12 Things Kentuckians Do That Give Them Away Out of State
Some Kentuckians nominate their out-of-state friends to be Kentucky Colonels.
That’s the kind of thing that makes perfect sense back home and raises questions everywhere else.
Here’s what Kentuckians do that gives them away out of state.
1. Asking for Ale-8-One
Ale-8-One is a ginger-citrus soda that has been bottled in Winchester since 1926.
Its name began as a naming-contest entry, “A Late One.”
That was 1920s slang for the latest thing in soft drinks, according to the company’s anniversary release.
Say “a late one” fast, and you’ve said the soda’s name.
Lots of Kentuckians ask for it by name, and someone in another state can ask you to say it again.
2. Snacking on Beer Cheese
Beer cheese is a spicy spread made from cheddar, garlic, cayenne and beer.
Winchester is its official birthplace, under a 2013 proclamation from Gov. Steve Beshear.
Johnny Allman, one of the first people to market it, called his version snappy cheese.
The spice and the salt leave you thirsty.
The town holds a beer cheese festival every second Saturday in June.
Entry is free.
You need a ticket to sample the beer cheese.
3. Craving a Hot Brown
The Hot Brown is a hot turkey sandwich that debuted at the Brown Hotel in Louisville in 1926.
Chef Fred Schmidt created it after growing bored of making the same dish night after night.
The dish stacks turkey, tomato and bacon on Texas toast.
Cooks top it with parmesan and mornay sauce, then broil it.
A lot of Kentuckians order a Hot Brown whenever it shows up on a menu.
Order a Hot Brown at any restaurant besides the Brown Hotel, and you’re getting that kitchen’s version.
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Answer these questions on Kentucky’s land, landmarks and early history. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
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4. Claiming the Corvette
General Motors began building the Corvette in Bowling Green in 1981.
The Kentucky plant has been the car's exclusive home ever since.
Tell someone from Bowling Green you like a Corvette, and you'll often hear where it's built.
In September 2026, the plant held an open house for the public to mark 45 years of Corvette production.
5. Filling the Stands for the Wildcats
Kentucky men's basketball led the nation in attendance for the 19th time in 22 years, according to figures from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released in 2017.
In those figures, the Wildcats drew 398,850 fans across 17 home games, an average of 23,461 a game.
If you ask a Kentuckian about the Wildcats, you'll often get a date, a score, or both.
6. Ordering Mutton Barbecue
Owensboro is known for mutton barbecue, which comes from sheep at least a year old.
The meat cooks slowly over hickory wood and is marinated in dip, a vinegar-based sauce.
The tradition goes back to farmers outside Owensboro who harvested older sheep after they stopped producing quality wool.
Mutton fell out of favor across the country after World War II.
Owensboro kept it.
BBQ and Barrels takes place on the second weekend in May, when teams from around the country compete for titles such as best mutton and burgoo.
If you grew up on beef and pork, the first bite might surprise you.
7. Lake Cumberland Weekends
Lake Cumberland is a 101-mile-long lake that stretches across five counties.
Kentucky Educational Television (KET) reports the state declared it the houseboat capital of the world in 2014.
If you've ever packed a cooler for a houseboat weekend, you've done what many Kentuckians do.
8. Bourbon Ball Gifts
Ruth Booe invented the bourbon ball at Rebecca Ruth Candy in Frankfort in 1938.
Kentuckians tend to pack a box of bourbon balls as a gift when they visit friends in other states.
Hand over a box, and you've brought a piece of Frankfort with you.
The idea came in 1936 during Frankfort's sesquicentennial celebration.
Booe spent two years perfecting the still-secret process of blending bourbon and chocolate candy.
The finished candy is topped with a pecan.
9. Nominating Kentucky Colonels
Some Kentuckians nominate friends in other states for Kentucky Colonel.
The title is the highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, according to the governor's office.
People can submit a nomination through the governor's office in Frankfort.
The sitting governor holds the power to appoint Colonels, as governors have since Isaac Shelby's administration.
If you have a friend in another state, you can nominate them.
How a Kentucky Colonel Nomination Works
A Kentucky Colonel nomination starts with an online form on the governor's website.
Certificates are mailed only to U.S. addresses.
If the nominee lives outside the United States, the certificate goes to the nominator.
If both live outside the United States, the nominator has to provide a U.S. alternate mailing address.
10. Visiting Rosine for Bluegrass
Bill Monroe is buried in Rosine, a small town in western Kentucky.
If you ask Kentuckians about bluegrass, many will point you to Rosine.
His band, the Blue Grass Boys, played fast-paced music with complex vocal harmonies, now known as bluegrass.
In 1939, Monroe secured a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry.
A live bluegrass event called the Jerusalem Ridge Festival is held on the property of his restored childhood home.
11. Heading Out for Deer Season
Kentucky hunters took 145,433 deer in the 2025-26 season, the fifth-highest reported total in history, according to the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The vast majority came during the 16-day modern gun season, Nov. 8-23, 2025.
Of the 104,595 successful hunters, 74 percent took only one deer.
Ask a Kentuckian who hunts about deer season, and you'll often get a long answer.
12. Singing "My Old Kentucky Home"
"My Old Kentucky Home" is Kentucky's official state song, written by Stephen Collins Foster.
If you watch the Derby on TV, you can hear thousands of fans singing it as the horses parade past the stands.
Many Kentuckians sing along when it plays.
The Derby's website says the tradition is believed to date to 1921, the 47th running.
A Philadelphia Public Ledger report suggests 1930 may have been the first year it played as the horses headed to the post parade.
Since 1936, with only a few exceptions, the University of Louisville marching band and choir have performed it as the Derby horses walk to the starting gate.
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