437. Bourbon on the Banks 2025 Preview

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the Bourbon Road podcast. I'm your host, Jim Shannon, and I'm your host, Todd Ritter.

We've got a great show for you today. So grab your favorite pour and join us.

Todd and I are proud to have Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars as a sponsor of this episode and as the official cigar of the Bourbon Road podcast. Our hosts and listeners alike enjoy the ultimate experience of premium cigars. Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars are where flavor and craftsmanship meet. Find out more during the halftime break and at Smokey's Lifestyle Cigar dot com. The Surgeon General warns that cigar smoking can cause lung cancer and heart disease and is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. The Hill House Bed and Breakfast, located in Loretto, Kentucky, is ready to be your bourbon country home away from home. Located less than three miles from Maker's Mark, the Hill House is convenient to Bardstown and the rest of the Bourbon Trail. The next time you visit bourbon country, choose comfort and convenience. Choose the Hill House Bed and Breakfast. Listen in at the break for more details or visit their website at thehillhousekentucky.com. All right, roadies, welcome back again to another episode. Todd and I are sitting in the corner Rick house today. We've got a good friend in with us. We're going to be drinking a few whiskies and talking about this year's big event.

Yeah. My hometown, bourbon on the banks. It's, uh, It's only March here, but you dilly dally too long, you'll miss out.

I think we had some people sleep on it last year and they paid the price. But this year we brought Diane Strong back again one more time to talk to us about this year's event and to give everybody all the ins and outs of what's going on. Diane, welcome back to the show.

Thank you for having me. I love coming to this.

We're excited. We are drinking a little bit of whiskey today. And I think this whiskey is actually from your title sponsor, right?

Yeah. Limestone Heritage Distilling Company.

This is their small batch. This is an older one. I think it may have changed a little bit, but this is a really nice pour.

Awesome. Well, we're going to be sipping on this small batch while we talk a little bit about this year's event. Diane, why don't you start us off a little bit by telling us kind of a sum up last year's event.

Well, last year was bigger than ever. We sold out in July. We ended up hosting 2,300 people at the festival. It was definitely a record year. It was a great year. We had a couple lessons learned, but it was a lot of fun.

Yeah, we had a good time, Todd. We manned the tent last year.

Yeah, and managed to slip out here and there. But yeah, it was a busy day, like a nice constant crowd, which is what you want. We had great weather.

I mean, honestly, I send out my surveys. And there were people who complained it was too warm, which, I mean, I don't know. I did my best. I mean, I talked to the weather people. I think they did okay. I mean, I'm not complaining.

Yeah, but you know, you're already doing a good thing by scheduling it in early October, right? Because already you're into, well into the fall. Right. And it's like, okay, you got a chance of the weather going either way, but chances are you're probably not going to be too steamy hot.

Right. I was going to say, if you're going to complain about something whether it would be low on, I mean, if it's sunny or even just overcast.

Well, maybe it's because I didn't have anything else to complain about. Right, maybe.

That's the least of your worries. Right, right. I mean, if you're complaining about the fact that it was sunny and hot, then yeah, your list of complaints are pretty small. Yeah, we came out dry, is what I was thinking.

I'm like, because I remember the one year when we were closing up shop a little bit and it came to downpour.

Yeah, there's a little wind in 2023. And so it was really nice. I mean, we will do a little bit more shaded areas for people to sit in case we have that warmth. But I think overall, I mean, the feedback was wonderful. Ticketing went really smooth this year. That was my focus this year was making sure ticketing was smooth. And so Because of that, I didn't go in the back to the festival at all. I just dealt with people as they were going in, which was actually really fun because I get to talk to and meet a ton of people that I have dealt with throughout the year, help them find their tickets or, you know, deal with handicap parking or all the questions. And and I it's really fun to see them. I had one lady bring me a gift bag.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. You're so sweet.

You know you're a celebrity when people bring you gifts, right? I know, I know. That's pretty awesome.

And they're like, oh, you're Diane. And then there were some people who saw some of the undressing bourbon videos. And so it was fun. I really loved working the front, but I missed out on the back. And I had to get a lot of feedback from my board members who were working their butts off back there and people like you guys who can give me some feedback.

Well, I do know that last year was the first year you had the delayed entry tickets, right? They come a little bit later in the day. What did you call those tickets?

We called them the Twilight Ticket. We did have them in the past, but we only made them available kind of for locals. We didn't push them at all. But yeah, we had a much larger, we really pushed them this year because we ran out and people still wanted to come. So we have that four o'clock entry, which it works out really well because the people who came in at one o'clock there, some of them are leaving. And so it's still comfortable back there. We don't want it to be uncomfortable.

Yeah, I mean with an event, what time is the early entry?

That's at one.

At one o'clock. So you got one until six, right? So it's about a five hour window to walk around and see all the distilleries and all the vendors and all that kind of stuff. And after a few hours of that, You kind of need a break, you know? You need to sit down, maybe have something to eat, relax a little bit. But having those people come in a little bit later in the day kind of evened that flow out a little bit, I think. Yeah.

Yeah. It was it was a nice balance. We did now this year, we're we're shrinking that early access a little bit and moved some of those tickets into the twilight and the general admission just so that that early access the people who are arriving early paying extra to get there, you know, they get that time to try to get the bottles they want.

So it was 2,300 visitors last year. Yes. And this year, did I hear you say that in the first day the tickets went on sale, you had already sold like 600 tickets or something like that?

In the first day we sold over 700.

700 tickets. So a third or fourth of the tickets. Yeah. A third of the tickets. Yeah.

And honestly, it was almost half of the main ticket, so not including the Twilight. So if you're wanting to come and spend four to five hours. Of course, now the early access are going to get sold out here real soon. They're next. Special access sold out in, I think, four days. So yeah, if you want your tickets, you need to get them now.

Yeah, we had some friends last year who historically come to Burpin on the Banks every year, but they sat on their hands and waited too long. Well, they got Twilight tickets, which was fine, but they really wanted to come earlier in the day, and they couldn't do it because the tickets were sold out. So, definitely, roadies, if you're listening to this show, don't wait.

Yeah. I had a few people ask me, like, towards the end, like, you know, they knew I was involved with the board for a while, like, can you help me with anything? And then, you know, I actually managed to get a couple of locals, some folks I knew had dropped, couldn't come and managed to get them tickets, but it's hard. I mean, once they're gone. Yeah.

I had a lot of people.

They're not going to show up on ticket hubs.

I had a lot of, like, the people that know me and they're like, you know, we're friends, you know, can you hook me up? I've got some, you know, I had, and I just, It's just the answer is no. I mean, I can't do favors for one person and I love everybody, but I can't do that. I will say I had a waiting list. People who took the time to email me or call or whatever, I would do a waiting list, but it got a little hairy there. But I was able to grant several people the tickets they needed. But when they come available, I just let them know that they're available. And if they miss them, they miss them. I don't like advertising that because it is kind of a lot of work. At the same time, I mean...

I mean, if they were to donate a bottle of Pappy to the VIP auction, you might be able to help them out a little bit.

We can move you up on that waiting list, for sure. Yeah, if you want to donate a bottle to my volunteers, I can move you up on that list.

Well, very nice. We had a grand time. We had a really good time this year. We had plenty of help in our tent this year. Actually, I thought the weather was great. warm until we opened up the side panels and let the air through. But once that happened, it was great. And how was the VIP tent this year?

I mean, I think it went great. That was nice. We're going to do it up even more this year. We had the private bathrooms, which I think people really liked. And yeah, we got a good response from that. The caterer who was in there, it's all farm to table. And I know he left the leftovers for the volunteers. And man, there were some deviled eggs. We ate up some devil eggs. I mean, I don't know if we were all starving, but we went through probably like three or four dozen and there was only maybe eight of us standing there, but they were good. Yeah, he had some really good food in there.

So it's not just the tickets to get into the event, but it's also the places to stay, right? Because hotels can fill up as well.

Yes. But you were saying earlier that... Yeah, we've had some boutique hotels that have opened up. The Delegate, which is, I think, 47. And then that's within walking distance. And then the Ashbrook is a new one. I think they've... I don't know their numbers. I think it may be 12 to 15 rooms in there, but that helps. And then we've had some more Airbnbs.

I was going to say, Hauser Tavern, I don't think it was... Were they? Were they renting last year? I don't recall.

I think Hauser's that... Well, yeah, that's the... That's St. Clair. I think she said they only had one room left already though. A lot of times people will rebook right away.

But you guys get a block rooms at the Capitol Plaza.

Yep.

Do you do the same thing at the other places?

Yes. If you go on the website, when you do the dropdown, there's where to stay. And I've got a list of the ones who have special discounts for attendees. And yes, Capitol Plaza has got a block. They're undergoing renovations this year, so I always tell people, you can't get a more convenient place to stay, and you might get a renovated room, or you might not. It's a crap shoot, but they're going to be super nice when they're done. I saw the etchings and stuff. Oh, that's cool.

That's exciting. We stayed there last year, my wife and I, and we liked it. The convenience of it is fantastic. It's just wonderful. It's across the street. Across the street, yeah. But, you know, we've stayed at B&B's and we've stayed all the way out at the Hampton by the highway. I mean, it just depends on the year and what's available.

Yeah. And we're going to have Happy Trails helping us again this year. She was so busy last year and I think some lessons learned there. She's going to have more people working with her to try to get people where they need to go.

And Happy Trails is kind of the transportation service.

Right. She's a taxi service. We do have some taxis here as well. But she is a taxi service that she helps us with our event. And she hires extra people during the event. She's also, I think she's got some golf carts that she drives people around downtown just real close. And she just takes tips for that. But you can, I strongly encourage people to schedule their rides. If they're out on the highway at one of those hotels, you can call her and schedule it today. And she'll make sure that you're going to arrive on time early, get there where you need to be.

Pretty exciting stuff.

Yeah, I think one good thing also is last year the bridge was closed, the railroad bridge, because it's just gone to seed, if you will. So they've actually removed The biggest proportion of it, except the railroad bridge. It used to be an old, back when I was a kid, it was a bridge you actually crossed to get from point A to point B. But they let it go quite some time ago. So that might even help flow a little bit. Are you guys going to?

We looked at opening up that whole section. Originally, we never went beyond the railroad bridge because visually, it didn't connect. Like, it doesn't feel comfortable to go under the sketchy bridge to go see the other section. And now they have removed all of it. The pillars, there's a section on the far side of the river that's still there that's going to come down too. But visually, it really does feng shui, is what I like to say. But I went down with Eric, our logistics coordinator. And, you know, we really thought we might open up the event and open it up to more people too, because now the footprint is so much larger. And that was kind of our plan. And we walked it and I just kept shaking my head and I said, this is too big. It's, if we utilize that whole area, it just, it almost like if you, you know how like you go to a huge I don't know, like Six Flags or something. And it's just, you get overwhelmed with it just being too much. I just, it didn't, it was gonna change the event too much. So what we are doing, we are going a little bit farther, but it's not gonna take up that whole section. So our footprint will get slightly larger.

If anything, it might help the folks at work there get out maybe a little quicker. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That'd be nice, I mean.

Yes. That access point, and you can get a vehicle through there now. We've never been able to get a vehicle underneath the bridge. So, yeah, packing up at the end of the day is going to be a lot smoother.

Oh, that's good. So it'll be like in one way. You're all excited. I'm very excited. Because it's a big deal. It is. It really is a big deal. So would it be coming in one end and out the other? Is it going to be like one way traffic through now?

In the past, it's when we've utilized both sides, just section one would exit out.

To the parking lot by the, yeah.

Yeah, to the bar association. You have to realize, especially if you're running vehicles in and not just golf carts, that is going to require twice as many volunteers running the show. So we are still figuring out the best way to do that. We may still stick with just the golf carts, but that one-way action does sound kind of cool.

I don't know. I kind of like if you maybe cut it in half, that half kind of goes out that way.

The biggest thing is turning around with your trailers and stuff and trying to get back to go out the other way.

You're right, though. That might make sense for someone who is parked in one direction and some of our large food trucks, although I don't know if they can make that corner down there.

Yeah. Well, it sounds like things are changing.

It sounds like that's Eric's job.

It sounds like Eric's job. Yeah, it's going to say Eric Logistics guy.

That would be Eric Northcutt. He's on the board, and he's also a Bourbon Society member. He's a great guy and does a great job with the flow of traffic there. How long has he been there?

Since the beginning, yeah. And our time, his times, the exit times have decreased dramatically despite the fact the distillery count has gone up dramatically. So he's gotten better and better, and we've got it down to an art. It's impressive. It's funny, though, because section one is always the last to leave, but it's also the section that everybody drops down into. And no matter what we tell the distilleries, they're like, I want to be in section one. But you realize that you're the last to leave. And they're like, oh, no, no, it's fine. Every year we cut distilleries just like to leave but it's the cost you gotta pay you know. We have the. This year we had the bottle check, which was new. Last year, I guess 2024, the Shriners, you could go shopping and leave your bottles there. That was a hit. I think it went well, although we did have some comments about how it was, you had to climb up to the top of the pavilion and people didn't like doing that. Did you not know about that?

No, I didn't know anything about it either.

Yeah, yeah.

So rather than packing around your bottles, did you purchase that?

People had been requesting a place or a locker or somewhere to leave all their shopping basically so that they didn't have to carry it around. We actually would have people that would leave the event and then come back.

Because bottle sales are a big part of this event. Oh, yeah. Not every vendor, but most whiskey vendors have bottles for sale.

Right, if they can legally do it. And even the ones that can't legally do it are able to sell at the capital sellers liquor store there. There's a lot of people. And so, yeah, the Shriners ran that for us as a volunteer. They're coming back this year. But they had to climb up that ramp to drop off their bottles. And they were like, ah, can you get a little closer? It's like, oh, come on, people. No, of course. Yeah, so we're moving in.

No exercise never hurt anybody, right?

We're going to get it down there a little bit closer so that people don't have to. do that ramp twice. So it's all about making sure everybody's happy.

Yeah, absolutely. So we haven't talked about the different types of tickets and their prices.

So the special access, that one was $150 ticket.

That gets you in at one o'clock.

One o'clock gives you access to the special access tent, which is a catered tent. You've got special pores from our title sponsor, the Limestone Heritage Distilling Company. There's private bathrooms with running water. They're heated and cooled as needed. Seated dining. But they're sold out. But you know what? Next year.

Next year.

Next year, get your tickets when they go on sale. Yeah, those tickets sold out, like I said, in five days, I think. then we've got the early access. So you still come in at one o'clock. Those are 95.

So that's basically, you get in early, but you don't get the VIP experience. Right, right.

You still have access to all of the bottles ahead of the general admission. Sure. So that's nice. And there are some of those tickets left. I think we've got 70 left right now is all. So if you want to come in early, I strongly suggest you get those tickets. Um, and then general admission is 75. That gets you in at two o'clock until four o'clock. And then we've got the Twilight ticket, which, um, you know, if you're local or if you don't have a long ways to come, or you're not traveling from out of state, it's, you know, it's two hours and you can do a lot in two hours.

Sure you can. But you just said for the regular tickets, it was two to four, but actually it's two to six.

Sorry, two to six. I'm sorry.

You get a full four hours. You get to stay until closing time.

Right, right, right. And those are 75. The Twilight ticket is 55. And that is from four to six. So that's a two-hour ticket.

All right. Well, that's great. And all of this is available at bourbononthebanks.org. Right, right.

And then you can stick around for the after party. That's the Goodwood after party.

Is it going to be in the main lot again?

Yes, it's right at where you enter and right where you exit. So it's super convenient. That's open to everybody. That's a free event.

That's awesome. I'm so excited. I'm so ready for it again this year.

We had such a good time. I love it. I do too. I'm a hometown guy, so it excites me when this comes around because so many of my friends come into town. I'm like, yeah. So looking forward to it.

All right, folks. So we're going to take a quick break here. We're going to sip on our limestone heritage. This is a small batch. Small batch, correct. And when we come back, more from Diane Strong and Bourbon on the Banks. We're going to get into the nitty gritty and some of the special ticketed items we've got for this upcoming event and everything. So stick around. We'll be right back. Few things pair better together than a fine whiskey and a premium cigar. And Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars are where flavor and craftsmanship meet. Their exclusive collection is meticulously hand-rolled from aged tobacco sourced from the Dominican Republic. Revel in the artistry that only decades of experience can bring. The owner, with over 10 years of cigar mastery, curates blends that capture the essence of family tradition and innovation. Embrace the journey and indulge in a harmonious symphony of Smoky's Lifestyle Cigars, an experience truly beyond compare. Find out more at Smoky's Lifestyle Cigar dot com. When you're traveling the Bourbon Trail, location and comfort is everything. That's why I recommend making the Hill House Bed and Breakfast your home away from home. Located in the heart of Bourbon Country, the Hill House Bed and Breakfast is less than 5 minutes from the Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, giving you easy access to the Bardstown Distilleries and all points of the Bourbon Trail. The owners, Cheryl and Jim, offer four comfortable and cozy rooms along with a gourmet hot plated breakfast every single morning. And when you return from a long day of fun, it's time to enjoy a bit of the Bourbon Trail nightlife. Relax on the large outdoor patio complete with a blazing chiminea and solo stove, or curl up on the sofa and chairs, put a record on the turntable and relax with snacks and fruit in front of the gas fireplace. An evening at the Hill House is a perfect time to raise a bourbon glass full of cheer in the company of family and friends. We know you'll enjoy your stay at the Hill House Bed and Breakfast as much as we did. Find out more at thehillhousekontucky.com.

Hey there, roadies. Welcome back to The Bourbon Road. Thanks for sticking around for the second half. We're going to dive back into some Bourbon on the Banks information and highlights. we're going to interview me and what are we drinking in the second half here, Todd?

So I told Jim that you are a big rye fan. So he's like, he got into the vault on this one. So he brought out a Thomas H. Handy rye from what year is this?

So this is a 2017. This is 127.2 proof. There's still about a half a bottle left on this and.

So this is pre-Burban on the banks because it started in 2018.

Yeah, there's no dust on it because I dust my bottles off, but I guess it could have a little dust if I wasn't so attentive. But yeah, Thomas Handy and part of the BTAC collection.

Hard to find now.

They are hard to find, but we're hoping for better futures, aren't we? Maybe, who knows?

Cheers. Cheers. So Diane, I know you guys just had a big event at the place. It's called the Foundry here in town. It's a kind of a nice big rental space for they have all kinds of events. They have like wedding receptions. But you guys used it to kind of give out your your money to the charity, like a lot of local charities and things like that. So can you kind of tell us what that was about and like kind of how much went to where and that kind of things where, you know, folks would love to know where their money goes for burden on banks.

Well, it's kind of a cool story. I mean, we are a 501c3 nonprofit. We don't have to give our money away. But we do. And it started off in 2019 just being a scholarship. And of course, we weren't making much money back then. I think it was a $10,000 scholarship to KSU. And we've evolved a little bit. and got a little bit bigger donations, kept the scholarships and White Oak Initiative. But this last year, it was something special. It was a total of $80,000 that we gave back. And we kind of changed it up this year, and we kept it to all local nonprofits and charities. And we started with, and this is, it was so fun, I can't talk enough about our volunteers. And after last year's event, they worked so hard. Like I said, it was this big and they did a phenomenal job. And every year I keep trying to figure out ways to thank them. And this year, after the event, it dawned on me. I'm like, they need to have a role in choosing our nonprofits and deciding where the money goes. And so we came up with a list of six nonprofits or charities and they all kind of, some of them set up and they do the free activities at the Bourbon Street on Broadway. There were six of them we selected and we allowed the volunteers to choose whatever of the six they want to give $10 of every hour they worked. So our volunteers alone donated $10,000 to local charities, which I thought was really neat. And it's like empowering for them. It gives them that control. And I really liked that. They liked it. So we're going to bring that back next year for sure. And yeah, the board got to kind of choose the rest of it. And sitting at that board meeting was so fun. They had such a good time like deciding which not charities, none of the charities knew this is happening and how much each of them was going to get. And, you know, every board member was there and it was like, you know, it's like your Santa Claus, you know. And so it was so fun. They picked out how much money everybody was going to get. And then we had this beneficiary event at the foundry. I believe it was in mid-January. And we invited the nonprofits to come. They didn't know how much money they were getting. And we kind of started with small checks, and the checks got bigger. And the lady from the Simon house about passed out when she saw how big the check was. So it was fun. It was a good time. So that's one of the best parts about my job, even though I'm not the one giving the money back. I know that all the hard work that we put towards this event, we're really touching so many parts of our community. So yeah.

And so many events these days are for profit, right? They're for profit events. And this is a not for profit event. This is to benefit. Well, not only bourbon on the banks, which is non-profit, but you go on and pass the money on downstream to people that need it.

Right, right. We hope that our sponsors can cover the expenses and then, you know, the majority of those ticket fees can go back. And so it's pretty cool.

So you guys have also done some work on like the waterfront area as well, like in the past years.

Yeah, we do. Some of the money goes into the park has a foundation that they can draw from. So we specify different improvements that we would like to see done at the park. And so the park, they got 15,000 this year, where I think we're going to work on an archway that basically says Riverview Park. and also improvements with upgrading some of the electric and some lighting and things like that that make the festival better and a better experience for people who go to the park too.

Now it's probably going to need a little cleanup this year, too, because we just had a little bit of a flooding.

You know what, though? And we all assumed it was going to be a nightmare down at the park. Maybe we were going to lose more of the bank. But Eric and I went down there. They had just finally cleaned the pathway so you could see. And it flattened everything out. So we actually have more space down there to walk on, because it's more usable space. We were both.

So silver lining.

Yeah, there was a little bit of a silver lining. Yeah, there was, if you recall, what year was it? The last flood, it was higher. It was about two feet higher and 21 maybe. Yeah. And they've been working on this, the FEMA, getting some repairs done down there. And it's taken a long time, but at some point we're going to have to have some major work done down there to

But the banks of the Kentucky are fairly wooded, so there's a lot of roots holding that bank together.

When it comes down, what bothers it the most is when the water drops too fast.

I was going to say, it was kind of uncanny this time. It went down slow this time compared to 2021. OK.

Yes, I live on the river.

Well, I'm not far, and I walk around here, but it seemed like... I drove past one spot one day and it was like, oh, I was like, wow, that's a lot of water. And then the next day I drove past it and was like, oh, where did it all go? But it may have been one of those areas where it wasn't like the elevation change wasn't as...

It still went down fast, but it was... In 2021, it was, I think it happened over like... It was so fast. It was like just a few hours where it actually went down over a couple of days.

I mean, there were some fun times over at Buffalo Trace had like part of their Yes, they lost a section where they were offices. Temporary offices. There was a temporary office there that went into the river. Oh my goodness. Yeah, it's pretty crazy.

I mean, they're right up to the river. They're Buffalo Trails.

Yeah. If you've been to those that have toured there, it's like that Pompeii, what they call the Pompeii area. Yeah, that flooded. It did, really? Yeah. I wonder if they had anything in the... Oh, let's hope not. I know, right? Let's hope not.

I mean, they know what they flood at, so they should have been prepared for that. I mean, if you're in the floodplain, you know where you flood. Sure. And the predictions are all very accurate.

Well, the good thing is that the river brings nutrients and the grass will be beautiful this year because all that wonderful river silt has come up in on the grass now, and you're going to have all that wonderful fertilizer and catfish, you know what?

Yeah, it's like a dream living on the river. You just kind of dig a hole and shove whatever you want in there and it grows.

Yeah, absolutely.

So one of the cool things you guys started last year was not necessarily bourbon on the banks picks. They were, but they weren't kind of thing. So it was like, we went to Whiskey Thief and we went to Peerless and you went to a few other places and you did a barrel pick, but like it was kind of on them to sell those picks. And then you guys got a small cut of that. So you've really expanded that program this year, right?

We did. We've got 10 distilleries that have paid for that opportunity to have an official Bourbon on the Banks barrel pick. when you come to the event, they'll have a big flag in front of their tent. And that's cool. Yeah. So you'll be able to see. And those are I mean, Todd, you go out on some of these barrel picks and it's it's a good time. And we do a little reel that you'll see of the barrel pick. And yeah.

Spoilers, Jim and I got to do one. That's why we did. We went to a chicken cock distillery in in Bardstown. They have a new It's an older house, really just a really cool spot for them. And I think he and I can attest we both kind of went in kind of not knowing what to expect. And I've had some of their source stuff, but yeah, we were really wowed by the

the choices we had. Yeah, their whiskeys are actually really, really good.

And they've had like seven years and I think this one may even, maybe, did they say it might hit eight when they bottle it?

It could be that it would hit eight, I think. So that's pretty amazing. Yeah, the whiskey was great. It was actually for me and you as well, I think, surprisingly good. So keep your eyes out for that chicken cock pick.

It was a premium pick. It was a premium barrel.

It'll be featured and I think it's going to be, I think he said maybe 80, 75.

I mean, I'm not sure the upcharge for you guys and that kind of thing where they give you a cut. But what are some of the other places?

Well, they're selling them. They'll be selling them at their tent. OK. And we don't get anything out of the sales.

Gotcha, gotcha. So what are some of the other places that some picks are going to be?

So we've got Angels Envy, which they've not been to the event. They may have been in 2019. I'm not sure, but they're coming back. I'm excited to have them back. Bespoke and Spirits at a Lexington. Casey Jones Distillery. You already said chicken cock, James E. Pepper, Jep the Creed, Limestone Heritage Distilling Company is going to do one this year, M.B. Rowland, Pursuit Bourbon, Short Barrel, That's 10.

That's a nice list. That is a nice list. I know. Hopefully, we'll get called upon to...

I've got my hand raised. I know. Call me. Pick me.

Pick me. Yeah. I think the plan is to let some roadies maybe jump in on some of these picks, some of the local roadies, which would be a lot of fun.

Yeah. Was it you or Amzie that was talking about Amzie?

Amzie, yeah.

We tried to get him to let us get... like somebody to go with him on the barrel picks before, but I feel like he was a little concerned about just the average Joe showing up, but he must trust the Roadies. That's what I'm guessing.

I think so. I think so.

They know their stuff.

So stay tuned, Roadies. I mean, there's going to be an announcement at some point.

We'll do some sort of contest, I expect, or something. We'll draw a name out of the hat or draw a couple of names out of that. But yeah, you've been warned. So If you're interested, be ready.

Definitely. Keep your eye on the Bourbon Roadies Facebook group, because that's where the news will come out at. Well, it'll come out on an episode, but then we'll post in the group. Right.

So tell us a little more about what we can expect for 2025, Bourbon on the Bank that's new and shiny, if you will. It's always an evolving process and evolving things.

Right. Well, We do have a lot of distilleries that are new coming this year, NDPs and distilleries, which I'm excited about. I normally get a couple or whatever that reach out, but I was really dumbfounded by how many new ones. Of course, a lot of the great ones are coming back. Now I'm drawing a blank here. As far as like the events going Thursday, we've got the mixology back on the river with the bourbon bell. That's a really cool event. It's almost sold out too. I think we've got five seats left, but it's very limited.

And that's with Heather?

That's with Heather Wibbles.

What's her cocktail contest? Cocktail Contessa, that's right.

Yes, award-winning mixologist. She's also the president of the Bourbon Women. And she did one last year. I can't remember what they did last year. The Old Fashioned or something. This year, they're focusing on sours. And you literally learn, I think it's two or three cocktails that you're making. And boy, I got some just rave reviews. She's really a neat teacher. And of course, they're going to be making the cocktails with OH Ingram River Aged Whiskey, which is Perfectly fitted. You're going to learn about how aging whiskey on the river affects the vermin or the whiskey, I should say. And so, yeah, that's come in and then we will have a kickoff party on Thursday to be announced. Friday, Peggy No Stevens is coming back with another. This one's called The Staves, The Rave. She's going to talk about how the barrel affects the bourbon. Limestone Heritage Distilling Company is going to provide three single barrel whiskeys for that. So she's going to walk you through the difference. differences through each of those. And then at the end, she's going to talk about how to pair these single barrels with food. So, Limewater is coming back with some yummy food that she's going to pair the three. So, it's another food pairing. Oh, fantastic. Yeah.

I love some Limewater food.

Yeah. And she's a great teacher too. I heard nothing but good things about that event last year. So, we're so thrilled to have her back. And then Friday, we've got a lot going on on Friday. Actually, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, we've got the pub stroll. So if you're in town, you want to join the pub stroll because then you get a chance to win tickets for next year. Four Roses is sponsoring that again. So there'll be passports available at the participating restaurants and bars. And you can, I think you just have to visit at least, I think it's six of the places and then you have a chance to win. And then the VIP is coming back as usual, you know, that's a charity event that that auction raises money for downtown for ink and some local charities. But it's a great opportunity to kind of rub elbows with some of the people in the industry. This year, we are celebrating bourbon women, women in bourbon. We've done that in the past. I think it was 2021. People loved it. And the president of our board, he's like, we need to do that again and maybe make it a permanent feature. So I've got a lineup of women that have been invited. And I've got a fairly decent list that have confirmed that they're going to be joining us. And I'm super excited to announce that list. So it'll be fun.

Fantastic. So you're going to hold that back?

Yeah.

Okay.

It's a surprise.

Off air then, right?

Yeah. And then of course we've got the free event, Bourbon Street on Broadway. That's a family friendly, you know, if you come to visit Kentucky, bring your family, they'll, they'll enjoy this, enjoy this event. There's a lot of things to do around here that aren't all bourbon related, but this is one and, uh, expre credit union is sponsoring that event. Again, we're going to have a circus. We've got more performers than ever. The fire acts aerial, um, hoops. We've got a silent disco this year, which I'm super excited about. That's really cool.

Yeah. I think I know who's behind Sarah. Yeah, that's awesome.

It's a new local business. And when I saw she was doing it, I did a silent disco during Blink in Cincinnati. And I mean, you had to convince me to do it. But once I did it, you could not get me to leave.

They had a special lunch for my kids at their school that was a silent disco type thing. And it's fun. You basically have some headphones. And there's like three different stations.

You're the only one that can hear it, and you're dancing and singing like a fool.

But if you look at the color of the headphones, it kind of tells you what station you're on. So you know who's listening to the same station as you.

So you can make eye contact and dance with them.

But it's a lot of fun.

Yeah.

And Sarah's really awesome. So this will be kind of central on Broadway and then on St. Clair, a little bit on St. Clair as well, because they had the fire dancers in order to fire people on St. Clair.

Yep. And I've like come in contact with some new performers I'm so excited about this year. So yeah, we're trying to make that event bigger and better than ever. Last year we had like a no show and it made me feel like one no-show, well, we had a no-show performer that was a big performer and a no-show food vendor. And I just, I'm like, well, it's amazing how important everything is to make all the pieces fit and make everything feel right. And I'm like, I'm gonna focus on this event and it's gonna be bigger and better than ever. And people are gonna talk about it. And so, yeah, that's been a big focus of mine this year.

And this is the part of the event that doesn't require tickets. No, it's all free. You just get to Frankfurt and you get to enjoy it.

6 to 9.30. And we've got food vendors and drink vendors there, obviously. The restaurants and bars are serving.

That's because I feel like the local businesses have really, like, they love it now. Embraced it, yeah.

Yeah. They used to be a little concerned about the competition, but it's, you know.

But, I mean, there's coffee to be had.

There's, yeah, I mean. It's wall to wall, people. It's so much fun. It's so much fun. We always have a group of like 20 or 25 of us. And this is Saturday evening.

Friday evening.

Friday, I'm sorry, Friday evening after the VIP event.

Yeah.

Yeah, Friday evening after the VIP. There's usually a group of us, like 20, that are running around town, hitting all the bars, having a great time. It's just a blast. So much fun.

Yeah, it is. It's a good time.

And because you're so wore out after, you know, just the whole, you know, getting everything loaded and getting it ready, and then you're all set and you're like, okay, tomorrow's the big day. But yeah, it's a lot of fun. Lots and lots of fun.

Yeah, for sure. And, you know, what's exciting this year is, you know, in the past, the farmers market has shared the lot where we do the ticketing, which is fine. We've worked. But they have their farmers market on Saturday morning. And so we are not able to do any setup in advance because they have to park cars in there and all this stuff. Well, the farmers market is moving this year. And Eric and I are thrilled because we get to start setting up like all week long in the farmer's market you know as far as like staging and and setting up you know all the ticketing so it's moving for you guys or moving no they wouldn't we would never make them move no this the city is relocating the farmer you didn't know that no yeah it's gonna be on home street now okay they're building a new pavilion and Yeah, it's all part of the plan. I think at some point we're going to lose that parking lot to ticketing because I think the hope is to build something there.

Okay, interesting. I'm ready. It's March in October.

It's March madness.

I know. I mean, it's March now. But yeah, I mean, it just goes so fast between now and then. So last year you were sold out by July, you said.

Yes.

And it's March now and there are tickets available. Maybe no early entry tickets, but I mean no VIPs, but there are still early entry tickets available.

So it's special access.

Special access.

We had to change it to special access last year because people were confusing it with a Friday VIP. So there's a Friday VIP, special access ticket. Yeah, those are sold out. But I mean based On 2023, we sold out the day of the event. And then last year we sold out July. And so based on that, I wouldn't wait around is what I'm saying.

Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about the VIP event on Friday evening. So this is an event where you have an auction and you've also got distilleries there.

Right. It's at the Kentucky History Center. They've got that back patio. It's just gorgeous out there. The distillery is set up on the back patio, and they sample. I'm asking them to bring some exclusive pours this year, not something that you can find just anywhere. And they have all complied so far. They said they'd be happy to do that. Yeah, you'll have an opportunity to have some special pores. There'll be probably about 12 distilleries this year, I guess, if I can squeeze them on the lawn. Then we've got the food inside and some of it's outside too. We're thinking about maybe working with the caterer to do some pairings with some of the distilleries. We're kind of playing around. That's the other thing. We're really focusing on the VIP again this year. You know, it's a great event, but there was lacking some wow, and it needs that wow brought back.

Special exclusive pourers will do it every time.

Yeah.

Guarantee it. Yeah.

Well, good.

Even if I had to bring some out of my collection, I can set up my own table.

Okay, you're on.

I was going to say, we could put the rest of Jim's Thomas handy out there.

It'll go quick. I'm happy to do it. Last year we put out a bottle, it was good, it went pretty quick. Well, this is exciting. I think we've got a great season ahead of us. I'm really looking forward to it. Diane, thank you so much for coming on the show today and sort of giving everybody a look inside of this year's and a retrospective on last year's Bourbon on the Banks.

Yeah, for sure. And we're so excited to have people back. I've got people that this is my fifth year or they come back every year. It really says a lot about an event where people are willing to return that many times.

It is a gem. It's definitely a gem. I'm sure there are other events that keep their eye on you in order to see how things are done. I've been to quite a few events and I don't see many that are done as well as Bourbon on the Banks. There are not many that are as enjoyable as that. You know, it's one thing to do an event well and have it well planned, but it's another thing to have when it's just fun, just flat out fun. And this is a fun event.

Yeah, we try. I really try to listen when people give feedback, and I encourage feedback, and I encourage people to fill out those surveys. We do listen.

And I think the great thing about this one is, you know, I've yet to go to the Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, but like, I don't know, the lines there sound, I mean, I could do lines, but I don't know. I feel like if I'm staying in line, I'd better be getting on a ride with my kid rather than, you know, or you go to the Bourbon on the banks and it's just like, you know, it's, It's just perfect. Yeah, like the perfect amount of people. I mean, I'm sure they would love more people. That means more money, but like it's it's perfect. It's just a good crowd. It's not. Overwhelming, I think, is a good word.

And that really is. We do not want to compromise the experience in the name of money. At the end of the day, if we need to spend a little bit more money on improving the experience, we'll spend that money before we give it away to charities, even though that's a good thing too. And we were not trying to be another festival. We want to be Bourbon on the Banks Festival. We're not claiming to be better. We might be different. And I appreciate all the festivals. And you better believe I listen to the podcasts that they're on to hear what they do and hear what works well for them and learn lessons from them. But we're definitely not the Bourbon Festival. That's a whole other experience. Somebody said it's like, It's like the Vardstown Bourbon Festival is Disney World and we're like Kings Island or something. I think we're kind of more like your county fair maybe.

But the number of distilleries you have is very close to the number of distilleries they have.

Yeah, I think we've always had more. But at the end of the day, you can only sample so many, but we do pride ourselves on having it open to so many distilleries.

Well, that is so true. I mean, when you have 70 distilleries, 70 plus distilleries, I mean, you're not going to taste them all. You can't. No. Because each one brings multiple expressions. So there's just...

I will say, I had one survey response that said, it should be longer. I did not have enough time to try all the distilleries. And I hope he was joking because, I mean, that is not the point of this event.

Like an eyedropper, maybe. Might be able to get like 20 or 30 that way, but yeah.

Well, more power to him though. Wow.

Absolutely. Well, Dianne again, thank you so much for taking time out of your Sunday to sit down with Todd and I.

Thanks for having me.

It's good to have you here and we look forward to it this year. You're listening to this episode now. When you're done, get on bourbononthebanks.org, get your tickets, get them reserved, and then immediately go get your hotels, because they're not gonna be available for long.

Yeah, get one close. And hopefully the Yes Man will be there.

Yeah.

And if they stood in line last year, they will know who the Yes Man is. He is coming back, so.

I don't know. I miss the yes man. I was a volunteer and don't even know the yes man.

Our problem is we're stuck in our tent working and meeting and greeting everybody.

Well, I'm like, it's this constant for me. I volunteered last year, and as a member of the Bourbon Society, I'd pitch in that way.

Yeah, the Frankfurt Bourbon Society is, we give them a discount for the tickets, but the majority of them are working the event so they don't get to go. So we love the Bourbon Society.

Absolutely. Great guys, great gals, no doubt.

I'm juggling a lot of hats that the whole weekend, like ambassador for Frankfurt and podcaster. You guys have big jobs. Bourbon Society, yeah.

Barrel pick person.

Well, one more time, bourbononthebanks.org. Get your tickets now. Don't delay. Get your hotel. You don't want to have tickets and not have a place to stay. So get them in that order. Tickets first and then you get your room.

Yeah.

I've got a couch if there's anybody gets left out. That's right. Couchsurfing.com. There you go. There you go.

Yeah.

All right. Well, you can find the Bourbon Road on all social media outlets. You can find us on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, threads, all those things. Todd and I will do a show every single week on Wednesday. Sometimes we'll have a guest on like Diane, Bourbon on the Bank. Sometimes it'll be an industry person or a musician or an author or somebody fun. But we're always drinking whiskey. We're always having a great time. We hope you'll join us each and every week in order not to miss that show. Here's what you need to do. Scroll to the top of that app you're on, hit that subscribe button. That way every single week you'll get a bell notification or a text or whatever it is telling you that Jim and Todd have dropped another episode and we'll get you through that next drive or whatever it is that you do with your headphones on. We'd love to be part of your day.

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It's a bunch of like-minded people, about 3000 plus people that love to hang out and talk about Bourbon and share pictures and stories and events and just all together a good time. But until the next time, we'll see you down the Bourbon Road.

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