KDA names Stave & Thief Society official bourbon certification course

Will be required of Bourbon Trail members

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 16, 2017) — The Kentucky Distillers’ Association today announced that the Stave & Thief Society Bourbon Certification Program is now the official bourbon education course of the organization and its 33 members.

It will be required of KDA members who join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, said KDA President Eric Gregory.

The program was created in 2015 by the Distilled Spirits Epicenter, the KDA’s official educational member, with input from an independent advisory panel of distilling experts, historians, leaders in the hospitality industry and professional spirits educators.

The curriculum, which has been endorsed by KDA members and master distillers, is designed to promote and uphold bourbon’s unique and distinguished culture by preparing establishments and individuals to deliver an authentic bourbon experience.

“This certification is the first of its kind, and it is only fitting that it was created right here in Kentucky, the birthplace of Bourbon,” said Gregory. “We’re proud to give it the KDA’s seal of approval and full endorsement.’

Distilled Spirits Epicenter, located in downtown Louisville, is a purpose-built training center complete with a classroom, distillery, and laboratory that offers the technical training and hands-on experience to those that are ready to take their bourbon knowledge to the next level.

There are two levels of bourbon certification. Certified Bourbon Steward can be achieved by independent study of the Society’s Handbook and requires passing an online test. Executive Bourbon Steward, a day-long class at DSE where students utilize the state-of-the-art classroom, distillery and beverage laboratory.

Stave & Thief Society has certified more than 300 bourbon stewards nationwide. Though the program was originally designed for frontline workers in the hospitality industry, the executive bourbon stewards are a balanced mix of service professionals, bourbon enthusiasts and professionals in the whiskey industry.