Bourbon & Belonging’s weekend festival combines Kentucky’s rich bourbon roots and LGBTQ+ culture. From Oct. 3-5, Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Paducah will take part in their own celebrations with local distilleries, drag queens and hotels unique to each part of Kentucky.
The celebration is a partnership initiated by Queer Kentucky, a nonprofit newsroom that supports LGBTQ+ Kentuckians.
“Kentucky has such a great queer scene,” said Queer Kentucky executive director Missy Spears. “But you would never know it if you didn’t live here. If you see something on Kentucky…it is never about anything positive in the state or how beautiful our state is. So we were just trying to show off some of that.”
Local businesses and distilleries organized the festivities in each city, so the events will vary.
For example, in Covington, visitors can sip 10 premium bourbons paired with a variety of smoked meats from The Standard restaurant. In Lexington, Lex Lez Night offers coffee, cocktails and a closer look into Kentucky’s lesbian history.
Spears said she is especially looking forward to a hands-on whiskey-blending class with drag queen Molly Mormen at Wenzel Whiskey’s distillery in Covington.
“She is actually studying whiskey,” Spears said. “[Mormen] wants to come in as informed as possible and really make it an educational experience.”
All of the events are listed online. Spears encourages anyone interested in attending to check whether the event is ticketed, free or registration only.
Bourbon & Belonging partnered with 11 bourbon distillers this year to create unique experiences for visitors, Spears said. This includes notable brands like Evan Williams and Angel’s Envy and newer distillers like Wenzel Whiskey from Covington.
But there will be plenty of offerings beyond bourbon, according to Spears. “We wanted to be really fun and welcoming to folks that aren’t necessarily as hard into bourbon as we are here.”