The 2025 Kentucky Bourbon Fest, held earlier this September in Bardstown, painted a picture of an industry humming with consumer energy, despite numerous reports of slowdown.
Perhaps most noticeable was the scope of the event. Since I last attended several years ago, the festival has nearly doubled in size. An event that previously capped out at 4,000 attendees saw its 7,000 tickets sell out quickly in 2025. All 50 states were represented, with 85% of ticket sales coming from outside of Kentucky.
The festival grounds have expanded. Now they sprawl across the massive parking lot of the church next door. Consequently, the number of distilleries pouring was enormous, requiring several days to taste them all. In total, 65 distilleries participated, sampling newer products, industry staples and unicorn bottles.
My colleague and I cruised through the booths. Listing all the brands we tried would require too much space. Rather, I’ll mention two standouts from the Craft Distillers section.
Old Louisville Whiskey Company poured two of my favorite whiskeys in the entire show. A 10-year MGP and an 8-year Bardstown both stood out, perfectly balanced and easy drinking. Keep an eye on this brand as they expand into additional markets.
Perhaps the most hype at the 2025 KBF was for Dark Arts. Another sourced brand, this reminded me of Rare Character, with ornate branding and bold whiskeys that match the marketing. Everything I tried from Dark Arts was enjoyably big in flavor, a lineup of heavy hitters. Hard to go wrong here. And yes, this is one of those brands that boasts BuffTurkey bottles, for anyone chasing that trend.
Distilleries could sell products directly from their festival booths. Lines of folks waiting to buy rare products stretched long across the fields. When the festival gates opened each morning, VIP ticketholders flooded the grounds, racing for front spots in line. Whiskey social media was abuzz with people showing off the unicorns they had rounded up. Again, Dark Arts and BuffTurkey were among the trendiest terms.
We interviewed numerous attendees. Folks enjoyed the size of the fest and the sheer number of booths and activities to explore. Some people were disappointed with the long, chaotic lines to buy bottles, but appreciated that the lines to sample whiskeys were relatively short. Complaints about flippers were common, as the industry’s bogeymen prowled the parking lots. Due to a spike in riders, Ubers became erratic and expensive. Leaving the premises to visit nearby distilleries was a risky idea. My writer friend and I got marooned at Bardstown Bourbon Co. ourselves, and eventually bummed a ride back to the fest from two friendly retirees.
Praise for the fest outweighed the criticism. The industry may not sell as many bottles now as during the Covid craze, when folks stuck at home filled up their basement bunkers, but the energy for American whiskey remains the same among its biggest fans.
Whiskey House of Kentucky
The U.S. distilling industry has shifted, and at the forefront is the Whiskey House of Kentucky. Founded in 2022 by ex-Bardstown Bourbon executives, this 178-acre contract whiskey distillery in Elizabethtown, KY, (50 minutes south of Louisville, 30 minutes west of Bardstown) opened last year. Already, its presence in the market is noticeable.
In the past decade, “sourced” went from a four-letter word to an everyday term for good juice. Consumers now know which distilleries produce the best liquids for sourced brands, and specifically hunt down those bottles. For bourbon veterans, it’s interesting witnessing this 180-degree turn in consumer sentiment.
For businessmen, it’s opportunity. Particularly after MGP’s questionable (and perhaps recently reversed) decision to scale back its contract distilling program a few years ago. Competitors gobbled up the available contracts. Bardstown Bourbon, designed and run as well as any distillery in history, emerged as a big winner. Expansion there continues, especially after Pritzker Private Capital acquired the thriving company in 2022.
Looking to expand on what worked at Bardstown Bourbon — and possessing capital thanks to the Pritzker buyout — several executives left to create Whiskey House. The result is likely the most efficient, streamlined distillery ever constructed.
Whiskey House welcomed media for a tour during the festival.
“In this environment, major contract producers are focused on their own brands,” said David Mandell, co-founder, during the introductory presentation. “Bardstown Bourbon has Green River. MGP has Luxco. Campari has Wilderness Trail. But we are nothing but custom distillation. We do not own our own brands and never will. We focus all our energy on our customers.”
“We are the first distillery custom-built for custom whiskey production,” he added. “We have the most flexible facility.”
This includes many possible mash bills that can run through the system without losing efficiency, Mandell explained. Such as vintage mash bills, if desired. Since opening last year, Whiskey House has produced 58 mash bills for 35 contract distillers across 100,000 barrels.
Contract distillers receive QR codes that let them track all the data about their barrels as they’re filled and stored. Customers can make decisions offsite throughout the production process and visit their barrels via a virtual rickhouse. This is part of an initial, $10-million investment in the facility’s state-of-the-art digital infrastructure.
An onsite bottling center is scheduled for 2027. Three rickhouses are already up, with plans for 18 total onsite. Currently the facility can fill 112,000 barrels annually, with plans in place to double, if necessary.
But what about the industry downturn?
“We all know Covid caused disruptions in the market, with an artificial 40% growth,” Mandell said. “We all put too much product into the market, into retail and distro.”
“Now the market is resetting to the growth period pre-Covid,” he added. “It’s a challenging time. The economy now is tricky. Gen Z is not drinking as much but they’re drinking better. What is the impact of that? What is the impact of cannabis? What is the impact of GLP-1 drugs? We don’t know yet. But what we do know is that 100 years of drinking culture in this country is not going away in two years.”
“We’re building for the future,” he continued. “We’ve just got to get through this period.”•