Your 2020 Bourbon Bucket List
Lux Row Distillery
Plan a year’s worth of American whiskey distillery tours, tastings, festivals and more!
All photos by Maggie Kimberl.
It’s time to start planning your year in bourbon. Whether you are new to American whiskey or have loved it your entire adult life, there’s always something new to check out or a new event to attend. If you haven’t joined a local bourbon club, that’s always a great place to start. It can help inform of events and distilleries nearby, and you might even find yourself on a bus headed to a big event with your clubmates just like the Bourbon Women bus that takes people to the New Orleans Bourbon Festival (more on that below) every year.
My own adventures over the last year have taken me to places such as the new Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery, The Sazerac House in New Orleans while it was still under construction, The Traverse City Whiskey Co., Seven Grand in Denver, The Breckenridge Distillery in Breckenridge, Colorado (Colorado Whiskey Distillery of the year in the 2019 NY International Spirits Competition), The Imperial in Washington, D.C., FEW Distillery in Evanston, Illinois, Koval Distillery in Chicago, and many other whiskey places that were brand new to me.
Please use the lists that follow as inspiration to go on your own whiskey adventure. And if we happen to cross paths on the road, be sure to say hi! Cheers!
Kentucky Bourbon Festival
Events
No matter where you live, there’s a whiskey festival near you. Check around to find them because they can be a great place to try new whiskeys before you commit to buying a bottle.
Last year, the Bourbon Classic was held in a new location, The Henry Clay Estate, because of a fire in the original location, The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, but there was also another new surprise: four Top Chefs were there creating culinary masterpieces for all those in attendance. It’s going to be hard to top that, but somehow they always manage. (See my review from last year here)
The New Orleans Bourbon Festival grows every year. This will be year four, and I will be there with my whiskey and cigar pairing seminar for the fourth year in a row. It’s kind of like summer camp for grown-ups in the spring. (See my review of last year here)
This year, Bourbon and Beyond, The Kentucky Bourbon Affair, and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival will overlap, with the KBF from September 18-22, the KBA starting on September 21, and Bourbon & Beyond being held September 25-27. Needless to say, if you’re anywhere near Kentucky during that time, you’re going to be able to see Metallica, attend Bourbon fantasy camp, and watch the Bourbon Barrel relay—all within a few days of each other! (Check out my review of Bourbon & Beyond here, my review of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival here, and my review of the Kentucky Bourbon Affair here)
Whisky Live! has festivals all over the world, so no matter where you are reading this, there’s probably one somewhere within at least a couple of time zones. In the United States the options are New York and Chicago. It’s a great place to meet new friends and get acquainted with new brands.
Whiskyfest takes place in New York, San Francisco, Hollywood (FL) and Chicago each year. It’s a grand event featuring whiskies from all over the world, with many satellite events and seminars taking place in the dates surrounding the main tasting. (Read Adam Levy’s lookback article on it here)
Distilleries
If making the pilgrimage to Louisville or other parts of Kentucky this year, there is plenty to do for any whiskey lover. In Louisville, you can spend a long weekend hitting distilleries and world-famous whiskey bars and still never run out of things to do (here’s a recent story about Louisville bourbon tourism). Distilleries constantly undergo remodeling and updates, so even if one isn’t “new” per se, it’s always worth your time to see what’s going on there. Here are a few I’m excited to check out soon! (For more information about planning your trip, lodging, etc., it helps to check out the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center. For lodging in Louisville, Go To Louisville is an excellent resource, and Share The Lex for distilleries, restaurants, and accommodations in Lexington.)
Please be advised that most distilleries are a bit off the beaten path. To avoid ANY instance of drinking and driving, it is strongly encouraged to hire car services while planning your visit (most services such as Lyft or Uber are not available from out in the sticks) if not already part of a bus tour.
The Sazerac House Distillery in New Orleans opened earlier this year. I haven’t seen it since construction was finished, so it’s first on my list for my next trip to New Orleans! This self-guided tour is free, which is always nice when you’re on a budget.
The Uncle Nearest Distillery is being built in phases, but you can take a hard hat or a founders tour to see Fawn Weaver’s vision of honoring the legacy of Nearest Green coming to life in Shelbyville, Tennessee. (See my interview with Fawn Weaver about the origins of the Uncle Nearest distillery here. It’s about an hour outside of Nashville so if you have a car or use a tour company you could also stay in Nashville.)
Dampfwerk Distillery in Minneapolis has a new bar! The first time I visited this place back in 2018 it was hard to find in the industrial park where it’s situated. While it’s still located there (so make sure your navigational devices are working!), the inside has expanded and had a serious tourist-friendly makeover. The family that founded it is making some really great whiskey liqueurs and cordials as well as fruit brandies, and now they have completed construction on a brand new gorgeous bar and tasting room! I love to watch the craft distilleries grow toward their potential. (See my original story here - you can stay in Minneapolis and check out a few other distilleries as well as the Whiskey on Ice MN festival!)
Woodford Reserve has a new visitor center to accommodate the influx of visitors to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Now instead of starting and ending in the same place, your tour will start in the new building across the street and end at the old visitor center, restaurant, and gift shop. (If you’re in Louisville, book a tour through Mint Julep Experiences to go to the Cooper’s Craft experience and see barrels being raised! Review here)
Seven Grand Denver
Whiskey Bars
If you have a great whiskey bar in your neck of the woods, cherish it. Bar programs that do whiskey cocktails well are a treasure, and bartenders and bar owners who understand and know about whiskey always make the experience a great one, and might even poor out some special flights. (Check out my review of Manhattan’s Brandy Library here and my review of ALEX&NDER in Louisville here)
Jack Rose in Washington, DC is an institution. Have you ever wondered what a mid century bourbon tasted like? They’ve got it. What about a super rare Japanese whisky or Scotch? They’ve got that, too.
Seven Grand now has locations in Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, and San Diego. I finally made it to the outpost in Denver and I’m happy to report that it was worth the wait! I can’t wait to see the others.
The Flatiron Room in New York is a place I wish I had spent more time during my short trip in 2018. The whiskey selection is fantastic and the cocktail program is out of this world. Everyone behind the bar really knows what they are talking about. (Other terrific whiskey bars in New York City include the Flatiron Room’s sister bar—Fine & Rare, as well as Brandy Library mentioned above, and if you venture to Brooklyn, Travel Bar and Noorman’s Kil.)
Justins’ House of Bourbon has locations in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, and both locations now have bars and cocktail programs. You can try a sip of a collectible bottle before you buy it, or stop in for a cocktail before a night out on the town while enjoying the whiskey museum atmosphere.
Justin’s House of Bourbon
Prohibition (in Hindsight)
Yes, Prohibition ended over 86 years ago. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still feeling its effects. “The Noble Experiment” decimated entire sectors of the economy, and many believe it was at least partly responsible for The Great Depression. Crime was rampant and people were needlessly murdered. Now we have a chance to learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure it never happens again. (See my article about Prohibition’s lasting effects on Louisville here)
The Seelbach Hotel in Louisville was the backdrop and inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, and guests can learn about much of that history from the onsite historian, Larry Johnson, by appointment.
The Prohibition Museum in Savannah, Georgia is the only museum in the United States solely devoted to the preservation of Prohibition history.
The Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada is an important reminder that Prohibition gave us organized crime and violent massacres, with many innocent lives lost.
The Frazier History Museum has displays periodically about the Prohibition era, as well as bottles of whiskey from before and during (medicinal, right?) the period.
The Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History focuses on the period just before Prohibition to the period just after, and there is a large collection of so-called “medicinal” bottles, liquor prescriptions, and more.