What makes SIPosium, bourbon’s only female-focused annual convention, so special?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bourbon Women SIPosium gathers 500+ female whiskey fans in Louisville each year
- Event features 70+ speakers, 22 excursions, and sensory labs on bourbon craft
- Founded in 2011, Bourbon Women empowers women as consumers in the spirits industry
Once a year, hundreds of female whiskey fans gather to raise glasses and raise spirits.
The annual Bourbon Women SIPosium, Aug. 14-17 in Louisville, will welcome nearly 500 (primarily) women from across the U.S. to talk about their shared interest in bourbon.
The Bourbon Women was the brainchild of Peggy Noe Stevens, who founded the group in 2011 as the first and only female-focused organization in the spirits industry. As an industry insider, Stevens knew that women had often been marginalized in the business and overlooked as consumers.
So she created a group and a program that focused on women and whiskey.
What began in Kentucky has now spread to active branches in major cities, and covers much more than just how to taste bourbon, although the convention does include a fair bit of that.
“SIPosium is not just about the whiskey, it’s about bringing mothers and daughters, long distance friends, industry tastemakers — all from different backgrounds, age groups, and locations — in one room to savor time together,” said Stevens in a news release. “No one is busier than women, and it really says something that they’re willing to take a long weekend to connect over a shared interest. We’re honored to be that inviting place to do so.”
Women still an untapped spirits market
The SIPosium grew out of Bourbon Women and is now in its 12th year, Stevens said.
“I knew that Kentucky women had a thirst, you know, for the industry,” Stevens said “We grew up on bourbon. We loved our Manhattans and our Old Fashioneds. But, you know, being from the industry, and I’d worked 17 years at Brown-Forman, largely in the marketing, women didn’t even make the tertiary market to target.
“And so yes, I knew instinctively that we needed to have a conversation with women,” she said.
Stevens said she did not anticipate how large the audience for that conversation would be. Or how the SIPosium would become a key event in the lives of so many Bourbon Women members, who use it for everything from family reunions to rites of passage for mothers and daughters.
Now many in the spirits industry have recognized this is more than “a cute little drinking club,” Stevens said. Sponsorships and events show that distilleries and brands are taking this market seriously.
But in a time when the market is being challenged, the SIPosium offers a chance to connect in a meaningful way with potential new customers.
“I do think there are still distilleries out there that may still look at women being a tertiary market, but the simple truth [is] we’rethe other half of the population, and they’re looking to build their franchise,” she said. “Women are the purchasers of bourbon. They collect. They are constantly entertaining. It’s an untapped market still.”
What happens at SIPosium?
The weekend begins Aug. 14 with VIP excursions to James B. Beam Distilling Co. and to Vendome Cooper & Brass Works. Then there’s a welcome session presented by New Riff and a Mix and Mingle at the Last Refuge, featuring Heaven’s Door.
Friday, there’s a full day of presentations, including one from Dana Zauch of Luckett and Farley Architects, sensory labs exploring finishing techniques and a sneak peek at a new Spirit of Women docu-series and a trip to Maker’s Mark for a private view of the Dale Chihuly installation.
Saturday, more workshops, breakout panels, excursions and celebrity dinners are planned, culminating in Bar-a-Rama, a sampler from various distilleries and restaurants.
Sunday closes with a farewell brunch presented by Sagamore Spirits.
Altogether, there will be more than 70 speakers, 22 off-site events and more than 50 top-shelf sponsors.
Tickets are on sale now through July 31 at bourbonwomen.org.
Bourbon Women SIPosium 2025
When: Aug. 14-17
Where: Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 4th St., Louisville
Tickets: $600 for members, $700 for non-members, bourbonwomen.org
This story was originally published July 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
