Upcoming and Prior Charity Events
The Bourbon Crusaders partners with Maker’s Mark® for 2024 Charity Event
On National Bourbon Day, the Bourbon Crusaders announced Maker’s Mark as the distillery partner for the much-anticipated 2024 Bourbon Charity Crusade.
This ticketed event will be held on November 9, 2024, in Louisville and promises to deliver an extraordinary evening featuring rare tastings, dinner, a silent and live auction, an opportunity to mix and mingle with master distillers and bourbon celebrities, and more.
A separate VIP fantasy camp experience, the unique location, and charity partner will all be announced this summer. Tickets, which typically sell out immediately, will go on sale in September 2024.
More details to follow soon! Read the full press release here.
2023 Charity Crusade: Past, Present & Future
The Bourbon Crusaders November 2023 event "Past, Present and Future" raised $720,000 for the American Heart Association of Kentuckiana. The live auction featured the right to select the first private barrel of Old Forester's Presidents Choice , as well as many other premier items that benefited those in need.
Straight from the Heart
The Bourbon Crusaders November 12th event “Straight from the Heart” raised over $400,000 for the American Heart Association of Louisville.
Kentucky Bourbon Benefit 2022 (Eastern Kentucky Floods)
The Kentucky Bourbon Benefit, an online auction organized by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, the Bourbon Crusaders, and Fred Minnick, raised over $1 million for the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund to support those impacted by the floods in eastern Kentucky in summer 2022.
Kentucky Bourbon Benefit
The Kentucky Bourbon Benefit, a six-day auction organized by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, the Bourbon Crusaders, and Fred Minnick, raised over $3.4 million for the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund to support those impacted by the tornadoes which struck western Kentucky in December 2021. The auction featured rare bottles, private barrel selections, and more.
Highlights of the auction included:
A 19-year-old barrel of Willett that sold for $401,001, the highest ever paid for a full barrel of bourbon at the time of the auction. A second donated barrel was matched by the second-place bidder for a total of $802,002 raised.
A private barrel selection at Four Roses Distillery, aged 17 to 24 years, sold for $278,000. A second barrel was matched for a total of $556,000 raised. With other rare donated bottles, Four Rose’s final tally was $569,920.
The "Mayfield Collection" of 14 bottles recovered intact from Carr’s Steakhouse in downtown Mayfield, which was destroyed in the tornado, sold for $69,475. Nearly all the bottle’s brands matches the sales prices with half of the money going to Carr’s for its 29 employees – who have a combined 22 children – many of whom were displaced from their homes following the tornadoes.
The Bourbon Crusaders are humbled by the bourbon community’s support for the tornado relief victims. A recap from one of our members Brian Haara can be read here. You can still donate to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund here.
Additional highlights from the online auction can be found here.
Barrel Through Hunger
Following the incredible success of November 2018’s Willett To Be Cured, in November 2019 the Bourbon Crusaders partnered with Four Roses Distillery and Fred Minnick and raised nearly $386,000 for hunger relief in Kentucky. The event benefited both God’s Pantry Food Bank and Dare to Care Food Bank and set a new fundraising record for the Bourbon Crusaders.
Willett to be Cured
Late into the evening of November 3, 2018, Drew Kulsveen and the whole Willett family rewrote the book on bourbon philanthropy.
For the 2018 edition of The Bourbon Crusaders’ annual charity event, the Crusaders partnered with Willett to raise over $340,000 for the American Cancer Society. Willett’s live auction donations are now legendary in the bourbon community.
Parker's Legacy of Hope
On Saturday, November 4th, 2017, The Bourbon Crusaders with the help of the Heaven Hill team, emcee Fred Minnick, Master Distillers, and key players from across the industry raised over $120,000 for The Parker Beam ALS Promise of Hope Fund. The night featured bourbon tastings, storytelling, and dinner provided by The Silver Dollar, with charity auctions honoring the life and legacy of long-time Master Distiller, Parker Beam.
Jim Rutledge's 50th Anniversary
On November 5th, 2016, The Bourbon Crusaders honored Jim Rutledge and his 50 years of contribution to American Whiskey. Proceeds from this event were donated to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, a foundation that is personally important to Jim and his family.