Beverage burros
“I’ve never had a donkey at a wedding.”
Crystal Amburgey has heard that phrase more than once—and her business is working to change it.
Amburgey, a consumer-member of Clark Energy, owns Blythewood Farm Beverage Burros in Mt. Sterling. Since January 2025, she’s been booking weddings, private parties and corporate events with her pair of adorable, florally adorned mini donkeys.
The burros, Maybelle and Magnolia, wear pack saddles with a basket on each side and serve guests anything from cold bottled drinks to party favors—whatever fits the occasion.
“People have just loved them,” Amburgey says. And being able to share the burros with people who aren’t often around animals makes her happy, too.
Amburgey first had the idea as she searched for a companion for a Highland calf. In her research, she found the Farm at Sparrow Hill in Colorado, which not only had a beverage burro business, but also offered learning opportunities for others who wanted to do the same thing. She purchased two mini donkeys and began training them and marketing her business.
Amburgey has five mini donkeys in total—two others are in training and the fifth is a male, which will be used for breeding.
“I try to have some sort of interaction with them daily,” she says. “About once a week I will fully dress them and get them used to that.”
To Amburgey’s knowledge, there are no other beverage burros in Kentucky, but she has seen an uptick in the trend. “I ordered my saddles from a company in Montana, and it was no time that I got my saddles. But now, he’s on a three-month waiting period because they have gotten to be more popular.”
“Once we’re booked, you get two donkeys that are fully dressed. They’ve been bathed in the morning, so they’re well groomed, and you get two handlers,” she says, noting her service area is within a 1 1/2-hour radius from Mt. Sterling.
Blythewood Farm Beverage Burros does not provide beverages or party favors. Rather, the burros distribute what planners have provided for events. The business has STAR certification in serving alcoholic beverages.
“They’re carrying, altogether, about 10 pounds,” she says. “Donkeys are pack animals, so it’s in no way hurting them. They love what they do. They know what they’re doing there.”
Blythewood Farm Beverage Burros are still booking into 2027. For more information, visit beverageburrosatblythewoodfarm.com.
