Lewis Toasts to the Universal Joys of Kentucky Bourbon

Last week, The Kentucky Bourbon Trail capped off a rebrand and creative campaign launch by hosting a global, 24-hour-long bourbon toast on YouTube. 

To make it happen, the trail’s lead creative agency (Lewis) pulled an all-nighter - manning a 24-hour livestream that included special guests from around the globe as they joined to toast to the universal joys of KY bourbon, on the hour, every hour.

Notable participants:

• Bourbon influencers/groups: Bourbon Lens (Bourbon podcasters), Nadia Jackson (@agirltastingwhiskey with ~68K followers), Whiskey Hunt Australia (@whiskey_hunt_australia), Steve Berman (@bermansbourbon), Bourbon Brotherhood (@bourbonbrotherhoodky), The Bourbon Life (@the_bourbon_life)
• Distilleries: Heaven Hill, Four Roses Bourbon, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Brown Forman, Angel's Envy, Castle & Key, Kentucky Peerless (recently named World's Best Bourbon by International Wine & Spirit Competition), Jeptha Creed
• Chef Art Smith (celebrity chef)
• Maria Montgomery (former Miss KY, FanDuel TV host)
• Eric Gregory, President of KDA with 
• Mayor Linda Gorton (Lexington) & Mary Quinn Ramer, president of Visit Lex, who did a zoom call with their sister cities in Japan, England, France and Ireland to do a toast

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail (the organisational group that includes many of the biggest bourbon distillers in the world) is celebrating its 25th anniversary by rolling out a new campaign (two spots + print/OOH), and a brand new brand ID and website. 

The work is focused on a proud and loud approach to the unique qualities of Kentucky and its Bourbon, introducing a completely rethought approach to how distillers are looking to attract visitors and position the trail in the market.