It started with two friends.
Who We Are: The Bourbon Society of Baton Rouge is a group of over 800 whisk(e)y enthusiasts and is comprised of people in a multitude of places on their journey into this spirit we love. It all started back in 2015 when two friends were sharing some bourbon and decided they needed to do this more regularly. We wish we could say there was a dramatic speech, an ode to the years and friendships ahead, or even that we had any idea of what this would become, but it didn’t and we still don’t know where this will ultimately lead! We can say, however, that with a “cheers” and a clink of two glasses, this fun social club we loving call “BSoBR” was born. As we met at various bars in the city, inviting other friends and quickly making new ones, these “members” started to accumulate. In 2019, we realized real structure was needed. We incorporated in May 2019 as a 501(c)(7) - Non-Profit Social Club and launched as a dues-paying society with tangible benefits for our members. We wholeheartedly believe in building a better community through good bourbon, and to do that, we established the Bourbon Society of Baton Rouge Foundation in 2021. This 501(c)(3) organization will enable us to fundraise for nonprofits in our area. With a focus on charity and a commitment to giving back to our community, it allows us to proudly say “giving back always goes down smooth.”
What We Do: We have strong relationships with multiple businesses around the greater Baton Rouge area, so we will often gather at and host events to drink & enjoy bourbon. We prioritize supporting our partners as well as connecting with other local businesses and distilleries to pass a good time. We hold monthly get-togethers, quarterly socials, and pop-up events throughout the year. We quickly adapted to the challenge of 2020 with virtual meet ups/sample sharing and have hosted some of the biggest distilleries and whiskey producers in the country. While our initial focus was on the camaraderie of the spirit, our biggest focus is raising money for local charities, and we work hard to back it up. In 2019, we raised $2,650 for our local YMCA at a unique Four Roses tasting event in which we were able to try all ten recipes and $15,000 in combined donations & toys for our local Marines Toys for Tots organization. We kicked off 2020 with a very important bang: our first of four charity events raising $8,500 for our local bartenders who were out of work due to the strain of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. As the hardships continued throughout the summer, we quickly raised $500 for Hurricane Laura relief efforts for our friends to the southwest. The fall of 2020 was supposed to bring our inaugural Louisiana Bourbon Festival, but with the pandemic still in full swing, we had to pivot and instead hosted a charity raffle and raised $12,840 for Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area! Knowing that we had to finish the year as strong as we started, we went all in and adapted our Toys for Tots raffle to a virtual-only event, raising an incredible total of $35,600 for our local chapter. For 2021, we had a Folds of Honor Raffle this March and raised $15,000 for this amazing Veterans charity. We raised $28,650 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Mississippi & Louisiana, $10,000 for Boys & Girls Club of Metro Louisiana, $20,850 for Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area and over $64,000 for our local Toys for Tots Chapter. We raised $148,640 in 2021, which brought our overall total to over $220,000 since incorporation in 2019.
Why We Do It: When we started BSoBR, we knew bourbon would be the lifeblood running through our veins and connecting us all, but we strongly believed it had to be so much more than a social drinking club. Our mission statement is “to share the bourbon culture and connect local bourbon enthusiasts for the enjoyment of our members and the betterment of the Greater Baton Rouge Area.” We have stayed true to that sentiment, and we sincerely hope you can take the opportunity to join us in our cause. We found out a few years ago that there is something mystical about bourbon in that it connects us in ways that cross all boundaries or divisive lines and it brings people together. Perhaps you have noticed this too? We started BSoBR because we wanted to blend the spirit of unity with the one spirit that brought us together in the first place.