My predecessor started the passport program in 2007, and 186 people completed the Kentucky Bourbon Trail that year. In five years we went from 186 people to nearly 12,000. We can’t print T-shirts fast enough.

Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, on the tremendous growth of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour. Last year’s 11,757 completed passports set a record, and attendance this year so far is up 36 percent.