September 13, 2023 • 7 mins
On this week's episode of Where To Next, I'm joined by Mike Mangeot, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Tourism to chat all about the great state of Kentucky! From bourbon country to a vast array of outdoor activities, to delicious farm-to-table southern cuisine, Kentucky has something for everyone to enjoy. Mike also gives me a few hidden gems to check out upon visiting and promises you can't just visit once!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Thanks, Francesca. It's a pleasureto be with you. Absolutely, we're
really excited to have you on wheretwo. Next, of course, we
talk everything travel and tourism here andtoday we're talking about the great state of
Kentucky. So let's just dive rightinto it. Let's talk Kentucky. Mike,
Well, thank you again for havingme here today. You know,
Kentucky at one time was the westernfrontier of the United States. We were
the fifteenth state to enter the Unionin seventeen ninety two. We're a great
(00:22):
blend of geographical diversity, from ourmountains in the east, to our rolling
hills in central Kentucky into the flatlands and our large lakes in western Kentucky.
And you know, we're really wellknown for obviously events like the Kentucky
Derby, the longest continual sea runboarding event in the United States, which
will celebrate its one hundred and fiftiethanniversary next year, And of course to
our bourbon industry, which is growinginternationally and has really been a leader in
(00:47):
the tourism industry. Yeah. Absolutely, And I was gonna say my boyfriend
was stationed in Kentucky for a coupleof years when he was in the Army
and Kentucky. According to him,it's pretty much synonymous with bourbon these days.
So I love to talk about Kentucky'sbourbon. Yeah, Bourbon country,
think the NAPA region, but forbourbon lovers, and it really is that.
You know, Kentucky makes ninety fivepercent of all the bourbon in the
(01:07):
world. And I didn't mispronounce thator stutter. That's ninety five percent.
Wow. And I like to saythe other five per cents counterfeit. But
you know, bourbon has to bemade in the United States, and as
I said, we make ninety fivepercent of it. We currently have about
eleven and a half million barrels ofbourbon aging here in Kentucky. And to
put that in perspective, we onlyhave four and a half million people,
so we're making plenty of it.But really, when we market it would
(01:30):
come. It's really not as muchabout the consumption, although that's a very
delicious part of it, but it'sreally more about coming in and learning the
story of each distillery, the history, their heritage, how they make their
product. You know, the processof making bourbon doesn't change from distillery distillery.
The mash bill or recipe does butroy the characters behind it, you
know, learning about an Elmer tLeague who's down a buffalo trace, or
(01:53):
Jim Beam, who was a realperson, how he got his distillery up
and running ninety days after the endof prohibition, and so it's just there's
some really cool stories, some beautifullandscapes. And the cool thing for us
right now is that our distilleries notonly are investing in more production, thank
goodness, but also have invested inthe visitor experience. So we have distilleries
now where you can stay on propertyor they have live music venues. Great
(02:16):
restaurants have been developed over the lastfew years. So you know, when
we say Bourbon Country, it's notjust about coming in and drinking the bourbon.
It's really just about that whole culture. It's leading over into our culinary
side and to other experiences as well. Yeah, it really is a full
blown experience down there. My manjet On with me this morning, Commissioner
of the Kentucky Department of Tourism.If you'd like to learn more and plan
(02:38):
your trip today, you can visitKentucky Tourism dot com. And I know,
listen, we all love bourbon,but if maybe you're not a drinker.
Maybe that ain't your thing. Sowhat are some of the other really
popular things people enjoy when they visitKentucky. Well, I think I like
to say, you know, we'rekind of an undiscovered location, so when
people first come here, they're oneof the first things they say when they
walk into My goodness, I don'tknow how beautiful Kentucky us. Our outdoor
(03:00):
activities take a back seat to noone in the country. And I'll fight
you over that. You know,our Red River Gorge area and eastern Kentucky
has world class rock climbing and hiking. The Daniel Boone National Forest down in
that area is incredible. People fromall over the eastern half the United States
and really the world come to thegorge to climb and hike. And you
know that we even have underground paddleboarding and kayaking down in the gorge,
(03:23):
so that aspect of it. Andthen when you come into the central Kentucky
area, as I said, Lexingtonis known as the horse capital of the
world for a reason. They're overfour hundred and fifty working horse farms in
the region right now, and morethan one hundred and fifty of those you
can now visit through an organization calledVisit Horse Country, so you really can
get behind the scenes and see howthe horses are handled, how they're treated
(03:43):
some farms, whether it's the foldingwhere you see the babies that everybody loves,
or even now, we have acouple of retirement homes like old Friends
in Georgetown, Kentucky, just outsideof Lexington, when when they're racing days
and they're breeding days are over,they go to these farms and they're cared
for you for the rest of theirlives. So, you know, the
horse is the outdoors. Our musicscene is incredible. You know, people
I think undervalue what Kentucky has contributedto the music scene over the years.
(04:06):
Of course, we're the birthplace ofLoretta Lynn, the Everly Brothers, Patty
Loveless, Tom t Hall, ChrisStapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers,
and you know, the list goeson and on. And of course we're
the birthplace of bluegrass music, soBill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys founded that
genre. So that's pretty cool.So there's a lot to see and do
here in Kentucky. Yeah, lotsfor the outdoor lover, lots on the
(04:27):
music scene, of course for thebourbon lover as well. And I don't
know about you, but I amall about the food, to be honest.
Anytime I go anywhere, I'm researchingthe food months ahead of time.
And I know that Southern food trulyis a world all in its own.
So what's the culinary scene like inKentucky? What can people expect? I
would say we were kind of farmedthe table for anybody knew what that was,
yeah before I was cool, right, yeah, And it wouldn't call
(04:47):
it anything, It's just how weate. But I'd say it's a Kentucky
culinary scenes. Kentucky is a greatblend of Southern comfort and regional specialties.
You know, it's very diverse,very flavorful experience insists for food enthusiast.
Louisville, our largest city, hasbeen named for probably the last ten years
it was one of the top foodcities in the South. Who've got some
(05:08):
great James Beard Award winners and nomineesof open restaurants here, but you've really
seen that spread all over the state. Lexington is another hotbed for culinary down
in western Kentucky. We had oneof the finalists on top chef a couple
of years ago who's open to restaurant. So it really is a blend.
You know what you have to understandabout Kentucky. I said earlier that we
were at one point that the westernfrontier, so you know, you see
(05:30):
Scottish immigrants came in and that's wherethe distilling came from. Along our entire
you know, our entire northern borderof the state is the Ohio River for
the most part, and along thatriver you saw a lot of German immigrants
come in. So in cities likeCovington, which is right across from Cincinnati,
Ohio, you see a big Germaninfluence. They have something called the
Ghetta fest which is a German porkdish. You see a lot of food
(05:54):
festivals around around the state as well. So we're just kind of a big
combination of Southern cuisine and a lotof other really really interesting influences. Well
it sounds delicious, let me tellyou. Mike. Mike Manjett is on
with me this morning, Commissioner ofthe Kentucky Department of Tourism Kentucky Tourism dot
com. To learn more about everythingwe've spoken about here today, and of
course to start planning your trip now, Mike, before I let you go.
(06:15):
You're the man that knows everything thereis to know about Kentucky. So
throw me some hidden gems. Whatare those things that people they don't come
to Kentucky for but they leave talkingabout. I don't know it's a hidden
gem, but it is a nationalpark that maybe people don't know a lot
about. And that's Mammoth Cave NationalPark has over four hundred miles of underground
caves, the longest cave system inthe world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
(06:38):
and I don't know a lot offolks realize that that is in Kentucky.
It's a great place to visit.And yes, if you're like man,
don't like getting way underground, thereare some above ground activities to do
as well. But it's one ofthe wonders of the world and it's something
that's very cool. Another in thefar western part of the state. It's
called Land between the Lakes National RecreationArea. It's over one hundred and seventy
thousand acres of forest, forest wetlands. An open land ends on a peninsula
(07:00):
between Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in thewestern part of Kentucky into Tennessee, and
you know one. I'll tell youone other thing, especially from an outdoor
standpoint, is Kentucky has the largestelk herd east of the Mississippi River.
Excuse me. And they're elk sightingtours all up in eastern Kentucky. And
to see one of those massive beats, they're huge. Yeah, and when
(07:23):
they're bugling at night. Those aresome pretty cool things to do. I
also mentioned the Gorge earlier. Youcan stay in some treehouses in the gorge,
and you talk about being alone andfinding some solace and solitude. Those
treehouses are something really cool to We'lldo it absolutely well. Mike. I
want to thank you so much fortaking some time with us this morning to
talk all about Kentucky. If you'dlike to start planning your tip and to
(07:43):
learn more about everything we talked abouthere this morning, Kentucky Tourism dot com
is where you want to go.Mike, thank you again. Well,
Francesca, thank you
Thanks, Francesca. It's a pleasureto be with you. Absolutely, we're
really excited to have you on wheretwo. Next, of course, we
talk everything travel and tourism here andtoday we're talking about the great state of
Kentucky. So let's just dive rightinto it. Let's talk Kentucky. Mike,
Well, thank you again for havingme here today. You know,
Kentucky at one time was the westernfrontier of the United States. We were
the fifteenth state to enter the Unionin seventeen ninety two. We're a great
(00:22):
blend of geographical diversity, from ourmountains in the east, to our rolling
hills in central Kentucky into the flatlands and our large lakes in western Kentucky.
And you know, we're really wellknown for obviously events like the Kentucky
Derby, the longest continual sea runboarding event in the United States, which
will celebrate its one hundred and fiftiethanniversary next year, And of course to
our bourbon industry, which is growinginternationally and has really been a leader in
(00:47):
the tourism industry. Yeah. Absolutely, And I was gonna say my boyfriend
was stationed in Kentucky for a coupleof years when he was in the Army
and Kentucky. According to him,it's pretty much synonymous with bourbon these days.
So I love to talk about Kentucky'sbourbon. Yeah, Bourbon country,
think the NAPA region, but forbourbon lovers, and it really is that.
You know, Kentucky makes ninety fivepercent of all the bourbon in the
(01:07):
world. And I didn't mispronounce thator stutter. That's ninety five percent.
Wow. And I like to saythe other five per cents counterfeit. But
you know, bourbon has to bemade in the United States, and as
I said, we make ninety fivepercent of it. We currently have about
eleven and a half million barrels ofbourbon aging here in Kentucky. And to
put that in perspective, we onlyhave four and a half million people,
so we're making plenty of it.But really, when we market it would
(01:30):
come. It's really not as muchabout the consumption, although that's a very
delicious part of it, but it'sreally more about coming in and learning the
story of each distillery, the history, their heritage, how they make their
product. You know, the processof making bourbon doesn't change from distillery distillery.
The mash bill or recipe does butroy the characters behind it, you
know, learning about an Elmer tLeague who's down a buffalo trace, or
(01:53):
Jim Beam, who was a realperson, how he got his distillery up
and running ninety days after the endof prohibition, and so it's just there's
some really cool stories, some beautifullandscapes. And the cool thing for us
right now is that our distilleries notonly are investing in more production, thank
goodness, but also have invested inthe visitor experience. So we have distilleries
now where you can stay on propertyor they have live music venues. Great
(02:16):
restaurants have been developed over the lastfew years. So you know, when
we say Bourbon Country, it's notjust about coming in and drinking the bourbon.
It's really just about that whole culture. It's leading over into our culinary
side and to other experiences as well. Yeah, it really is a full
blown experience down there. My manjet On with me this morning, Commissioner
of the Kentucky Department of Tourism.If you'd like to learn more and plan
(02:38):
your trip today, you can visitKentucky Tourism dot com. And I know,
listen, we all love bourbon,but if maybe you're not a drinker.
Maybe that ain't your thing. Sowhat are some of the other really
popular things people enjoy when they visitKentucky. Well, I think I like
to say, you know, we'rekind of an undiscovered location, so when
people first come here, they're oneof the first things they say when they
walk into My goodness, I don'tknow how beautiful Kentucky us. Our outdoor
(03:00):
activities take a back seat to noone in the country. And I'll fight
you over that. You know,our Red River Gorge area and eastern Kentucky
has world class rock climbing and hiking. The Daniel Boone National Forest down in
that area is incredible. People fromall over the eastern half the United States
and really the world come to thegorge to climb and hike. And you
know that we even have underground paddleboarding and kayaking down in the gorge,
(03:23):
so that aspect of it. Andthen when you come into the central Kentucky
area, as I said, Lexingtonis known as the horse capital of the
world for a reason. They're overfour hundred and fifty working horse farms in
the region right now, and morethan one hundred and fifty of those you
can now visit through an organization calledVisit Horse Country, so you really can
get behind the scenes and see howthe horses are handled, how they're treated
(03:43):
some farms, whether it's the foldingwhere you see the babies that everybody loves,
or even now, we have acouple of retirement homes like old Friends
in Georgetown, Kentucky, just outsideof Lexington, when when they're racing days
and they're breeding days are over,they go to these farms and they're cared
for you for the rest of theirlives. So, you know, the
horse is the outdoors. Our musicscene is incredible. You know, people
I think undervalue what Kentucky has contributedto the music scene over the years.
(04:06):
Of course, we're the birthplace ofLoretta Lynn, the Everly Brothers, Patty
Loveless, Tom t Hall, ChrisStapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers,
and you know, the list goeson and on. And of course we're
the birthplace of bluegrass music, soBill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys founded that
genre. So that's pretty cool.So there's a lot to see and do
here in Kentucky. Yeah, lotsfor the outdoor lover, lots on the
(04:27):
music scene, of course for thebourbon lover as well. And I don't
know about you, but I amall about the food, to be honest.
Anytime I go anywhere, I'm researchingthe food months ahead of time.
And I know that Southern food trulyis a world all in its own.
So what's the culinary scene like inKentucky? What can people expect? I
would say we were kind of farmedthe table for anybody knew what that was,
yeah before I was cool, right, yeah, And it wouldn't call
(04:47):
it anything, It's just how weate. But I'd say it's a Kentucky
culinary scenes. Kentucky is a greatblend of Southern comfort and regional specialties.
You know, it's very diverse,very flavorful experience insists for food enthusiast.
Louisville, our largest city, hasbeen named for probably the last ten years
it was one of the top foodcities in the South. Who've got some
(05:08):
great James Beard Award winners and nomineesof open restaurants here, but you've really
seen that spread all over the state. Lexington is another hotbed for culinary down
in western Kentucky. We had oneof the finalists on top chef a couple
of years ago who's open to restaurant. So it really is a blend.
You know what you have to understandabout Kentucky. I said earlier that we
were at one point that the westernfrontier, so you know, you see
(05:30):
Scottish immigrants came in and that's wherethe distilling came from. Along our entire
you know, our entire northern borderof the state is the Ohio River for
the most part, and along thatriver you saw a lot of German immigrants
come in. So in cities likeCovington, which is right across from Cincinnati,
Ohio, you see a big Germaninfluence. They have something called the
Ghetta fest which is a German porkdish. You see a lot of food
(05:54):
festivals around around the state as well. So we're just kind of a big
combination of Southern cuisine and a lotof other really really interesting influences. Well
it sounds delicious, let me tellyou. Mike. Mike Manjett is on
with me this morning, Commissioner ofthe Kentucky Department of Tourism Kentucky Tourism dot
com. To learn more about everythingwe've spoken about here today, and of
course to start planning your trip now, Mike, before I let you go.
(06:15):
You're the man that knows everything thereis to know about Kentucky. So
throw me some hidden gems. Whatare those things that people they don't come
to Kentucky for but they leave talkingabout. I don't know it's a hidden
gem, but it is a nationalpark that maybe people don't know a lot
about. And that's Mammoth Cave NationalPark has over four hundred miles of underground
caves, the longest cave system inthe world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
(06:38):
and I don't know a lot offolks realize that that is in Kentucky.
It's a great place to visit.And yes, if you're like man,
don't like getting way underground, thereare some above ground activities to do
as well. But it's one ofthe wonders of the world and it's something
that's very cool. Another in thefar western part of the state. It's
called Land between the Lakes National RecreationArea. It's over one hundred and seventy
thousand acres of forest, forest wetlands. An open land ends on a peninsula
(07:00):
between Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in thewestern part of Kentucky into Tennessee, and
you know one. I'll tell youone other thing, especially from an outdoor
standpoint, is Kentucky has the largestelk herd east of the Mississippi River.
Excuse me. And they're elk sightingtours all up in eastern Kentucky. And
to see one of those massive beats, they're huge. Yeah, and when
(07:23):
they're bugling at night. Those aresome pretty cool things to do. I
also mentioned the Gorge earlier. Youcan stay in some treehouses in the gorge,
and you talk about being alone andfinding some solace and solitude. Those
treehouses are something really cool to We'lldo it absolutely well. Mike. I
want to thank you so much fortaking some time with us this morning to
talk all about Kentucky. If you'dlike to start planning your tip and to
(07:43):
learn more about everything we talked abouthere this morning, Kentucky Tourism dot com
is where you want to go.Mike, thank you again. Well,
Francesca, thank you
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