New Bourbon Country event kicks off with auction of rare whiskey barrels, tastings
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky Bourbon Country Auction debuts Feb. 13–15 in Louisville with rare-barrel lots.
- Proceeds will benefit the Bob Woodruff Foundation, supporting veterans and families.
- Weekend includes tastings, chef-paired dinners, distillery tours and limited releases.
A new annual event celebrating Kentucky’s bourbon industry will launch in Louisville in February.
The inaugural Kentucky Bourbon Country Auction and Celebration will be Feb. 13-15 and include three days of exclusive events, including an auction of barrels of rare bourbons and luxury lots from Brown-Forman, Four Roses, Heaven Hill, J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery and more.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which supports veterans, service members and their families, named for the reporter injured in Iraq.
“Kentucky Bourbon, with its legendary, unmatched quality, is the galvanizing lifestyle that binds us together in this great city and state and is exported around the world daily,” said Andrew Varga, Founder of the Kentucky Bourbon Country Auction, in a news release. “The Kentucky Bourbon Country Auction and Celebration is one premier way to celebrate its majestic reverence by raising a glass in community while giving back to those who have protected our freedom for 250 years by way of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.”
Tickets are on sale now at kybca.com, including all-weekend passes and hotel accommodations, ranging from $190 to $3,750 per person for the “Whiskey Royalty Platinum Experience.”
The weekend will start with the Grand Reveal Tasting at the Frazier History Museum. Guests will savor rare bourbons paired with Kentucky-inspired culinary creations, entertainment and immersive experiences.
The signature event, the Kentucky Bourbon Country Auction, will feature a bourbon-paired dinner by top Kentucky chefs and a live auction of the world’s most collectible and extraordinary bourbons, according to the news release.
The full auction catalog will be released in mid-January, according to the website, which promises “an unprecedented collection of rare bourbons and historical artifacts.”
Other events include an interactive blind-tasting brunch curated by chef Michael Crouch of Watch Hill Proper, a bourbon-inspired lunch hosted by chef and owner John Varanese at Savor at River House and tours at participating distilleries across Bourbon Country, with behind-the-scene experiences and tastings and limited-edition releases available only during the KBCA weekend.
