Bourbon Classic 2015 is Friday, February 20 & Saturday, February 21

The Bourbon Classic is a 1.5 day total bourbon immersion weekend, now in its third year. The Louisville event delivers education and entertainment exclusively focused on the bourbon enthusiast. It is coming up in a few weeks, Friday evening, February 20, and all day Saturday, February 21, to be specific.

(For bourbon enthusiasts, an 'all-day' event begins at a very civilized 2:45 in the afternoon.)

Although it offers opportunities for you to experience many facets of bourbon, from production to promotion, it's mostly about cocktails and culinary creations, showcasing Louisville's drinking and dining community.

All events take place downtown at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, a beautiful venue that features major works of visual art in its public spaces. It is right across the street from the Michael Graves-designed Humana Building, an icon of post-modernism.

Bourbon Classic highlights include:

• Bourbon Classic Cocktail Challenge featuring top local chefs and bartenders.
• A general session with master distillers and brand ambassadors.
• Bourbon Classic University educational sessions.
• The Ultimate Bourbon Experience, featuring bourbon-related products and tastings from distillers, chefs, and key vendors

Bourbon Classic is co-produced by FSA Management Group and The Bourbon Review.

I will be there, as part of a 'storytellers' session with Bernie Lubbers and Michael Veach, Saturday, February 21, 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM. I'm also hosting a history panel with Freddie Johnson (Buffalo Trace), Fred Noe (Jim Beam), Jimmy Russell (Wild Turkey), and Jim Rutledge (Four Roses), on Saturday, February 21, 5:45 PM – 6:45 PM.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers will have a pop-up store in the lobby all day Saturday, where mine and other bourbon-related books will be available. I'll be there at some point to meet and greet and sign books, but that schedule is still being finalized.

The rest of the time I'll be around. One nice thing about this relatively small event is that everyone is very accessible. Come up and say hello.

I attended the first two years and it's a very fun event. Louisville has a great dining and drinking scene, many nice downtown hotels, and many other things to see and do, so you can make a few days of it if you'd like. Louisville, relative to a lot of other U.S. cities its size, is also very affordable.

I hope to see you there.