Kentucky Bourbon Festival

As part of my effort to get out of the house on the weekends, on Saturday Mr. Martini and I took a trip to Bardstown, Kentucky for the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

The drive to Bardstown was easy,  mostly along winding country roads that have picturesque farms and scenery. Bardstown itself is a cute little tourist town, and I definitely want to go back for more of a walking (and photo) tour of the downtown area.

Once we got to town and scored a fabulous parking place, we hung out on the lawn by Spalding Hall, checking out all of the booths set up with arts and crafts and food, most of which had a bourbon theme. The big name bourbon companies had the most elaborate set ups, with semi-permanent type structures filled with logo merchandise for sale.

The booths were set up right in front of the bourbon museum, which offered free admission. We took our time and wandered through all of the displays, enjoying the air-conditioning.

I must admit, though, that there was a surprising lack of actual bourbon at the festival. I did not do my research thoroughly, or I would have seen that the bourbon tastings were held at events taking place earlier in the week. There was bourbon available at the beer garden, but we really weren’t in the mood for a drink as much as tasting and comparing different bourbons. But now we know for next year.

We only stayed for a few hours, and brought home some bourbon enhanced sugar roasted pecans and some local hot sauce made in bourbon casks that Mr. Martini claims is delicious (I don’t do hot sauces, so I’ll take his word for it). Still, it was a nice, easy getaway for the afternoon, that only spurred our desire to visit one of the distilleries for an actual tour. Look for another road trip for down south in the weeks to come!