2021 Conference Location: Louisville, KY

Louisville is changing the way people think about Southern destinations. This is a city that’s truly unique and different. A city that combines heritage with innovation, authenticity with originality and quirkiness with friendliness. A city full of sights, sounds and sips all its own—including its official cocktail, the Old Fashioned, and the one-and-only Urban Bourbon Experience, a citywide adventure that includes distilleries, endless craft cocktail bars and Bourbon attractions and exhibits.

There are seven bourbon attractions within walking distance of the conference hotel (the first bourbon businesses to come back to historic Whiskey Row since before Prohibition). These are Angel’s Envy, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Kentucky Peerless Distilling, Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery, Old Forester, Rabbit Hole and the best place to start your bourbon education - the Frazier History Museum’s Welcome Center for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Other “bourbonism” attractions to open in Louisville include the Stitzel Weller distillery and a rock-n-roll spirited brandy distillery in Butchertown – Copper & Kings.

Additional authentic, iconic visitor experiences compliment the incredible unique attractions that Louisville has taken pride in for years, including the century-old Belle of Louisville, the Kentucky Derby Museum and Churchill Downs – home of the Kentucky Derby, Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Kentucky Science Center, Louisville Mega Cavern – the world’s only location for underground zip-lining and mountain biking, Frederick L. Olmsted designed park system and many more

To top it off, Louisville’s culinary scene is cooking and it’s caught the attention of people all across the globe including Bravo’s Top Chef show featuring Kentucky in the 16th season. Travel + Leisure, Garden & Gun, Bon Appetit, Saveur, National Geographic, Southern Living and many others have taken notice that the city has positioned itself as a foodie destination. Louisville was named “Best Up-and-coming Food City” by Thrillist, one of “America’s Best Cities for Food” by Travel + Leisure and one of the “Nation’s Best Local Food Scenes” by USA Today. From farm-to-table to modernist cuisine to country cooking, top chefs and top shelf, Louisville has a lot to bring to the table.