Good things come in twos. The Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky is celebrating its two decade anniversary of partnering with the Kentucky Derby, home to “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” with the release of its 2019 commemorative bourbon bottle with artwork from Keith Anderson for the 2nd year in a row.
For Anderson’s day job he works at the Bourbon Street Café inside the Brown-Forman headquarters. In the evening, he’s a budding artist. This is the second year in a row that Anderson has the honor of having his artwork featured on this highly sought after Limited Edition Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Kentucky Derbybottle.
“My vision for this year’s Derby bottle came to me on Derby Day in 2018, when I was at Churchill Downs watching the horses race past me,” Anderson said. “Their sheer power, their colors and the jockeys are seared into my mind – and now featured on the bottle.”
Watch the video below as he officially unveils his latest creation. You’ll also hear about some of Woodford’s Bourbon history from Master Distiller Chris Morris.
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The Derby bottle has been an annual collector’s item anticipated by bourbon and racing fans since 1999. The first four years of the Derby bottle featured simple graphics that celebrated Derby. Beginning in 2003, Woodford Reserve started featuring the work of artists on the bottle.
Woodford Reserve Master Distiller and Brand Historian Chris Morris added, “It’s all about history. Why horse racing? Why bourbon? Why Kentucky? We know when our ancestors first settled Kentucky they brought two things into the state – horses and stills. The early horse farms were self-sufficient. Many of them had their own stills and their own distilleries. Our great ancestors in central Kentucky were breeding horses and making whiskey. They would bring them together at the county fairs where racing began. And what was one of the early trophies, as early as 1816 for horse races in Kentucky? Mint julep cups. Our two industries grew up together…the epicenter of horse breeding, thoroughbred horse breeding in American, in the world. And of course where the best bourbon comes from is Woodford County. So this was all meant to be, history continues.”
Frazier History Museum to Feature 20 Years of Original Derby Artwork, Bourbon and Horse Racing
In August 2018, the Frazier History Museum on Whiskey Row in Louisville became the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The museums first floor is the springboard to send visitors throughout the city and the state to visit the makers of 95% of the world’s bourbon. A stop on the third floor takes visitors to The Spirit of Kentucky® a beautiful interactive journey highlighting Kentucky’s colorful bourbon history including the industry, its people and its culture.
Q: Where does the Kentucky Bourbon Trail start?
A: It starts at the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center at the Frazier History Museum on Whiskey Row in Louisville, Kentucky.
Staring March 20, 2019 the museum will be home for an entire year to the complete 20 year collection of Woodford Reserve Derby bottles, all the original artworks used to design the labels, and other artifacts — including specialty glasses and Woodford Reserve’s $1,000 mint julep cups, which are sold on Derby Day for charity.
The 2019 Limited Edition Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby 145 Bourbon bottle will be available in March 2019 with a suggested retail price of $43.99.
And to round out the twos – it’s 72 days until Kentucky Derby 145 and the Woodford Reserve Distillery sits on Kentucky’s oldest distilling site where Elijah Pepper began crafting whiskey in 1812. Cheers!
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Artwork on 2018 Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby 144 Bottle is “Dream Come True”
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Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby 145 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
