The Kentucky Distillers’ Association announced that its annual Kentucky Bourbon Affair fantasy camp won’t happen in September 2022, but the prestigious event is being reimagined for 2023.
The KDA created the KBA eight years ago as a world-class celebration featuring daily behind-the-scenes access at the nation’s most iconic distilleries, with elite nightcap dinners and fetes in Louisville starring Kentucky’s historic bourbon culture and top-shelf culinary scene.
KDA president Eric Gregory said participating distillers simply don’t have the bandwidth and workforce to manage the immersive, week-long showcase – and many are already booked for months as visitors have returned in droves to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour.
“These intimate, rare, backstage experiences are what make the Kentucky Bourbon Affair such a magical event, and we’re concerned that it would not live up to the high expectations from our devoted fans, many of whom come back year after year,” Gregory said.
With 50 members now across 40 Kentucky counties, Gregory said the KDA is taking the time to reimagine the Kentucky Bourbon Affair with plans to return in 2023. It has been postponed since 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
“The Bourbon Affair is a bucket list adventure and the only event that’s exclusively produced by the distilleries themselves,” he said. “We look forward to a fresh, new approach to the KBA next year and thank all our fans for their patience and understanding.”