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2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:47 pm
by Bourbon Joe
Well it's just about that time again when Doug and I will swing through Louisville on our way to Bardstown for the KBF. We hope to see y'all at Bourbon's Bistro on Wednesday September 15 at about 5:00 p.m. for dinner, cigars and drinkin bourbon. Y'all come.
Joe

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:48 am
by Bourbon HQ
I'll be there Joe.

Gayle

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:56 am
by p_elliott
No but I'll see you at the gazebo in Bardstown.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:54 pm
by cowdery
I'm starting my critique of the KBF a little early this year.

My big gripe is the paucity of events and activities aimed at you, the bourbon enthusiast. There are so few official enthusiast activities that enthusiasts themselves have organized their own, i.e., the Gazebo and the BTOY.

Get the full flavor here and here.

The greatest outrage is probably the so-called 'spirit garden,' which a poster to my blog called, "a joke - just a hot, hard-scrabble sports field surrounded by a fence and armed cops. Hardly the ambiance one would like for quiet enjoyment of fine bourbon." A close second is the $$$ gala $$$.

How would you fix the KBF? Or do you find it perfect just as it is?

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:15 pm
by bourbonv
The problem is that Bardstown tourism has no desire to promote bourbon at the festival - they only want the bourbon industry pay for their big street party. My biggest suggestion is to move it out of Bardstown. Let Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort or Lawrenceburg have a shot at hosting the event with some competition to make it better. Right now Bardstown has the monopoly on the event and little desire to improve it. You can suggest until you are blue in the face but Bardstown tourism is not going to listen as long as they are happy with what they have - a big street party paid for by the bourbon industry.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:10 pm
by OscarV
How would you move it to Louisville?
L'ville sounds great and from what I have heard the distilleries don't like the way Bardstown does it either.
Who owns the name "Kentucky Bourbon Festival"?

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:11 pm
by cowdery
Bardstown is the perfect place, if they could get their act together.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:30 pm
by OscarV
OK then, who are the movers and shakers in Bardstown?
My guess would be Max Shapira. Could anyone get to him and bring this to his attention?
But he probably already knows, so maybe he would like a grassroots enthusiast thing to happen.
I think maybe Mr Cowdery and Mr Veach could have some influence. 8-)

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 7:29 am
by delaware_phoenix
You can always establish your own events outside the officially sanctioned ones. I know Chuck already mentioned there's some of that happening already, but maybe those events need to get better known.

If the tasting event is so bad at some open field, why not try and move it to a beautiful park (with trees and shade)? With some decent small tents for each distillery, people could amble between them and it would be a grand afternoon. :drunken:

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 3:27 pm
by cowdery
Max Shapira, president of Heaven Hill, lives in Louisville and has very little influence in Bardstown. Jim Rutledge, of Four Roses, is about the only major distillery person who is also an 'insider' with regard to the festival, but I'm not sure how much influence he really has either. There is a festival committee that is the public face but as with most things political, from big cities to small towns, there is always (as we say in Chicago) "the guy behind the guy" who really calls the shots and it's hard to know who that even is.

To be as kind as possible, I think the main problem in Bardstown is stasis. The decision-makers' first priority is keeping the citizens of Bardstown happy. I've always felt that Bardstown wears its tourism hat uncomfortably. It likes the money but not all of the damn strangers. They probably feel they have struck a good balance with the KBF as it is now, so why change anything?

Believe it or not, I can be subtle sometimes. I have been talking about these things behind the scenes for years, with zero effect. I decided that this year I would go public.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 4:38 pm
by fenton04
Got to tell the All Star sampler was well worth the money(9/15). Plus the shuttle allowed me to sample more bourbon than I
normally would if I was driving (I stayed in bardstown expensive). I would recommend this event to a friend. The Bourbon Style cooking school dinner (9/16). Packed in like sardines and the food was served on plastic plates and one bottle of water to drink. The food was excellent. But in this case I paid 10 dollars more for this eventn (50.00) There wasn t even coffee for dessert. I would not recommend this event to my friends.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 6:16 pm
by NeoTexan
Emily and I did our traditional bourbon breakfast before setting out for home.

This year we had a pleasant surprise. We were sitting and enjoying the breakfast when an elderly woman and what appears to be here granddaughter joined us at our table. We were discussing how the Gala was this year when she informed us she has not attended since here husband died a few years ago. she then mentioned that her husband was in the bourbon industry. I asked how he was affiliated with bourbon and she asked if I had ever heard of Sam Cecil? Needless to say we had a very enjoyable breakfast talking of the early years of MM and stories of Bill Sr.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:12 pm
by Bourbon Joe
Had a great time with Gayle, Mike, Chuck and the rest of the gang in Louisville. A special thanks to Gayle for hosting us on Monday afternoon. Always a pleasure to see our great friends in Louisville. Here's a photo of the happeninga at the Bourbon's Bistro on Wednesday night.
Joe

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:25 am
by fricky
Bourbon Joe and I mooching bourbon at Gayle Hack's house.

Re: 2010 KBF

Unread postPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:07 am
by bourbonv
Joe and Doug,
It was great seeing you again. I look forward to your yearly pilgramage to the Bistro before the Bourbon Festival. I hope next year will see you in town early for a book release party.

Dale,
I saw Mrs. Cecil at the cooking school program. She was looking good and we had a good conversation as well.

Bourbon Festival does bring together many people I don't see at any other time of the year. There needs to be something that will bring bourbon enthusiasts to town more often.