Since 2013, the Bourbon Classic has been billed as a premier event for spirit connoisseurs. This year, organizers promise a “Holy Trinity” with food, spirits and “bourbon arts.”
Events are dotted across a map of Kentucky, many in Louisville. It runs four days, with the cost of a Friday and Saturday ticket landing at $359.
For some local bartenders, the cost is too steep.
“Not everyone can afford $359 for the whole weekend,” Jeremy Johnson, owner of Meta bar in downtown Louisville, said. “So I thought, let's move the decimal place over and do something that is a smaller scale, but still nice.”
Johnson will host the first iteration of the Bourbon Counterfeit this month. It’s a smaller, cheaper, version of the Bourbon Classic that he hopes will draw in locals priced out of the event.
Johnson said he drew inspiration from events like the Poorcastle Music Festival and the Louisville UnFair art show. Both are locally focused offshoots of the, now “paused”, Forecastle Music Festival and St. James Court Art Show, respectively.
“This isn't a middle finger to the Bourbon Classic,” Johnson said. “The idea is let's also have a bourbon tasting that is inexpensive and easy to be a part of.”
Louisville UnFair co-founder Paul Harshaw thinks Johnson's heart is in the right place.
“Keep it light,” Harshaw offered as advice. “Locals don't like a whole bunch of rules. Make it easy and accessible and don’t have crazy high expectations.”
The Bourbon Classic runs Feb. 19-22. The Bourbon Counterfeit is one day later, Sunday, Feb. 23.
