Bourbon Trail celebrates one million visitors

Kentucky Bourbon Trail experiences attracted a record number of visitors in 2016, surpassing the one million mark for the first time since the tour was founded in 1999.

A barrel demonstration at Woodford Reserve, part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

According to figures released by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, the tourist attraction has grown 300% over the past decade.

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which encompasses nine distilleries, saw visitor numbers reach 888,733 in 2016, a 17% year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, which has 11 participating distilleries, attracted 177,228 visitors, up 32% on 2015 and a 187% increase on 2013 numbers, its first full year in operation.

Distilleries in the Bourbon trail are Bulleit’s Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville; Four Roses in Lawrenceburg and Cox’s Creek; Heaven Hill in Bardstown and its Evan Williams Bourbon Experience in Louisville; Jim Beam in Clermont and Louisville; Maker’s Mark, Loretto; Town Branch, Lexington; Wild Turkey, Lawrenceburg; and Woodford Reserve, Versailles.

Those signed up to the Craft Tour include the Kentucky Artisan Distillery in Crestwood; Barrel House in Lexington; Corsair, Bowling Green; Hartfield & Co., Paris; Kentucky Peerless, Louisville; Limestone Branch, Lebanon; MB Roland, Pembroke; New Riff, Newport; Old Pogue, Maysville; Wilderness Trail, Danville; and Willett, Bardstown.

In total, 1,065,961 visitors visited the 20 distilleries across the tours.

“This is a tremendous cause for celebration for the entire Commonwealth,” KDA President Eric Gregory said. “Think of what one million tours means to Kentucky in jobs, tax revenue and positive publicity. The success is staggering.”

Adam Johnson, KDA tour director over both routes, said “several distilleries” are due to join the programmes in Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky in “the coming weeks and months”. “We’re expecting a few more by the end of the year,” he added.

“With so many distilleries, it’s increasingly harder to visit every one in a single trip,” he continued. “But it’s a quest – a bucket list item for Bourbon lovers around the world. We want to make sure the journey is adequately rewarded and cherished.”

According to Johnson, the KDA’s tourism committee is in the process of enhancing the existing Passport programme which rewards visitors once they’ve visited all participating distilleries. A new souvenir gift is to be unveiled in 2017, with “bigger opportunities” in the pipeline.

Bourbon is currently a US$3 billion dollar a year industry, supporting 15,000 jobs with an annual payroll of US$700m.

The KDA calculates the category generates US$166m in tax revenue for state and local government each year.

Last year the KDA welcomed five Bourbon luminaries into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.