John Prine immortalized this Kentucky county. Now local distiller honors legacy

Although he hails from Illinois, John Prine always considered Kentucky his spiritual home. Now the state’s signature spirit is flipping the script, honoring the late songwriter with a special, small batch expression.

You Got Gold, a bourbon collaboration between Muhlenberg County-based The Bard Distillery and Prine’s Hello In There Foundation, was publicly unveiled during a four-day You Got Gold celebration of the singer in Nashville .

The commemorative bourbon is the second between the two parties following a special blend concocted for the inaugural “You Got Gold” event in 2022. According to the foundation’s executive director, Celine Thackston, it’s also a full circle moment that further connects Prine with the community he immortalized in his song “Paradise.”

“John’s ancestral home is in Kentucky and Muhlenberg County, so it only felt right to partner with a distillery from there,” explains Thackston. “The first bourbon was so sought after that we thought it’d be fun to do again, especially with this being the last year of (the event) ‘You Got Gold.’”

John Prine Bourbon’s Flavor Profile

With only 7,000 bottles produced, the 101.0 proof bourbon — a nod to Prine’s Oct. 10 birthday — is a must-have for Prine fans and bourbon connoisseurs alike. According to Thomas Bard — co-founder of The Bard Distillery and a lifelong Muhlenberg County native who’s been singing along to Prine’s songs since he was a child — the mix also is a departure from the first You Got Gold bourbon, further adding to its allure.

“The original was a younger, wheated bourbon, but this one is actually a rye-based bourbon,” describes Bard. “Five different rye-based mash bills went into it, the vast majority of it being barreled in 2020 — the same year John passed. We wanted to stick to that timeframe to show how it’s been aging with his spirit around it.”

It’s priced at $79.99 and available directly from the distillery online at thebarddistillery.com.

Aside from the bourbon itself, sippers will also find Easter eggs throughout the product’s labeling that range from a Silas House-penned poem about Prine to the name itself, a reference to his 1991 song of the same name. According to Thomas, this collaboration has been the perfect way to not only marry two of his biggest passions but further connect with other Prine fans as well.

“You fall in love with John, but you also realize that you love the same things (he) does, which is where the community around his music — and this bourbon — come together.”

John Prine Bourbon’s Origins

The You Got Gold partnership’s can be traced back to what wound up being Prine’s final concert in Muhlenberg County in 2019 where The Bard served as one of the show’s sponsors.

“At one point (John’s wife) Fiona mentioned collaborating on a bottle sometime,” recalls Bard. “After John passed and You Got Gold started getting put together Celine reached out to circle back on the idea as a way to raise money for the Hello In There Foundation and we jumped at the opportunity.”

Since then the impact of both the You Got Gold bourbon and event has been immeasurable. According to Thackston, over $1.3 million has been raised through various initiatives including bourbon proceeds since 2022. Together those funds have supported more than 100 community organizations that Thackston says “are doing the work that John sang about and that he and his family care about like looking after our veterans, people experiencing homelessness, women dealing with domestic violence and those in recovery.”

“It started out as just trying to think about ways we could expand the visibility around John and his community of fans, and I can’t think of anyone better to have partnered on it with than The Bard,” says Thackston. “The entire process working with them has been so affirming and central not only to our foundation, but to spreading awareness about and preserving John’s legacy as well.”

As for the dissolution of the You Got Gold event, Thackston said the decision was a bittersweet one that will afford them the flexibility to conduct grassroots events in places where Prine has strong ties, including a marquee event for the summer of 2026 that they plan to share more details about soon.

“This is our favorite time of the year and our favorite thing that we work on, but it’s also a lot of work — especially for (John’s) family,” said Thackston. “But we will still be doing events — we just want to get out of Nashville and into the community more.”