LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — September may be known as Bourbon Heritage Month but honoring the spirit is second nature to Kentuckians year round.
Seth Thompson has made a living out of it for the last 15 years.
“Really just saw a lot of potential in Bourbon back in 2008 to really blossom and transform into hopefully seeing it become the next Napa Valley if you will with the experiential realm," Thompson said.
Thompson turned out to be right as the bourbon industry has grown substantially over the last two decades, becoming intertwined into the entertainment and hospitality space.
Throughout that evolution, Thompson has created the Bourbon Review, highlighting the latest bourbon news in real time.
“In 2008 there were less than 20 distilleries in Kentucky. I know now that there’s at or just over 100. That’s a 500% increase just in Kentucky alone," Thompson said.
“It’s just been really exciting to see that come to life and continue to get better with each passing year it seems like."
Thompson sat down with LEX 18 to talk about this change for bourbon and he described it being a result of counter culture.
"If you were drinking bourbon that was different. I think people were kind of yearning for something more and were kind of hypnotized by that story, that magnetic presence that bourbon has," Thompson said.
The expansion has gone beyond distilleries.
There are now bars across the country that are specifically catered to bourbon.
One of them close to home is Belle's in downtown Lexington, founded by Thompson in 2013.
"At that time bourbon was still a novelty. Belle’s now probably has over 400 whiskeys, maybe more," Thompson said.
“It’s been completely mind-blowing to see how bourbon has evolved and how many new spirits are out there. How many new distilleries are out there and really how it’s spread across the state."
If you want to check out the Bourbon Review for yourself, click here.
