Forecastle Festival is teaming up with The Bourbon Review Magazine and Justins’ House of Bourbon to take their bourbon game to new heights in 2019. The Bourbon Review will be presenting bourbon tastings with industry experts in the Bourbon Lodge, while Justins’ House of Bourbon will be presenting and curating the Rarities Bar.
Running each summer since 2002, Forecastle Festival has become almost as much about bourbon as it is about the music. The home of all those bottles is The Bourbon Lodge, touted as the outpost of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It features pours from famed distilleries on the Trail like Heaven Hill, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Four Roses, Michters, and Wilderness Trail.
“Now in its seventh year, the Forecastle Bourbon Lodge is a 16,000-square-foot oasis for festivalgoers, complete with an outdoor Bourbon garden and patio, air-conditioned lodge and full-service restrooms. Bourbon Lodge members and patrons can expect many returning favorites, as well as some special new surprises this year,” said Forecastle today in a press release.
Included in those surprises are bourbon tastings led by Master Distillers, Brand Ambassadors, and more—and presented by us at The Bourbon Review. These tastings will offer Bourbon Lodge members the opportunity to sip whiskey with Heaven Hill Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll, Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot, Brown Forman President Campbell Brown and Master Taster Jackie Zykan, Wilderness Trail co-founders Shane Baker and Pat Heist, and more.
“The Bourbon Review is thrilled to take part in Forecastle, which has served as an important and long standing cultural anchor in enhancing the Bourbon Country Experience,” said Seth Thompson, Publisher and Co-Founder at The Bourbon Review. The full schedule of tastings hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ll keep you updated you when it is.
Whiskey drinkers of all ages won’t want to miss the Rarities Bar, curated and presented by Justins’ House of Bourbon. The Rarities Bar will feature hard-to-find bottles (both modern and vintage) for those hunting for pours they can’t find anywhere else. They’ll be featuring limited edition modern bourbons like Old Forester Birthday Bourbon from 2013 and 2016, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Four Roses 130th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch, Woodford Double Double Oaked and Heaven Hill 27-Year, and more (full list below).
“Justins’ House of Bourbon is very proud to present the Rarities Bar at Forecastle this year. Forecastle is one of the top festivals of its kind year after year and we are happy to help make Bourbon even bigger in the spotlight of this wonderful event,” said Justin Sloan, co-owner of Justins’ House of Bourbon. The House of Bourbon is a one-of-a-kind vintage bottle shop in Lexington, KY housing bourbons and whiskies from pre-prohibition to today – and they’re bringing some of these “dusties” to Forecastle.
If you’ve already hunted down your unicorns from recent years, visitors to the Rarities Bar can sip vintage whiskey distilled in the 1960’s and 70’s. Among the historic labels will be some familiar names like Old Forester as well as labels like Old Taylor, Dowling, and Old Crow from now defunct distilleries that haven’t been seen in decades. If you’ve purchased a Bourbon Lodge Membership, you’ll get a sneak peek and access to the first pours at the Rarities Bar before any of these bottles run dry.
The Bourbon Lodge Membership isn’t included in general admission at the Forecastle Festival, but it does come with perks. For starters, you’ll get a commemorative Bourbon Lodge Mug, as well as exclusive access to the Lizard Lounge, inspired by the mind of famous Louisvillian Hunter S. Thompson. It’s not required to have a membership to join in tastings with industry experts or at the rarities bar, but the $30 pass does get you $15 worth of drink tickets to spend.
Forecastle Festival has big names beyond bourbons as well. This year’s musical acts will include headliners like The Avett Brothers and The Killers as well as local favorites like Tyler Childers. And if you’re into beer, maybe you’ve heard of Sierra Nevada. They’ll be pouring their famous Pale Ale at their Trip To The Woods specialty bar on the Bourbon Lodge patio, as well as offering a few barrel aged surprises and experimental brews.
Forecastle Festival is running from July 12-14th this year at Waterfront Park in Louisville, Kentucky. Get tickets here.
Rarities Bar Curated & Presented By Justins’ House of Bourbon
Heaven Hill
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 2018 (September) 131.4 Proof
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 2016 (January) 138.8 Proof
Elijah Craig 18-Year
Elijah Craig 21-Year
Evan Williams 23-Year
Heaven Hill 27-Year
Larceny Barrel Proof
Old Fitzgerald 14-Year
Parker’s Heritage Blended Mashbill
Parker’s Heritage Promise of Hope
Brown-Forman
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2013
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2016
Woodford Double Double Oaked
Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Maplewood
Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sweet Mash
Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Brandy Cask
Four Roses
Limited Edition Small Batch 2010
Limited Edition Small Batch 2015
Limited Edition Small Batch 2016
Limited Edition Small Batch 2018
Four Roses Single Barrel Limited Edition 2011
Elliott’s Select
Al Young 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch
Vintage
Old Forester 1970’s
Heaven Hill 1970’s
Old Crow 1970’s (No longer in operation)
Old Taylor 1970’s (No longer in operation)
Dowling 1970’s (No longer in operation)
