Kentucky bringing bourbon, music festivals and new attractions into 2025

Representatives from the Kentucky Department of Tourism, Louisville Tourism and Brand USA brought their Southern hospitality to Toronto this week with an interactive cooking event featuring a bourbon-infused menu.

Kentucky, the producer of 95 per cent of the world’s bourbon, is expanding its culinary offerings with an uptick in distillery and winery openings, new food pairing tours and the expansion of the Bourbon Trail to cover nearly the entire state.

“Hundreds of millions have gone into improving the visitor experience,” said Michael Mangeot, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Tourism. As distillery tours have risen steeply in popularity, restaurants, tasting experiences and even amphitheaters have cropped up next to them to provide visitors a more well-rounded experience. 

Music and more

Music is also a focus of the Bluegrass State, which is set to welcome back iconic music festivals in 2025 including Bourbon & Beyond, Louder Than Life and the Railbird Festival.

Kentucky has even been known to bring its love of music to the extreme — and nod to its outdoor adventures at the same time — by hosting concerts in Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system in the world, as occurred last year with master cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

Home to the Muhammad Ali Center and the first stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, has “iconic attractions found nowhere else,” according to Saundra Robertson of Louisville Tourism. The city also boasts updated activities like the Urban Bourbon Trail, a newly renovated Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, and a Christmas Village from the owners of Dollywood, opening November 29 at Kentucky Kingdom amusement park. 

Easy Connectivity for Canadians

“We actually treat Canada like a domestic market,” said Mangeot, referencing Canada’s importance to the state’s tourism economy.

\With Kentucky being the midway point down the I-75, he encourages Canadians to stop by on their way down to more southern states this winter. Visitors enjoy easy fly-drive connectivity with access to seven bordering states.

According to Mangeot, the Kentucky Department of Tourism’s focus is to attract first-time visitors since they see strong repeat visitation and, as he noted, “Kentucky sells itself.”