Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2023 – Day 4: 09/17/23, Sunday

09/20/23
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer

We had planned this trip for a year and now it was the final day. It was time to pack up the car and check out of the Old Bardstown Inn so we could head to Mammy’s for breakfast. No Bloody Mary for Wayne because they don’t serve alcohol until 10 AM on Sunday. He got the Big Bird once again and I tried a rather tasty stuffed French toast. It was stuffed with a cream cheese filling that was divine.

We saw Chris Thompson, one of the Scotchy Bourbon Boys, and chatted with him a bit – great guy.

Since the shops weren’t open, we relaxed in our car a bit before heading to the line. Even getting there a tad before 10 AM, we were still about 50th in line.

Once the gates opened, we again stopped by Jim Beam – No Booker’s. Headed to the Heaven Hill line, long as usual, but we were able to chat with fellow Evansville Bourbon Society members Justin and John. As we waited, we heard reports of allocations being marked off of the board. In other words, selling out. But there was still Select Stock 17 year old so we waited it out. We knew we would be close and weren’t giving up our spot. We were to the door and there were six bottles left. It would come down to whether or not the couples in front of us would get 1 or 2. Amazingly, Justin, John, and I got the last 3 bottles of that offering!

While I was waiting in line, Wayne saw Steve Nally, Master Distiller for Bardstown Bourbon Company, and he walked over to chat with him. We also grabbed a photo with him. Steve is always ready to talk about bourbon, the festival, Bardstown, etc. He wanted to know if I had tried all of their samples yet. I said, not yet today but I had throughout the weekend. He encouraged us to go and get some – they are free! Haha.

We headed to the craft area as we wanted a moment to catch up with Rebekah Neeley before the crowds entered. She noted how incredibly busy they had been and we all concurred that it was nice that there had been a bit of rain the night before to cool it off a bit and reduce the dust.

We ventured about for a few samples here and there and then headed to the VIP tent to rest a bit and see who was there. We didn’t have long in there as our final add-on event was at 12:30 PM.

To the Great Tent we went for Bourbon, Bacon and Biscuits, Featuring Michter’s. This is an event we tried to get tickets to in 2022 but were unsuccessful. We were greeted with instructions to visit the various stations: Bacon and Biscuits Buffet, Cocktails, Pours of their US1 Straight Bourbon, Pours of their 10 year old bourbon and single barrel bourbon. The buffet was excellent. Bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage meatballs with spicy bourbon jelly, biscuits and your choice of 3 types of gravy or bourbon apple butter, fruit, salad, and bundt cake.

Once everyone was seated, the presentation began. The speakers were Andrea Wilson and Dan McKee. Andrea is the Executive Vice President and General Manager at Michter’s as well as the Master of Maturation at Michter’s Distillery in Louisville. In 2022, Andrea was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. Dan is Executive Vice President and the Master Distiller at Michter’s Distillery in Louisville. They has a wonderful banter, much like siblings. We learned that she was employee #7 and he was #8.

They spoke quite a bit about their process. They prefer a low barrel entry proof of 103 proof. After aging, the spirit typically exists the barrel at 110-112 proof. It then requires less water to reach the desired bottling proof and their philosophy is it keeps the product more flavorful. One thing they do differently than many/most Kentucky distillers is that they heat cycle their warehouses in the winter. They believe this keeps more barrels consistent in the aging process.

Throughout the talk, we paused to sample the 3 offerings: US*1 American Whiskey 83.4 pf, US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Small Batch 10 Year Old 94.4 pf, and Bourbon Single Barrel 110.2 pf.

Following the event, we stayed after for an opportunity to chat with Andrea and Dan and get a picture with each of them. Once again, people who work in the bourbon industry seem to be a very special breed … they are kind, caring, knowledgeable and treat one another like family.

As an aside, throughout our time in the Great Tent there was a very heavy downpour of previously unpredicted rain. We were very grateful to be sheltered. Just as the event concluded, the rain stopped and the sun returned!

We decided to make a trip to the VIP tent to see what might be happening there. We were not hungry after the Bacon, Biscuits, and Bourbon event, but knew there might we something of interest. We walked in just in time for the last bit of sampling of Filmland Spirits “Town at the End of Tomorrow – The Future Wants Its Bourbon.” It was fantastic and it gave us another chance to chat with Troy, the CEO.

We were about to sit down when we learned the next VIP Rare sampling was about to take place and Dan McKee was there to unveil and introduce it. To be very honest, I had not heard of these before – Bomberger’s & Shenk’s. They are Legacy Spirits. Bomberger’s Declaration honors the legacy of the former distillery known as Bomberger’s in the 1800s, and later as Michter’s in the 20th century. Similarly, Shenk’s Homestead Distillery Sour Mash Whiskey honors the legacy of historic American whiskey future, John Shank, who founded a distillery later known as Michter’s.

***Dan McKee introducing Bomberger’s & Shenk’s***

It was time to make the rounds for some final goodbyes. We finally had a chance to chat with Royce Neeley and got a photo with him and Rebekah. Plus, we needed a bottle of their juice!

***Neeley Family Distillery at KBF2023***

As we walked through the festival a last time, I remembered that we hadn’t visited Barrel Craft, so we made a stop – and a purchase there!

Shortly after hitting the road home, there was the James B Beam campus. I said – we have to stop there! I had heard from other festival goers that they had Booker’s in the gift shop. Yes they did. 2023-02 Apprentice Batch plus 2023-03 Mighty Fine Batch. In addition, there was a special release of Legend – Yamasaki Cask Finish Blend. Those three would conclude our bottle acquisitions for this trip!