Stevie Nicks to headline Minnick Bourbon fest

Music industry veteran Danny Wimmer has teamed up with noted whiskey author Fred Minnick to launch Bourbon & Beyond, a new festival featuring artists such as Stevie Nicks and Eddie Vedder.

Stevie Nicks is to headline the inaugural Bourbon & Beyond festival. Image: Matt Becker

Set to take place on 23 and 24 September 2017, the new event from organisers Danny Wimmer Presents is billed as a “Bourbon-inspired festival” developed “in honour of the soul and spirit of Kentucky”.

Two years in the planning, Bourbon & Beyond will showcase more than 50 Kentucky Bourbons, selected by Minnick, along with distillers, local and national chefs, bartenders, musicians and other artists.

Key features of the festival include The Big Bourbon Bar, a 20,000sqft space serving cocktails; The Hunter’s Club, which highlights rare and hard-to-find Bourbons; The Bourbon Barrel Cooperage, which will give festival-goers an insight into cask creation; The Distillery, an interactive experience demonstrating the life of master blenders, tasters and distillers; and Bourbon Workshops, a series of free distilling, bartending, pairing and cooking seminars.

Chefs Edward Lee and Chris Cosentino have partnered with Wimmer and Minnick to develop the food offering, which features more than 20 local restaurants.

Two music stages will feature international acts including Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Steve Miller Band, Band of Horses, Joe Bonamassa and Swan James & The Shapeshifters.

More Bourbons, chefs, restaurants and acts are set to be announced in due course.

Still planning your spirits events for the year? Don’t miss our round-up of unmissable spirited occasions in 2017.