually got very lucky,” says co-Founder Seth Thompson. “Bourbon Classic 2020 was hosted the last week of February, and the next week America began its shutdown. Since then, it's been a nightmare, the levels of uncertainty. We basically missed the Holiday marketing push. You're trying to pivot your best to plan but in the back of your head, while you know it's very possible you won't have an event at all in 2021, possibly ever. The vaccine has certainly restored optimism. But that good mojo is all hypothetical at this point. That being said, IF the vaccine saves us, 2021 could be a fantastic year for Bourbon Classic come November. Moving forward, it'll take two years for us to get back in our original window of Q1, that's with optimal conditions.
A few weeks after the Bourbon Classic took place, the New Orleans Bourbon Festival wasn’t as fortunate. Up until the day, presenters were set to board planes headed to New Orleans, all believing the festival would still be on — until suddenly it wasn’t. The call went out to presenters who frantically messaged each other not to travel.
Whiskey festivals have hundreds, if not thousands, of moving parts. They require a huge amount of coordination between distilleries, brands, presenters, organizers, local officials, and more. As soon as a large festival wraps, planning for the following year begins. Pulling the brakes on a festival is like trying to stop a runaway freight train, and the aftermath can be exceedingly difficult to sort out.
Randy Prasse photo courtesy Kentucky Bourbon Festival
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival (KBF) is one of the world’s longest-running whiskey festivals. Like other festivals, it was held remotely this year. “In 2020, the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, with full support and participation of our distillery partners, pivoted from a 'live festival' to an online 'virtual event,’” says Randy Prasse, President of the festival. “This was done out of an abundance of caution, to protect distillery resources, guests, and the Bardstown community from the spread of COVID-19. For 2021 — the 30th Anniversary KBF — we believe the return to our traditional festival dates of September 16-19 will allow us to produce the 'live festival' for all to safely enjoy on The Great Lawn at Spalding Hall and at the distilleries around Bardstown -- and throughout Kentucky.” With such a large, established festival that is attended by people from around the world, the recovery should look a lot more promising. “We are fortunate to have a loyal following of bourbon enthusiasts — locally and from around the world — and we are aware of the great deal of pent up demand for tourists to travel and enjoy the quaint and safe 'small-town America' experience that Bardstown, Kentucky offers,” Prasse says. “The KBF will provide a truly authentic venue and four days of bourbon-focused events and activities to celebrate the industry's heritage and showcase its contemporary innovators and entrepreneurs — and the unique opportunity for bourbon fans to sample and put 'sips to lips' in Bardstown — Bourbon Capital of the World.”
photo courtesy of Kentucky Bourbon Festival
There were a number of other festivals that just didn’t happen this year, and it remains to be seen whether they will get to stage a comeback in 2021. Bourbon & Beyond was slated to partner with The Kentucky Bourbon Affair this year to have a mega-scale whiskey festival throughout Kentucky, but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to make it happen. Still, adaptations of different whiskey festivals have taken different forms. Whiskey Live! pivoted to a virtual offering, called Whisky Live! At Home, complete with whiskey samples shipped right to your door - where available.
Bourbon expert Fred Minnick hosted what was probably the most advanced virtual whiskey festival of all this year with his Repeal Day Expo. It took place in the virtual Degy World, which can best be described as The Sims meet festivals and conferences. Instead of live video feeds of hundreds of squares of faces with headsets, lagging video, and seance-like questions like, “Are you there? Make a noise if you can hear me!” there were avatars, pre-recorded videos, and audio-only interactions, which made the whole virtual experience less frustrating and actually really cool. “I think the biggest difference between virtual and in-person is accessibility,” says Michael Palidini, Founder of Penelope Bourbon and participant in the Repeal Day Expo. “The Repeal Day Expo is a perfect example of how valuable virtual events can be to smaller brands such as ourselves. We signed up for a booth a few weeks before the event and it was fantastic. If it was an in-person event that we had to travel in for, we wouldn't have been able to attend. Travel expenses add up quickly and it's a busy time of the year to get away.” In fact, the virtual event was extremely laid-back and fun, leading many to question whether virtual events in some form might continue to be around after the recovery. “The biggest surprise for me was just how personal virtual events can be,” Palidini says. “You go to events to network, build relationships, and promote your brand - we were able to do all of that and more at Repeal Day. You can never replace the value of being in-person, but I do think there's a lot of value in virtual.” When asked whether he would do a virtual event again, Palidini says, “Absolutely. I'm all in on the avatar :)”
If whiskey festivals are to survive, they will require support. If you love whiskey and haven’t yet checked out a virtual whiskey festival, I highly recommend it. And once it’s safe again, I hope to see you at in-person festivals, too.