Bin 110 Goes to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival
Every September the bourbon world gathers in Bardstown. Andy and Tallie Upchurch were there for Bin 110, walking rickhouses, talking to the people who make the whiskey, and bringing home news for Cornelius: Frank August is coming to North Carolina, and the launch party is at Bin 110.
Heaven Hill, Bardstown, Kentucky. Festival week.
A whiskey list with more than 500 bottles on it doesn't build itself. It gets built by showing up.
That's why, when the Kentucky Bourbon Festival rolls around each September, Andy and Tallie head north to Bardstown. It's the biggest week of the year in bourbon: distilleries open their doors, master distillers and brand founders are walking around in the open, and the conversations that happen in a rickhouse or over a glass at a launch party are the ones that end up shaping what gets poured at Bin 110 the rest of the year.
Yes, it's fun. It's also how Bin 110 stays plugged into the community that makes this whiskey, so the bar in Cornelius keeps earning its reputation as one of the best bourbon rooms in the Charlotte area.
One of the cool things about Kentucky Bourbon Festival is the people you meet on the fly, and what you learn from those chance meetings. You can't get that over the phone.
Andy Upchurch, Owner, Bin 110
A milestone barrel: Bardstown Bourbon Company's one millionth, filled March 2, 2026.
Bardstown Bourbon Company
Bin 110 guests know the name. Bardstown Bourbon Company has been part of the bar's story for years, including barrel picks that ended up on the shelf in Cornelius, so a stop at the distillery during festival week was a given.
This year they had their one millionth barrel on display, filled back in March. For a distillery that only opened its doors in 2016, that's a remarkable number, and a reminder of how fast this corner of Kentucky has grown.
Andy and Tallie at Bardstown Bourbon Company. Totally worth getting dressed up for.
Bardstown Bourbon Company after dark.
A tribute to the late Parker Beam, Heaven Hill's longtime master distiller, on the rickhouse wall. His whiskey thief is displayed just below it.
Heaven Hill and Warehouse Y
You can't spend a week in Bardstown without walking through Heaven Hill, home to Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Larceny, and a long list of bottles Bin 110 regulars reach for. The trip included time in Warehouse Y, one of the classic rickhouses, where the barrels sit stacked in the dark doing the slow work that eventually ends up in a glass on One Norman Blvd.
Walking a rickhouse is the part of this business you can't learn from a spec sheet. Where a barrel sits, how the seasons move through the building, and which floors the distillers pull from for their best releases all change what's in the bottle. That context is what lets Andy pick barrels with confidence.
The whiskey thief from Parker's photo, still on display in the ricks.
A long walk down the rickhouse aisle.
O.F.C. Vintage 2004 at Neat Bourbon Bar and Bottle Shop, Bardstown. Not something you run into every day.
What Ends Up in the Glass
Festival week is also where you taste things you can't find anywhere else. Case in point: a pour of O.F.C. Vintage 2004, one of the rarest bottles Buffalo Trace releases, which Andy found at Neat Bourbon Bar and Bottle Shop in Bardstown. Andy won't tell you what you're supposed to taste in it (every palate is different, and that's the point), but he'll tell you it's worth the trip.
Take it from a fellow bourbon bar owner: make a point to visit Neat when you're in Bardstown. And if you're in Louisville, they have a location there too.
Every one of these tastings feeds back into the list at Bin 110. Some of it shows up as a new bottle on the shelf. Some of it shows up as a tasting event in Cornelius. And some of it shows up as a relationship that pays off months later.
Andy and Jonathan Crocker of Frank August, meeting in person for the first time.
The Chance Meeting: Frank August
Which brings us to the best part of the trip.
Andy had spoken by phone with Jonathan Crocker, CEO and co-founder of Frank August, but had never met him in person. At the festival, they finally did, and Andy got the news on camera: Frank August is entering North Carolina in October, and the launch party is at Bin 110 on Tuesday, October 13.
Frank August is a young Kentucky brand with a clear point of view. The name honors one partner's late father (Frank, the past and the heritage) and another partner's young son (August, the future). The first two bottles coming into the state are their True Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon and True Small Batch Kentucky Straight Rye, with single barrels to follow.
The "true" matters. As Jonathan explains in the video, "small batch" has no legal definition, and for a lot of brands it means a dump of several hundred barrels. Every Frank August small batch is a 15-barrel blend, built so each batch shows its own nuance the way a single barrel does. That's exactly the kind of story Andy likes to bring to Bin 110, and exactly the kind of bottle he likes to pour.
Andy with Jonathan Crocker of Frank August at Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Follow @bin110lkn for more.
Save the Date
- WhatFrank August North Carolina launch party
- WhenTuesday, October 13, 2026. Time and details to come.
- WhereBin 110. 19712 One Norman Blvd, Suite #110, Cornelius, NC
- PouringFrank August True Small Batch Bourbon and True Small Batch Rye
- Age21+
Details are still being ironed out. The fastest way to hear them is to follow Bin 110 on Instagram or keep an eye on the events page.
See What Came Home From Kentucky
Trips like this are why the whiskey list at Bin 110 keeps getting better. Stop in, ask what's new, and mark October 13 on the calendar.
Upcoming Tastings and Events Bin 110 · 19712 One Norman Blvd, Suite 110, Cornelius, NC · Live music Thu–SatCurious what's on the shelf right now? Browse the whiskey list.
Bardstown is where the bourbon comes from. Bin 110 is where it lands. You're exactly where you need to be.