I’ll drink to that: Lexington plans Big Ass Bourbon event to celebrate its 250th birthday

Organizers in Lexington are hoping bourbon lovers will raise a glass to the city’s 250th anniversary in June.

Well, four glasses, actually.

As part of the 250Lex yearlong celebration of the city’s founding, organizers are going for a world record – the most people at a bourbon tasting.

The event, to be held at LexLive, will feature a flight of four bourbons for aficionados to taste, said Cameron Jones, LexLive’s director of sales and marketing.

“I thought if I’m coming into Lexington, as an outsider looking in, what are a couple of things that I would want to see or learn about. The first thing that came to me was horses and bourbon,” he said.

“It would be a bit of a challenge to get 300 horses in here, so I thought, we’ve got three bars on site, let’s go with bourbon.”

And since LexLive’s owner George Krikorian doesn’t do anything small, Jones said, whatever the venue decided to do, it needed to be big. After a little research and some brainstorming, doing something big with bourbon was the right fit.

“We wanted something that would place Lexington on a global map,” he said. “LexLive has 90,000 square feet and can accommodate 2,500 guests at one time. We thought, ‘Why not do a world record bourbon tasting instead?’”

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest spirits tasting event was held at Öl & Whisky Mässan, in Gothenburg, Sweden, on April 13, 2019. In that event, 2,283 people sat down to taste Nigab and Bruichladdich whisky.

But, as we all know, whiskey ain’t bourbon. Jones said nothing speaks to Lexington’s unique identity and LexLive’s outsized venue than combining a bourbon tasting and a world-record attempt.

Thus was born the Big Ass Bourbon Tasting event.

So, now that they have the event, how will they get to a world record, you ask?

First, they’ll sell tickets to it. Jones said there will be a limit of 2,025 tickets to the event. Most of the event will be standing room only, but some areas within the facility will have special seating, he said.

Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but are expected to go on sale by April.

Then, they’ll throw in some bourbon. Each flight will consist of a one-ounce pour of RD1 bourbon, Makers Mark and Bespoke Spirits bourbon. Jones said the event is still looking for one more special pour.

“Very early on we decided, we didn’t want to go with all big names,” he said. “We wanted to have some local flair in there to really create a diverse cultural landscape.

“It is about Lexington, and we wanted some tried and true Lexington brands to be in the fold.”

Last, they’ll open the doors and let the people in. Jones said they’ll start letting ticket holders into LexLive at 5 p.m. on event day to give everyone a chance to find their spot.

Attendees will get a commemorative T-shirt and a flight rack card that they can have signed by master distillers and celebrity guests. Local band Honeychild will be on hand to play for the crowd.

There also will be food to nibble on and lots of fun, Jones said.

Already, the event has people buzzing.

“We’ve seen a lot of excitement and response from those that we’ve been reaching out to,” Jones said.

“We’ve been telling people this is your chance to be a part of history, to highlight your brand on that global stage and to support your city and local community. It is an exciting effort, and an exciting opportunity for all of Lexington, truly.”

Mayor Linda Gorton said the event would highlight bourbon’s place in the city’s history.

“The Big Ass Bourbon Tasting will be a celebration of all things Lexington – right in the heart of our vibrant downtown,” she said. “Lexington has a long, proud history in the bourbon industry, and I’m looking forward to joining our residents in raising a glass – of bourbon – to our next 250 years.”

The tasting won’t be attended by representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records, Jones said, but the ticketed attendance will be enough to hit bourbon record books.

Even without Guinness, the event promises to be a one-of-a-kind event in the 250Lex celebration roster, and something bourbon lovers, and others, won’t want to miss.

“We really do feel that this event will be one of the jewels in the city’s crown in their roster of events for 2025,” Jone said.

“There are a lot of big surprises, a lot of big names that will be on site for this event, and those details are still being finalized. But ultimately, we plan to go in with a bang on this one event. This is kind of our one crack at a 250Lex event and making the city proud, and I do think that we are well on track to do so.”