Kentucky’s trifecta: The Bourbon Trail
Starting in Covington is hardly a stretch.
“Come Find Bourbon!”
While that phrase lacks the gravitas of “The British are coming” or “Remember the Alamo,” it’s impactful enough to lure armies of tourists to Kentucky.
Last year, more than 1 million visitors blazed Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail, a distance from north to south of 130 miles. Taking advantage of this, three enterprising tourism directors joined forces to connect their cities based on the twin pleasures of bourbon and food.
The brainchild of Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of Northern Kentucky Tourism, the idea of a trifecta was embraced by tourism officials in Frankfort and Bardstown. The result: a campaign encouraging all to “Come Find Bourbon.”
“I knew I wanted to take what we have done here in Covington with the B-Line (the northern terminus of the Bourbon Trail) and connect it to Bardstown, the Bourbon Capital of the World,” said Kirkpatrick. “Getting Frankfort, the home of Buffalo Trace, with its rich 200-year history, to join us was a bonus.”
I became one of the Come Find Bourbon trailblazers, on a recent three-day trip beginning in Covington and ending in Bardstown. I spent a day-and-a-half eating and drinking my way through each city, but you should feel free to linger as long as you want. You won’t be sorry.
Starting in Covington
Covington offered three unique bourbon tasting experiences.
In New Riff Distillery’s beautifully appointed tasting room with its brick walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and ornate chandeliers, I experienced their Barrel Proof Tasting. The tasting features five products, one of which is a bourbon straight from the barrel rather than poured from a bottle. In bourbon parlance, this is the equivalent of doing away with the middleman — in this case, the bottle. It’s a practice highly prized among bourbon aficionados.
The Barrel Proof Tasting, which also includes a tour of the warehouse and bottling plant and costs $25, is offered only several times a month, so it is essential to book in advance.
In complete contrast to the elegance of New Riff is the Quirky (and yes, that capital Q was intentional) Second Sight Distillery. A large Egyptian eye beckons you to the distillery, which at first glance could be mistaken for a replica, but it is, in fact, the real thing.
At the bar where you can sample the fruits of their labor (rums, moonshine and the first legal bourbon in Kenton County since Prohibition), the entertainment continues in the form of séances and burlesque shows.
It’s safe to say there’s not another distillery in Kentucky like Second Sight.
Bourbon and food are a natural pairing, and the Northern Kentucky area is becoming quite a mecca for good restaurants. Two of the best are Libby’s Southern Comfort and Bouquet.
At the former, housed in what was once a grocery store, Southern food like your grandma made reigns supreme.
I don’t recall my grandma making deviled eggs with pork belly lardons and chives or Goetta hush puppies served with remoulade sauce and citrus honey cream, but I’m glad that at Libby’s, someone’s grandma did and they are both appetizer choices.
As an entrée, try Chef Shawn’s pan seared, skin on boneless chicken thighs with caramelized almonds and sawmill gravy, served over andouille hash.
At Bouquet in the German-influenced Mainstrasse area, the mission is to embrace local and sustainable farming, and it shows in menu items such as pork belly and scallops with grit cake, sweet pepper relish, plum jam and chili oil, and Maple Leaf Farms duck with smoked carrots, wheatberries and carrot and celery root slaw.
On to Frankfort
On the second day, I arrived in Kentucky’s capital city of Frankfort in time for lunch at Goodwood Brewing, a casual spot overlooking the Kentucky River (in warm weather, be sure to ask for a table on the riverside balcony).
This is the place to go for burgers and brews, but there are other tempting menu items. Appetizers include fried green tomatoes with panko bread crumbs, goat cheese and charred scallion aioli, and brisket tot-chos with beer cheese queso, peppers, onion and pickled jalapeño.
As an option to the burger, try the Drunken Chicken with bourbon bacon jam, beer cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce and house pickles.
If you’re really hungry, entrées range from chicken and waffles to bourbon glazed salmon with asparagus and smoked dirty rice.
A hearty lunch will fuel you for an afternoon tasting at Buffalo Trace, a National Historic Landmark and the oldest continuously operating distillery (1858) in the state.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get Freddie Johnson as your tour and tasting guide. Freddie, the third generation in his family to work at Buffalo Trace, is regarded as something of a local treasure for his charm and impeccable knowledge of bourbon.
It doesn’t hurt that his philosophy is, “You only bring out the good stuff for people you enjoy being with.”
I must be on Freddie’s A-List because my tasting featured a triple distilled Wheatley vodka; bourbon samples from an 8-year-old Buffalo Trace barrel and a 10-year-old Eagle Rare barrel (“same recipe, but affected by where they are located in the warehouse,” says Freddie), a Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch bourbon, Bourbon Cream and to wrap it up, Freddie’s root beer, a combination of real cane sugar, oil of birch and Madagascar vanilla.
Final stop: Bardstown
Last stop was the unofficial Bourbon Capital of the World. With Jim Beam, Makers Mark, Heaven Hill and a slew of other distilleries, it’s almost impossible not to find bourbon in this town.
I have done my fair share of sipping here but had never been to Preservation Distillery before this visit, and that was my loss. This family-owned distillery is described on its website as “the first and only 100% pot distilled producer in Nelson County.”
To this I would add that it’s a beautifully situated hidden gem that you could easily overlook if you aren’t vigilant. That would be a shame because then you would miss an informative tasting with head distiller Matthew Jackson.
As Preservation has been open only four years, none of their spirits has been released yet, but Jackson says that rye will be released this year with bourbon a few years down the road.
I had a chance to taste several ryes, and if the bourbons are half as good, Preservation can take its place among bourbon’s big boys.
You won’t go hungry in Bardstown either. For breakfast, head to Fresh, and take my word for it: The blueberry scones are the best you’ll find in the commonwealth.
The Bar at Willett Distillery makes for an excellent lunch stop. Their egg salad sandwich is like no other I’ve ever had and the Croque Monsieur gets raves as well.
The Rickhouse (named for the building where bourbon ages) has a dinner menu featuring dishes such as BBQ Bourbon Chicken, Bourbon Blueberry Salmon, Top of the Rick Hot Brown and a selection of steaks, all accompanied by sides such as green beans, scalloped potatoes and bourbon mushrooms.
If you’re a fan of America’s only native spirit, Come Find Bourbon. In these three cities, it won’t be difficult.