More than 570,000 people visited the Kentucky Bourbon Trail experience in 2013, recording more than 630,000 total visits, a new milestone for the tour, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association reports.
Another 61,698 visitors traveled to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour in its first full year of existence for a total of 633,399 distillery guests statewide, KDA said.
The new attendance record for heritage distilleries is a 12 percent increase over 2012, a press release posted on the Kentucky Distillers’ Association website states, and includes figures from Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, which opened in the fall as the first Louisville stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour.
“We’re always thrilled to see double-digit growth among the heritage distilleries, but we’re equally excited to see the fledgling craft tour really take flight,” said Adam Johnson, director of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail program.
The KDA also reports that visitors came from all 50 U.S. states, as well as from 50 different countries and territories. That list includes visitors from Australia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Japan and Rwanda.
Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries will offer exclusive tours and events in May as part of the inaugural Kentucky Bourbon Affair showcase, which is described as a four-day Bourbon “fantasy camp” hosted by the KDA and the city of Louisville.
