Bourbon and Bluegrass: Summer Adventures You Don’t Want to Miss in and around Northern Kentucky

February 28, 2025

Imagine your perfect summer evening: The sound of live fiddles and banjos fills the air, a Kentucky sunset sets the mood and a glass of bourbon finds its way to your hand. In Northern Kentucky, the deep traditions of bourbon-making and the soulful melodies of bluegrass music come together to create experiences that feel like they’re made just for you.


From lively festivals to intimate concerts at historic distilleries to local jams at a bourbon bar, there’s something magical waiting for every music lover and bourbon enthusiast. 


Here’s a taste of why summer in Northern Kentucky’s Covington and Newport area should be on your bucket list.


Sipping bourbon to an NKY soundtrack


One of the best things about Northern Kentucky is how effortlessly bourbon and music intertwine. From cozy bar stages to open-air concerts, you can feel the state’s rich culture in every note and sip. It’s a place where the rhythm of bluegrass and the smoothness of bourbon bring people together.


Vibrant Madison Theater in Covington is a must for live music and boasts an impressive lineup of both local and national artists. The Southgate House Revival in Newport, a historic church-turned-music venue, delivers a mix of bluegrass, indie, and folk performances regularly and never disappoints! At MegaCorp Pavilion in Newport, music of all varieties rocks the rafters with pitch-perfect acoustics. And whether indoors or out, there’s not a bad seat in the house. 



Tasting, touring, blending, bottling


Sip al fresco at Covington’s Smoke Justis or the Tousey House Tavern in Burlington, a short 25-minute drive from Covington, and soak up the ambiance of summer in the city in the former and a more rural charm at the latter. Both of these B-Line venues stock an impeccable selection of bourbon, and each offers a custom-crafted cocktail. Will it be Smoke Justis’ Grand Slam Old Fashioned or Tousey House Tavern’s Erastus Tousey Manhattan?


Elevate your palate with tutored bourbon tastings. At Pensive Distillery Co. in Newport, learn how to drink bourbon like a Kentuckian with the Speakeasy Tasting, a guided experience of three Pensive bourbons that takes place in the distillery’s speakeasy. Add a tour to learn about Newport’s bootlegging days.


Sip your way through four unique New Riff Whiskey expressions during The Hits: A Guided Tasting Experience at Newport’s New Riff Distilling. Or play master distiller when New Riff presents its monthly Blend experience and taste, blend, and bottle your own bourbon.


Pensive Distilling


From festival fun to circus stunts 


You’ll wish you could bottle the fun and deliciousness of the three-day Bourbon, Bacon & Brew Festival, taking place in mid-July at Newport’s Festival Park at the Levee. Bourbon-glazed ribs, bacon-infused burgers, beer-battered morsels—yes, please! Visit the Bourbon Experience and immerse yourself in the rich flavors and history of America’s Native Spirit.


Northern Kentucky isn’t just an Official Gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. It is also home to one of the most unusual and delicious culinary concoctions you’ll find anywhere: Goetta. Pronounced “get-uh,” this spicy and savory sensation made with pork, beef, and steel-cut pinhead oats, is about as NKY as one can get—and it’s feted in true foodie fashion during the annual Glier’s GoettaFest, held over two weekends in July/August.


Enjoy the live music, dancing, goetta games, and goetta dishes before heading to another unique experience, Ludlow’s Second Sight Spirits. A mystic and visionary still, a crystal ball condenser, the magic of a well-crafted story (and bourbon)—it’s all here, along with a tasting of the distillery’s signature small-batch Oak Eye Kentucky Bourbon. Tour this distillery to learn how two lifelong friends brought their Las Vegas-style showmanship and theatrical production background to Northern Kentucky to build a still that resembles a Zoltar machine and blends bourbon and other spirits that enchant the palate. 



Your guide to an unforgettable summer


If all this sounds like your idea of heaven, it’s time to pack your bags. Whether you’re a bourbon expert or bourbon curious, Northern Kentucky has something special for you—with plenty of live music on the side.

Savoring Bourbon: The Best Pairings and Local Culinary Delights

April 24, 2025
Foodies and bourbon enthusiasts seeking elevated dining experiences find their bourbon-infused bliss in Covington, Frankfort, and Bardstown. Many restaurants and bars in these bourbon-centric cities showcase unique takes on pairing bourbon with meals, specialize in bourbon-infused menus, and feature dishes that amplify bourbon flavors. Additionally, these three cities offer bourbon experiences that bourbon lovers aren’t likely to find anywhere else. SIGNATURE SPINS In Newport, the team at Purple Poulet Southern Bourbon Bistro , led by Chef Rick Zumwalde, loves a good splash or three of bourbon in dishes like fried chicken and waffles with maple bourbon syrup, “Swanky” Shrimp-n-Grits with bourbon-cream pan gravy, hickory-smoked beef brisket with bourbon-peach jus, a Casino-style market catch with bourbon-bacon-maple broth, and bourbon mashed sweet potatoes. Likewise, the team at Beehive Augusta Tavern shows its unbridled enthusiasm for Kentucky bourbon by incorporating it into multiple dishes: bourbon-braised short ribs, bourbon carbonara, bourbon-glazed bone-in pork chops, bourbon-glazed salmon, a bourbon bordelaise burger, and honey bourbon fried chicken. Even sides like the honey bourbon bacon brussels get a dousing. At the Kitchen & Bar at Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBCo.), Kentucky’s first distillery-based restaurant, Chef Stu Plush likes to bring out bourbon tasting notes through various dishes. For instance, the menu suggests BBCo. Origin Series Bottled-in-Bond or Prohibited Paradise for country ham carbonara and BBCo. Origin Series Rye Whiskey or Feel the Heat for its Southern fried chicken. At HOC (House of Commons): A Bourbon Library in Frankfort, Founder and Proprietor Dave Sandlin brings encyclopedic knowledge to the bourbons he stocks. Additionally, this bourbon barkeep knows how to spin a good yarn. “Everyone has a story to tell, and every bourbon has a story to tell,” said Sandlin. “Our storytelling is the framework around the more than 315 Kentucky whiskeys we have on the shelf, why we have them, why each is special, rare, or different.” Visitors to HOC won’t find food and bourbon pairings (although Sanders is happy to share restaurant recommendations); this bourbon bar is about pairing bourbon to people’s palettes. “People come in and tell us what they like, and we formulate a taste profile for them,” said Sanders.

Bourbon Basics: How to Taste, Pair, and Enjoy Like a Pro

April 23, 2025
Planning your first distillery visit or considering a journey along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®? Bourbon has a built-in mystique and culture that might give the bourbon-curious and aspiring aficionados pause in taking that first step into the world of America’s Only Native Spirit. BOURBON 101 The variety of distilleries and their unique experiences may seem daunting, and terms like “nosing” and “Kentucky chew” baffling, but part of the fun of bourbon is in the learning. Beginners can get their feet wet in Frankfort at Buffalo Trace Distillery , with an intro to the history and science of bourbon, and at Castle & Key with an interactive Cocktail Therapy class to elevate sensory awareness. The Old Pogue Experience on Northern Kentucky’s The B-Line ® in downtown Maysville offers a different perspective, combining the Bourbon History Galleries, which delve into the 1791 Whiskey Tax Act Rebellion and Prohibition, with an (optional) tasting of an original Kentucky bourbon—Old Pogue Master’s Select. In the Bourbon Capital of the World, Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown gives an insider’s view of the bourbon making process from start to finish on its Grain to Barrel Tour, followed by an educational, guided tasting experience. Here is a guide to some bourbon basics that will help you look more natural than novice when sitting down to a tasting and will soon have you pairing like a pro.
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