Oprah’s private chef, the mayor of a picturesque Kentucky city, a former magnificence queen, and an Aussie influencer stroll right into a bar.
Whereas this may very well be the setup for a zany joke, it’s truly a partial roll name from a live-streamed occasion that had bourbon followers around the globe toasting one another for twenty-four consecutive hours.
The challenge, hosted early this week by the Kentucky Bourbon Path and its company Lewis Communications, gathered an assortment of drinkers from some 25 nations together with Eire, Canada, the U.Ok., Japan, Estonia, and France.
“Analysis instructed us that buyers view bourbon as a catalyst for bringing individuals collectively,” mentioned Katie Peninger, vp of account service at Lewis, who shepherded the social gathering to unite world followers “round that frequent ardour.”
Among the many company: superstar chef Artwork Smith, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, Nadia Jackson (higher generally known as @agirltastingwhiskey on Instagram), manufacturers like Heaven Hill, Woodford Reserve, 4 Roses and Outdated Forester, and liquor conglomerates Campari and Brown-Forman.
Beginning in Kiribati and ending in Kentucky, the boozy, all-night affair snagged 1000’s of recent followers for the Kentucky Bourbon Path and served as an experiential hook for a broad rebrand that’s been percolating for greater than a yr for the favored vacationer expertise.
The work, led by Nashville-based Lewis to mark the vacation spot’s twenty fifth anniversary, goals to spice up the two.5 million annual traveler rely and attract audiences past the area. Traditionally, 76% of tourists have come from outdoors Kentucky, with the bulk positioned inside a six-hour driving radius.
Sonoma of the South
The rebrand’s aim is to place the KBT as a trip hub that would rival the famend wine nation in California—name it the Sonoma of the South, if you’ll.
To jumpstart the challenge, the companions needed to do some fundamental housecleaning and streamlining first. Two separate, considerably parallel trails had sprouted up over time, which was complicated to potential guests. These have now been mixed right into a single entity—with 46 venues and counting—that features each smaller craft distilleries and main legacy gamers across the state, from Angel’s Envy in bustling downtown Louisville to Maker’s Mark in rural Loretto.
