Kentucky’s celebrated Bourbon Trail just got queerer, as this October, eight iconic Kentuckian destinations partner with LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation Queer Kentucky to launch Bourbon & Belonging, a five-day event celebrating LGBTQ+ diversity and amber nectar. From Bardstown to Louisville, this vibrant festival promises to blend Kentucky’s rich bourbon culture with a rainbow of inclusivity, proving that while you may like your bourbon straight, you don’t have to be!
Last year, we travelled to Kentucky, USA, to enjoy its celebrated Bourbon Trail, where we uncovered soul-stirring, state-wide stories of its diverse people defying expectations in a traditionally ‘red’ part of America.
Once again, Kentucky is making waves and capturing our attention. This year, iconic distilleries across the state have partnered with Queer Kentucky – a Louisville-based LGBTQ+ non-profit dedicated to uplifting LGBTQ+ lives through storytelling, culture, and action – to launch a new event called Bourbon & Belonging. Inspired by Sonoma’s Gay Wine Weekend in California and Washington DC’s Queer Beer Fest, this event, quickly and affectionately becoming known as ‘queer bourbon week,’ showcases the state’s LGBTQ+ diversity in the context of its most famous export.
Bourbon & Belonging will take over eight Kentucky-based destinations and cities from October 2nd to 6th, 2024. The inaugural festivities will be held in Bardstown, Bullitt County, Frankfort, Lexington, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Paducah and Winchester.
Attendees can look forward to some exciting events, including a single barrel selection experience in Lexington, a Disco-themed pool party in Louisville and a Bourbon and Burlesque show in Northern Kentucky. Additionally, visitors can expect cocktail classes, Bourbon 101 lessons, exclusive behind-the-scenes distillery tours, drag brunches, multi-course dinners, and a tasting event featuring Kentucky’s only LGBTQ+-owned distillery, B.H. James Distillers in Adairville.
The festivities and events underscore the importance of creating spaces of acceptance and celebration across the state, particularly in areas where it is most needed. The event will feature a stellar lineup of Bourbon partners representing the state: Angel’s Envy, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Barrel House Distilling Co., Bourbon Capital Alliance, Buzzard Roost Whiskey Row, Bulleit Bourbon, Brown-Forman, Bluegrass Distillers, Bespoken Spirits, Copper & Kings, Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, James B. Beam Distilling Company, James E. Pepper, Kentucky Peerless, Lawrenceburg Bourbon Company, Lux Row Distillers, Log Still Distillery, Maker’s Mark, Michter’s, New Riff Distilling, Old Forester, Old SteelHouse Distillery, Ponyboy Slings, Pursuit Spirits, Preservation Distillery, Second Sight and Wenzel Whiskey.
Tourism and hospitality partners are getting involved in Bourbon and Belonging too. Host hotels, including 21c Museum Hotels have also committed to partnering with the event, to showcase their immense diversity, emphasising Kentucky’s rich traditions alongside its vibrant future, and offering genuine southern hospitality and charm while immersing visitors in Bourbon culture.
It may come as a surprise to OutThere travellers yet to visit Kentucky that such pockets of inclusivity exist in the state. While at present, the news tends to paint a somewhat negative picture of America’s South, we experienced nothing but warmth and a sense of community during our time there.
It is only prudent for us to say that there may be a chance that visitors to Kentucky could encounter some right-wing rhetoric – especially in the lead-up to America’s Presidential elections. But our travels there last year highlighted why we must continue to support the LGBTQ+ community, especially in the places readily dismissed by travellers due to its politics. By increasing LGBTQ+ visibility within Kentucky’s most treasured industry, we can help shape local hearts and minds for a more inclusive future.
In any case, cities like Lexington and Louisville have always been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Louisville consistently scores 100 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Municipality Equality Index, making it a leader in LGBTQ+ equity. It was also certified as one of the first five ‘welcoming’ cities by Welcoming America and, as of 2024, one of just 25 so-called ‘welcoming cities’ in the USA! Major Pride events, including the Southern Indiana Pride Festival and the Kentuckiana Pride Foundation’s parade and revelry, further underscore this progress.
So, whether you’re a whisky and bourbon enthusiast or not, we highly recommend a visit to the Blue- (purple, green, yellow, orange, red, brown, black, white, pale blue, and pink—all colors of the progress flag)grass state for Bourbon and Belonging this October. If you see The Experientialist® there, buy us a drink even. We promise we won’t have our’s straight!
Photography courtesy of Bourbon & Belonging and Louisville Tourism
