Visit Bardstown, in partnership with the Bourbon Capital Alliance and Bardstown Main Street, is proud to announce the launch of the Bourbon Capital District, a state ABC-licensed Entertainment Destination Center where a resident or visitor may walk outside with an open container of legally purchased alcohol in a designated cup within specified boundaries.

“The Bourbon Capital Alliance and Bardstown Main Street were proud to take the lead on establishing the Bourbon Capital District and we sincerely appreciate the partnership of Visit Bardstown and our dozens of sponsors who contributed financially and have been deemed Founding Partners,” said Sam Lacy, Executive Director of the Bourbon Capital Alliance. “This was a true team effort meant to raise the bar for our residents and visitors from a downtown experience perspective.”

Randi Mouser, Executive Director of Bardstown Main Street, stated that “the economic impact derived from the Bourbon Capital District will be great for our downtown restaurants, bars and retail establishments, most of which are locally owned. We think the District will encourage our residents and visitors to spend more time downtown, leading to an overall increase in patronage for all within the boundaries.”

The Bourbon Capital District officially launched on June 14, 2024. Coincidentally, that was also National Bourbon Day. The Bardstown Main Street program celebrated the launch of the Bourbon Capital District with a successful late night sip and shop event, encouraging Bardstown’s downtown retailers to stay open late hours to accommodate patrons.

“Since launch, we’ve seen great response from our residents and visitors,” said Sam Lacy. “We often see patrons walking through historic downtown Bardstown with a beverage in our designated Bourbon Capital District cups. The establishment of the District has accomplished all that we thought it would; it has led to increased patronage of our downtown bars, restaurants and retail establishments, as well as simply made downtown Bardstown a cooler place to be.”

Residents of and visitors to the Bourbon Capital of the World are encouraged to responsibly enjoy the Bourbon Capital District during its designated open hours of 12 pm – 9 pm, seven days per week. The boundaries of the Bourbon Capital District encompass much of the downtown area, beginning at the north with the recently renovated Mayor’s Park and extending south to just past the historic courthouse square. Each restaurant, bar, and retail establishment participating in the Bourbon Capital District is denoted with a window cling, clearly marking that a patron may either a) purchase a beverage in the establishment and take it to go or b) enter said establishment with a beverage in a designated container.

To learn more about the Bourbon Capital District and how you may responsibly enjoy, please click here. Cheers!