Those of us who live in the Northern Kentucky–Cincinnati region have long known it is an area rich in history, food ways, distilling, brewing, sports, recreation and so much more. We are proud of all that we have here and share that with family, friends and coworkers but, now, travelers from across the U.S. and the world know what we know.

A November 2022 Condé Nast Traveler article highlighted our region among “The 23 Best Places to Go in the U.S. in 2023.” The article follows on the heels of a New York Times piece celebrating Northern Kentucky as a key destination for “spirits tourism.” Savvy travelers, travel journalists and others taking a fresh look at travel within the United States are finding that our area offers a unique mix of North and South, old and new.

The first sip of Kentucky

Kentucky’s bourbon heritage is well-established, but Northern Kentucky’s The B Line® tour opportunity is a great place to start on the trail through Kentucky bourbon country. Our area is home to a number of distilleries (new and reawakened), as well as a bourbon-centric culture with bars and restaurants focused on bourbon, tasting rooms and tours, a vintage bottle shop and even an opportunity to create your own bourbon blend.

The B Line unites five craft local distilleries (New Riff Distilling, Boone County Distilling Co., Neeley Family Distillery, The Old Pogue Distillery, and Second Sight Spirits), seven bourbon bars and six bourbon-centric restaurants with an opportunity to create a self-guided bourbon tour. Bourbon lovers can build from among 18 stops along the tour.

“The B Line celebrates the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and craft distilleries that we have in the region, all the great bourbon bars and bourbon restaurants. It really is carrying forward our promise to be the first sip of Kentucky for the lots of visitors who come here,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of meetNKY, the area’s convention and visitors bureau.

One key attraction, especially for bourbon enthusiasts, is Revival Vintage Bottle Shop in Covington. Owners Brad Bonds, an appraiser and librarian, and his partner Shannon Smith, a lawyer and member of the Distillate Committee for the Cincinnati/NKY Chapter of Bourbon Women, offer rare and vintage bottles of bourbon for sale in their shop.

“What they are doing with Revival, they are curating this space where people can come in and learn about the history of bourbon, but also taste it — and not just bourbon, but all spirits. They also have amazing rum varieties,” Kirkpatrick noted.

A new space opened this fall at 15 Tobacco Alley in Covington that not only offers bourbon tasting, but patrons have the opportunity to try out their own blends. For its initial offering, Wenzel Whiskey launched its Proprietor’s Blend, offering just 150 bottles of the first whiskey bottled in Covington since the Prohibition. The company also offers opportunities for guests to learn about whiskey blending and to try their hand at creating their very own blend. The space is also available for larger private parties to enjoy the whisky blending experience.

A special place to rest your head

While Northern Kentucky offers a vast array of overnight accommodations from budget priced chains to bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels, the area hosts some unique boutique hotel experiences that put comfort on a new level.

Most notably, the award-winning Hotel Covington, located at 638 Madison Avenue in Covington, offers 114 guestrooms, restaurants, intimate lounge spaces and outdoor courtyards set in a building that once housed a high-end department store. This year, the hotel expanded and developed another nearby historic building into “North by Hotel Covington” with 53 apartment-style rooms, two-floor lofts and private terrace penthouses. North is also home to a premiere event space, The Lightwell, and the chic Knowledge Bar and Social Room.

The same building that houses Wenzel Whiskey is also the site of a fun and unique new boutique hotel, called The Pickle Factory. As its name suggests, the building originally housed a pickle factory but over the years it was also home to a warehouse, a soft drink maker and an African American Oddfellows Hall. Each of the eight short-term rental suites are themed to reflect the building’s varied history.

The “In a Pickle” two-bedroom loft, with its deep green walls and whimsical pickle-themed art is fun for all. You can take a trip to mid-century with the fun-filled soda pop room and, speaking of whimsey, check out the Neon Lights Studio in honor of the building’s location at the corner of Tobacco Alley and Electric Avenue. The Cigar and Bourbon room harkens back to the 19^th century social club atmosphere.

Magic in the air and on the plate

Northern Kentucky boasts an eclectic and creative mix of restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and shops. One of the more unexpected finds is Hierophany & Hedge, a magic shop offering “bespoke arcana.” It is located at 19 West Pike Street in Covington, and stepping into the shop is a step back in time and, perhaps, into an alternate reality.

Owners Augur and Coil greet customers dressed in Victorian garb, welcoming them to their store that is part museum and part magician’s emporium. They also hold events to demystify and share the stories behind their wares and herbal potions.

Food in our region combines southern comfort with German heritage and a mix of food ways from all over the world. Agave and Rye, at 635 Madison Avenue in Covington, is the first of a mix of eateries that have taken the humble taco and elevated it to a higher level, the owners call “epic.” The restaurant’s chef-inspired fare draws people from all over the region.

The area is also known for its German-inspired “comfort” food. The jury is still out on the origin of goetta, a mix of ground pork and beef, spices and oats, a popular breakfast item throughout Greater Cincinnati. In the hands of Northern Kentucky chefs, however, goetta is not just for breakfast any more. Libby’s Southern Comfort in Covington offers goetta hush puppies, and Fort Mitchell’s Greyhound Tavern serves goetta egg rolls. Several establishments feature a goetta burger on the menu.

The great outdoors and more to see

Northern Kentucky embraces its location along the Ohio River. The river cities, as they are called, are working together to develop a cohesive river walk and experience throughout the region. Bike and hiking trails abound all over the area.

Kayaking and canoe adventures are plenty. Favorite launch spots are Frederick’s Landing in Wilder and AJ Jolly Park in Alexandria. If you want to let others steer the boat while you take in the sites, BB Riverboats offers historical tours, lunch and dinner cruises and more up and down the Ohio.

For bike riders, the easy two-mile bike trail known as the Licking River Greenway Trail offers the added treat of passing 17 murals devoted to the ecosystems and people of the river. Public art and murals are a way of life and culture on both sides of the river, and a walk through many of the river cities reveals murals devoted to the history and culture of the region.

Scratching the surface

The Condé Nast Traveler article shared a few of the highlights of the region, said Kirkpatrick, but there is so much more of the story to tell. She said she can’t help but take it back to a bourbon analogy.

“If you think about a bourbon barrel and a bottle, a bottle from a 53-gallon barrel. A barrel can produce 200 bottles. So, that article is just one bottle. There’s 199 more bottles in that barrel, and we can’t wait to get them out.”

MeetNKY works to share out the bottles, but the people of the region help to pass it around, inviting their friends and families to enjoy all on offer in Northern Kentucky. For more information go to meetNKY.com.

Those of us who live in the Northern Kentucky–Cincinnati region have long known it is an area rich in history, food ways, distilling, brewing, sports, recreation and so much more. We are proud of all that we have here and share that with family, friends and coworkers but, now, travelers from across the U.S. and the world know what we know.

A November 2022 Condé Nast Traveler article highlighted our region among “The 23 Best Places to Go in the U.S. in 2023.” The article follows on the heels of a New York Times piece celebrating Northern Kentucky as a key destination for “spirits tourism.” Savvy travelers, travel journalists and others taking a fresh look at travel within the United States are finding that our area offers a unique mix of North and South, old and new.

The first sip of Kentucky

Kentucky’s bourbon heritage is well-established, but Northern Kentucky’s The B Line® tour opportunity is a great place to start on the trail through Kentucky bourbon country. Our area is home to a number of distilleries (new and reawakened), as well as a bourbon-centric culture with bars and restaurants focused on bourbon, tasting rooms and tours, a vintage bottle shop and even an opportunity to create your own bourbon blend.

The B Line unites five craft local distilleries (New Riff Distilling, Boone County Distilling Co., Neeley Family Distillery, The Old Pogue Distillery, and Second Sight Spirits), seven bourbon bars and six bourbon-centric restaurants with an opportunity to create a self-guided bourbon tour. Bourbon lovers can build from among 18 stops along the tour.

“The B Line celebrates the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and craft distilleries that we have in the region, all the great bourbon bars and bourbon restaurants. It really is carrying forward our promise to be the first sip of Kentucky for the lots of visitors who come here,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of meetNKY, the area’s convention and visitors bureau.

One key attraction, especially for bourbon enthusiasts, is Revival Vintage Bottle Shop in Covington. Owners Brad Bonds, an appraiser and librarian, and his partner Shannon Smith, a lawyer and member of the Distillate Committee for the Cincinnati/NKY Chapter of Bourbon Women, offer rare and vintage bottles of bourbon for sale in their shop.

“What they are doing with Revival, they are curating this space where people can come in and learn about the history of bourbon, but also taste it — and not just bourbon, but all spirits. They also have amazing rum varieties,” Kirkpatrick noted.

A new space opened this fall at 15 Tobacco Alley in Covington that not only offers bourbon tasting, but patrons have the opportunity to try out their own blends. For its initial offering, Wenzel Whiskey launched its Proprietor’s Blend, offering just 150 bottles of the first whiskey bottled in Covington since the Prohibition. The company also offers opportunities for guests to learn about whiskey blending and to try their hand at creating their very own blend. The space is also available for larger private parties to enjoy the whisky blending experience.

A special place to rest your head

While Northern Kentucky offers a vast array of overnight accommodations from budget priced chains to bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels, the area hosts some unique boutique hotel experiences that put comfort on a new level.

Most notably, the award-winning Hotel Covington, located at 638 Madison Avenue in Covington, offers 114 guestrooms, restaurants, intimate lounge spaces and outdoor courtyards set in a building that once housed a high-end department store. This year, the hotel expanded and developed another nearby historic building into “North by Hotel Covington” with 53 apartment-style rooms, two-floor lofts and private terrace penthouses. North is also home to a premiere event space, The Lightwell, and the chic Knowledge Bar and Social Room.

The same building that houses Wenzel Whiskey is also the site of a fun and unique new boutique hotel, called The Pickle Factory. As its name suggests, the building originally housed a pickle factory but over the years it was also home to a warehouse, a soft drink maker and an African American Oddfellows Hall. Each of the eight short-term rental suites are themed to reflect the building’s varied history.

The “In a Pickle” two-bedroom loft, with its deep green walls and whimsical pickle-themed art is fun for all. You can take a trip to mid-century with the fun-filled soda pop room and, speaking of whimsey, check out the Neon Lights Studio in honor of the building’s location at the corner of Tobacco Alley and Electric Avenue. The Cigar and Bourbon room harkens back to the 19^th century social club atmosphere.

Magic in the air and on the plate

Northern Kentucky boasts an eclectic and creative mix of restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and shops. One of the more unexpected finds is Hierophany & Hedge, a magic shop offering “bespoke arcana.” It is located at 19 West Pike Street in Covington, and stepping into the shop is a step back in time and, perhaps, into an alternate reality.

Owners Augur and Coil greet customers dressed in Victorian garb, welcoming them to their store that is part museum and part magician’s emporium. They also hold events to demystify and share the stories behind their wares and herbal potions.

Food in our region combines southern comfort with German heritage and a mix of food ways from all over the world. Agave and Rye, at 635 Madison Avenue in Covington, is the first of a mix of eateries that have taken the humble taco and elevated it to a higher level, the owners call “epic.” The restaurant’s chef-inspired fare draws people from all over the region.

The area is also known for its German-inspired “comfort” food. The jury is still out on the origin of goetta, a mix of ground pork and beef, spices and oats, a popular breakfast item throughout Greater Cincinnati. In the hands of Northern Kentucky chefs, however, goetta is not just for breakfast any more. Libby’s Southern Comfort in Covington offers goetta hush puppies, and Fort Mitchell’s Greyhound Tavern serves goetta egg rolls. Several establishments feature a goetta burger on the menu.

The great outdoors and more to see

Northern Kentucky embraces its location along the Ohio River. The river cities, as they are called, are working together to develop a cohesive river walk and experience throughout the region. Bike and hiking trails abound all over the area.

Kayaking and canoe adventures are plenty. Favorite launch spots are Frederick’s Landing in Wilder and AJ Jolly Park in Alexandria. If you want to let others steer the boat while you take in the sites, BB Riverboats offers historical tours, lunch and dinner cruises and more up and down the Ohio.

For bike riders, the easy two-mile bike trail known as the Licking River Greenway Trail offers the added treat of passing 17 murals devoted to the ecosystems and people of the river. Public art and murals are a way of life and culture on both sides of the river, and a walk through many of the river cities reveals murals devoted to the history and culture of the region.

Scratching the surface

The Condé Nast Traveler article shared a few of the highlights of the region, said Kirkpatrick, but there is so much more of the story to tell. She said she can’t help but take it back to a bourbon analogy.

“If you think about a bourbon barrel and a bottle, a bottle from a 53-gallon barrel. A barrel can produce 200 bottles. So, that article is just one bottle. There’s 199 more bottles in that barrel, and we can’t wait to get them out.”

MeetNKY works to share out the bottles, but the people of the region help to pass it around, inviting their friends and families to enjoy all on offer in Northern Kentucky. For more information go to meetNKY.com.