The KFC Yum! Center now has another way for Louisville visitors to spend an intermission: a bourbon lounge from western Kentucky’s Jackson Purchase Distillery. The new space pairs the brand’s bourbons with signature cocktails inside one of the city’s busiest sports and entertainment venues.
Jackson Purchase opened the lounge to visitors at the arena. The Courier-Journal photo gallery accompanies the opening.
Jackson Purchase Bourbon At The Lounge
The lounge features Jackson Purchase bourbon, giving arena guests a taste of the Hickman distillery’s core offerings without requiring a road trip across the state.
Jackson Purchase says its bourbon is made with grains and limestone water, while emphasizing the warmer climate of far western Kentucky as part of the whiskey’s character.
Another Bourbon-Focused Stop Inside The Yum! Center
The new lounge adds another bourbon-focused hospitality option at the arena.
For Jackson Purchase, the Louisville opening adds a high-traffic showcase to a brand rooted in Hickman. An October 11, 2022, release from the Kentucky state government said the distillery had expanded through a $26 million project that was expected to create 54 full-time jobs.
What Visitors Can Expect
The lounge is open during events at the KFC Yum! Center, giving concertgoers and sports fans another place to enjoy bourbon and cocktails. At the arena, bourbon branding has become nearly as familiar as the scoreboard.
Jackson Purchase’s whiskey program grew from an original contract-distillery purpose, with Master Distiller Craig Beam and assistant master distiller Terry Ballard leading its whiskey program. The new lounge puts that western Kentucky operation directly in front of Louisville’s steady stream of event traffic — a fitting place for a bourbon brand to make its city debut.
