Kentucky Bourbon Festival
Bardstown, KY · John & Shauna onsite
Where we are.
John and Shauna are onsite for the full Kentucky Bourbon Festival weekend in Bardstown — the thirty-fifth anniversary edition. Distillery sessions across the town’s working houses, signature events on the Spalding Hall Lawn, and the kind of weekend that anchors what a serious bourbon trip looks like. KBF is the spiritual home for everyone who takes American whiskey seriously.
Expect coverage on The Cut Daily through the week of the festival, plus a Beyond the Pour episode unpacking the conversations that matter most.
The detail.
What is the Kentucky Bourbon Festival?
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is the annual industry-and-enthusiast gathering held every September in Bardstown — the Bourbon Capital of the World. Founded in 1992, KBF runs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered at 114 N. 5th Street, Bardstown. The 2026 edition celebrates the festival’s thirty-fifth anniversary, September 10–13.
Most ticketed programming runs on the Spalding Hall Lawn in downtown Bardstown, with curated experiences, master tastings, and distillery dinners across the town’s working houses — Heaven Hill, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Lux Row, Barton 1792, Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, Jim Beam, Willett, Log Still, Preservation.
Catch us there.
We love meeting folks who follow the road with us. We won’t always be able to connect — events get busy. But drop a note, and if we can make it work, we’ll send one back.
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