Kentucky Bourbon Trail Cup Runneth Over Exceeding 1 Million Visits in 2016

Kentucky Bourbon Trail & Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour Map

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association has announced that the world-famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail® hosted more than 1 million visits last year, breaking the milestone mark for the first time since the tour was founded in 1999.

The booming tourist attraction has grown 300 percent in the last 10 years and spawned the companion Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® in 2012, the first of its kind in the country that features the state’s thriving micro distilleries.

“This is a tremendous cause for celebration for the entire Commonwealth,” Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory said. “Think of what 1 million tours means to Kentucky in jobs, tax revenue and positive publicity. The success is staggering.”

A Record 1,065,961 Visits

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Kentucky Bourbon Trail – Established 1999

The historic Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour, which showcases nine of Kentucky’s heritage distilleries, set a new record with 888,733 visits in 2016, breaking the previous year’s record by 17 percent.

Participating distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail include,

Bulleit’s Stitzel-Weller Distillery, Louisville
Four Roses Distillery, Lawrenceburg and Cox’s Creek
Heaven Hill Distillery, Bardstown
Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Louisville
Jim Beam Distillery, Clermont
Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, Louisville
Maker’s Mark Distillery, Loretto
Town Branch Distillery, Lexington
Wild Turkey Distillery, Lawrenceburg
Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour – Established 2013

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour saw 177,228 visits among its 11 participating distilleries, a 32 percent increase over the previous year and a whopping 187 percent increase over 2013, its first full year in existence.

The Craft Tour last year include,

Barrel House Distillery, Lexington
Corsair Distillery, Bowling Green
Hartfield & Co. Distillery, Paris
Kentucky Artisan Distillery, Crestwood
Kentucky Peerless Distillery, Louisville
Limestone Branch Distillery, Lebanon
MB Roland Distillery, Pembroke
New Riff Distillery, Newport
Old Pogue Distillery, Maysville
Wilderness Trail Distillery, Danville
Willett Distillery, Bardstown

The total for all 20 participating distilleries was a record 1,065,961. There are now 35 members in the association.

Adam Johnson, who directs both tours for the KDA, said several additional distilleries will be joining in the coming weeks and months. “Experiences in Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky will be coming online soon, and we’re expecting a few more by the end of the year.”

Johnson said the KDA’s tourism committee is working to enhance the Passport program that rewards visitors once they complete tours of all participating distilleries

It Takes More Than One Trip

“With so many distilleries, it’s increasingly harder to visit every one in a single trip,” he said. “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.”

Bourbon is one of the Kentucky’s most iconic and treasured industries, a booming $3 billion economic engine that generates more than 15,000 jobs with an annual payroll topping $700 million and pours $166 million of tax revenue into state and local coffers each year.

In addition, KDA member distilleries are in the middle of a $1.3 billion building boom, Gregory said, from innovative new tourism centers to expanded production facilities, all to meet the growing global demand for Kentucky’s signature spirit.

A Thirst for the Bourbon Culture

“People don’t just want what’s in the bottle,” Gregory said. “They have a thirst for Kentucky’s Bourbon culture, our legendary Southern hospitality and our unique, authentic and engaging distillery experiences.

“Our distillers are investing more to honor that demand and to strengthen Kentucky’s rightful place as the one, true home for Bourbon. With a million visits and counting, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail adventures are clearly the gold standard for Bourbon tourism.”