Forget basket weaving: Now you can learn about bourbon in college

Wanna take bourbon classes in college?

Northern Kentucky University has your back. They’re offering classes to the bourbon-curious and long-time imbibers alike.

NKU, with partners MeetNKY and New Riff Distillery, announced Thursday evening the launch of the Norse Spirit Society, a five-class non-credit program that provides exclusive bourbon education and experiential sessions to the community.

Local bartender/owner extraordinaire Molly Wellman served Special New Riff cocktails at the Health Innovation Center on NKU’s campus, while New Riff ambassadors offered an exclusive preview of fall releases for sampling.

Carmen Hickerson, the assistant vice president for Economic Engagement and Government Relations at NKU, outlined the details of the curriculum to the 200 in attendance.

“So the first year, we’re going to dig into the history of bourbon in Northern Kentucky,” Hickerson said. “Then, we’ll dig into all of the laws from prohibition all the way up to now, and then we will learn about blending, which is the new trend in bourbon where there are some distilleries that don’t distill any of their own, but they they sell it to other distilleries, and then they blend it and make new flavors. There will be bourbon and food pairings, and you’ll learn about bourbon tourism and how we can turn Kentucky into the next Napa Valley. Since it is limited to 100 people, it’s very exclusive. We’re just very excited to be part of this bourbon culture, and NKU is ready to embrace it.”

Julie Kirkpatrick, president of tourism at MeetNKY, also presented during the event, and was most enthusiastic about the educational aspect of the program and how it will shape the Northern Kentucky population bourbon aficionados.

“The more that we can do to really saturate our brand and bourbon, the better it is,” Kirkpatrick said. “This program is the Ph.D level. If you’re already ‘bourbon curious,’ and you know a bit about bourbon, this is going to extend your knowledge.”

Amy Tobin, director of communications at New Riff Distilling, echoed the sentiments of her fellow presenters in the excitement New Riff has in helping build the bourbon community.

“Our owner, Ken Lewis, is a very philanthropic man who feels a real sense of commitment to his community,” Tobin said. “So the idea of being able to lift up the bourbon industry and shine a light on the industry in support, it just plays right into everything that we do. And the fact that it’s held at NKU is really important, I think, because it is our community.”

Check out photos of the event below, shot by LINK nky contributor Alecia Ricker.