June 14 - National Bourbon Day in the Cincy Region
If you’re new around here, you might not realize that the city of Cincinnati sits along the Ohio River just a bridge-walk away from Kentucky. Bourbon from the Cincy Region originally travelled down the Ohio to New Orleans to quench the thirst on Bourbon Street. Our local area is rich in bourbon history, and it shows today in the wealth of distilleries and bourbon bars throughout our many neighborhoods, as well as the fact that Northern Kentucky is an Official Gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
Whether you’re a bourbon connoisseur or merely bourbon curious, you need to plan your trip to the Cincy Region for this year’s National Bourbon Day celebrations! There will be fun bourbon things to do and specials on both sides of the Ohio River, in Cincinnati and NKY.
National Bourbon Day on The B-Line®
IYKYK, but in case you haven’t yet heard of The B-Line, it’s our local, self-guided bourbon tour. Comprised of 25 stops across NKY that include 7 Kentucky Bourbon Trail® distilleries, 9 of the Best Bourbon Bars in America according to The Bourbon Review, and restaurants with significant bourbon selections plus delicious bourbon-infused menu choices, The B-Line offers a wide variety of tasty experiences.
13 stops on The B-Line have planned fun things to do on June 14:
The Globe – a bourbon bar in Covington, Ky.– Live music and Manhattans for $8.50
Lisse Steakhuis – Dutch-inspired restaurant in historic Mainstrasse Village in Covington, Ky. – Five course meal and bourbon pairing featuring bourbon from New Riff Distilling and menu created by Executive Chef Stephen Williams. June 14 at 5:30 pm.
Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, aka OKBB, bourbon bar just a block away from Lisse Steakhuis - Two OKBB Single Barrel Select whiskeys at discount prices- $14-OKBB Single Barrel Select Russell Reserve; and $10-OKBB Single Barrel Select Wilderness Trail Rye. And for bourbon enthusiasts who think they have tasted everything, we are pulling three rare bourbons from the OKBB bourbon vault to make the “OKBB Legendary Flight” – Rabbit Hole Amburana; Cask 78 Legends, and a Pappy Van Winkle 23yr. These three bourbons cannot be found together anywhere in Kentucky, except OKBB – $299 limit one per customer.
Smoke Justis – a BBQ and wings restaurant at the foot of the Roebling Bridge in Covington, Ky. - All Day Bourbon Happy Hour with $6 Elijah Craig, $6 Buffalo Trace, $6 Michter’s Small Batch, $6 Old Forester, $7 Buffalo Trace Old Fashioneds
Tousey House Tavern – Southern cuisine in a historic 1822 building - Bourbon cocktails on their new verandah and a Gift Basket raffle
The Old Pogue Experience – Bourbon artifacts and a tasting from Old Pogue at a museum in Maysville, Ky. - Half off admission, with food trucks and live music
Augusta Distillery – One of the newest distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and The B-Line, in Augusta, Ky. - The release date for Buckner 17 is June 15th, that Saturday.
Three Spirits Tavern – A gem of a favorite neighborhood bar in Bellevue, Ky.: Elijah Craig tasting flight at 25% off all day
Rich’s Proper Food and Drink – Creole-inspired restaurant in downtown Covington, Ky. - 25% off barrel pick pours and 15% off barrel pick bottles
Pompilio’s Restaurant – Family owned Italian restaurant in Newport, Ky. - B-Line bourbon flight that comes with a box of chocolates from nearby shop, the Sweet Tooth
New Riff Distilling – Award winning distillery in Newport, Ky. - 15% off all regular priced retail items in the gift shop, $10 New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon Flights, $8 1 oz Pours of 8-Year-Old New Riff Bourbon, $8 Old Fashioned Cocktails. Also, they will have members of the distilling team signing bottles that day and will have a food partner in The Aquifer bar upstairs.
Revival Vintage Spirits and Bottle Shop – A unique shop offering a wide selection of rare and vintage bottles and tastings in Covington, Ky.: They will offer a 1970s or 80s Jim Beam Vintage Bourbon for $1 for a 1/3 of an oz taste (per person)
Beehive Augusta Tavern – Charming farm-to-table restaurant with river views in Augusta, Ky.: enjoy a bourbon-centric experience with the Augusta Beehive Tavern with a special feature appetizer, menu and cocktail drink throughout the entire weekend
More Bourbon Day events and discounts are being planned so keep an eye on The B-Line calendar. It’s also a tradition on The B-Line to announce any new stops that will be joining the Line on National Bourbon Day so stay tuned for that exciting news!
More Reasons to Travel to the Cincy Region for National Bourbon Day
After you’ve found your “sipping point” on The B-Line, there are plenty more reasons enjoy National Bourbon Day here. We have too many amazing bourbon bars to list them in this article so check the listings below to browse through your options. And here’s a little info about all of our distilleries:
Bourbon Distilleries in Cincinnati and NKY
Cincinnati Distilleries
Knox Joseph Distillery at the OTR StillHouse – in downtown Cincinnati, OH - Woman-owned Knox Joseph Distillery was one of the first distilleries to open in Cincinnati since Prohibition. In addition to award-winning spirits, they offer live entertainment, and great eats.
Northside Distilling Co. – Downtown Cincinnati - Named after a historic Cincinnati neighborhood, Northside Distilling Co. offers a variety of spirits and has quickly grown to be a local favorite.
Robert James Distillery – Norwood, OH, also has a tasting room in the Eastgate neighborhood of Cincinnati – The production facility in Norwood has a spacious tasting room with full menu. The tasting room in Eastgate is combined with a movie theater, called the RJ Cinema, where you can watch a movie with friends while sampling Robert James Distilling’s spirits.
Woodstone Creek Winery and Distillery – located in Cincinnati a bit north of downtown – Woodstone Creek is an artisanal winery and Ohio’s first micro-distillery. In addition to wine and spirits they also serve mead.
NKY Distilleries
Here are the distilleries in Northern Kentucky – they are all on both The B-Line and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour so you can work towards completing both! They are: New Riff Distilling, Neeley Family Distillery, Augusta Distillery, Pensive Distilling Co., Second Sight Spirits. Old Pogue, and Boone County Distilling.
Learn more about each one here on The B-Line’s site.
Another Special Bourbon Experience in the Cincy Region
Wenzel Whiskey - Just a few blocks from several B-Line stops, Wenzel Whiskey is in the heart of downtown Covington, Kentucky. Here you can have your own whiskey blending experience in a building that was a rectifier (non-distilling producer) for whiskey before Prohibition. Sample from 4 different barrel proof samples and use those to create your own personal bourbon. Wenzel will happily fill you a bottle or case of your blend to take home. If you want to skip the blending and go right to the drinking you can pick up a bottle of of their house blends.
Hope you join us for National Bourbon Day! Make sure to keep an eye on our Events Calendar as more local spots create specials and other fun ways to observe what we think should really be a national day off.
Here’s a handy list of places to stay when you come visit us in June for this delicious celebration. Cheers, y’all!
