The music headliners for Forecastle Fest are huge- Outkast, Jack White, and Beck, just to name a few. But there’s another headliner at the three-day music and culture festival that highlights its Kentucky roots- The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Forecastle Bourbon Lodge.
Eight distillers will offer two dozen bourbons during the festival. Considering you’d be hard-pressed to find much more than a draft beer in a plastic cup at most music festivals, this alone makes Forecastle Fest a distinct and unique product of Kentucky.
Some of the bands playing at the festival have selected their own barrels of bourbon for the Lodge. Proceeds from these bourbons will benefit the Forecastle Foundation.
In addition to drinking bourbon, festival goers can take a break from the music to attend bourbon education sessions in the Lodge. Friday night will feature a meet-and-greet with Master Distillers and other bourbon industry VIPs, a cocktail demonstration, and a brief lecture on the process of making bourbon.
Saturday’s events include a Q&A session about the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a seminar on bourbon tasting techniques, a bourbon and food pairings class, and the Billy Goat Strut Revue. The evening will be topped off with a celebrity bartending challenge.
Sunday’s events kick off with a history of Kentucky bourbon lecture from Four Roses Ambassador Al Young. Then Adam Johnson of The Kentucky Bourbon Trail will teach festival-goers why the best bourbon in the world comes from Kentucky. Finally, Brad Williams of Liquor Barn and Larry Kass of Heaven Hill will explain what certain label terms, such as small batch and bonded, mean to the consumers.
Entry to the Lodge incurs an additional fee. Ten tickets can be purchased for $10, and each ticket will have a value of $1 to be spent inside the Lodge. You can also become a member of the Lodge for $20, which includes 10 tickets. See the website for details.
So when you need an air conditioned break from the Forecastle festivities this weekend, stop by the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Forecastle Bourbon Lodge to relax and enjoy some bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Forecastle Fest