Kentucky Bourbon Festival plans new June event

“It’s kind of a friendly amateur competition between the distillers,” said Randy Prasse, president and COO of the festival “It’s not unlike what we do with the main Bourbon Festival in September with the barrel relay.”

Day one will be a callback in honor of an event once hosted by Jim Beam and will showcase more than a dozen local distilleries including Lux Row, Preservation and Log Still, all competing to see who.

Prasse said the event is meant to bring the same kind of camaraderie to the barbecue challenge that the barrel relay provides.

Distilleries also will have tasting areas set up inside the new Dant Crossing Legacy building both days.

The grounds will play host to a beer garden, live music and bounce houses for children as well to incorporate fun for all ages.

Those features are “a lot of the things that were popular years ago with the bourbon festival but had to be removed as we got more focused on the whiskey this year,” Prasse said. “So a lot of the family friendly components of The Kentucky Bourbon Festival are being brought over here.”

with the new Barbeque Challenge event.”

He said Friday evening’s event will close with a fireworks display.

Saturday jumps into heated competition with the Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned cookoff, with 20 professional pitmasters facing off against one another for the Grand Championship title and a shot at the Kansas City Barbeque Society World Invitational.

Prasse said day two of the event will wind down around 6 p.m. after the awards ceremony so guests will have time to return to Bardstown for the street concert put on by Bardstown Main Street.

“We each are taking our (own) little (spot) just to make sure that the weekend is back-to-back, non-stop fun,” he said.

General admission tickets for the barbeque challenge are $10 a day or $5 for youths ages 5-17. Children 4 and younger get in free.

For information on events and ticket purchases, go to kyboubonfestival.com.