Then it was Bardstown power couple, chef Newman Miller and his wife Rachel who opened Mr. Tubs, the newest addition to the city’s bar scene.
The year drew to a close with the buzz surrounding the swanky Brindiamo Penthouse which will serve as the new home of the Bourbon Capital Academy.
2023 was indeed a very good year, and the momentum continues in 2024 with more openings sure to make every visitor’s Bardstown experience even more rewarding.
While the Brindiamo Penthouse, located on the third floor of historic Spalding Hall, opened last year, the inaugural class of the Bourbon Capital Academy kicked off in January with 12 attendees.
According to Sam Lacy, executive director of the Academy, five more courses are already scheduled beginning February 24th which will run every two weeks on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
There’s no such thing as too much bourbon in Bardstown. Heaven Hill Distillery is America’s largest independently owned producer of distilled spirits.
In acknowledgement of its place in the distilling universe, Heaven Hill already offers three tasting rooms (each representing a story from the distillery’s past) and the luxurious Five Brothers Bar for sampling its iconic brands.
In May, there will be a third option with the opening of a new restaurant as part of the $17.5 million renovation of the Bourbon Heritage Center.
The rooftop restaurant will have lounge-style seating, allowing visitors a view of the distillery rickhouses and giving them the perfect opportunity to complement their meal with a hand-crafted cocktail. Maybe one featuring Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond bourbon, one of the distillery’s oldest offerings, or Bernheim Original Wheat whiskey, at just seven years old, the first truly new style of American straight whiskey since Prohibition.
What goes better with a new restaurant than a new hotel, and one that continues the distillery theme at that?
The Distill-Inn, a new boutique property on the site of the former Quality Inn & Suites, more than fills the bill. According to Nilesh Sharma, one of the new owners, the entire d theme and design of the 49-room hotel will focus on Bardstown distilleries.
From the barrel display in the lobby to the charcoal gray color scheme reminiscent of rickhouses in the guest rooms, you will know you are in bourbon country.
Current amenities include a full-service bar and an indoor swimming pool. While there is no restaurant on property yet, Sharma says that there are plans for one, possibly as soon as next year.
What’s a visit to Bardstown without a little retail therapy? The city’s one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques attract upscale shoppers as well as those in search of quality merchandise at affordable prices.
With that in mind, Making Good Scentz will fit right in. If you’re looking for a wide variety of specialty soaps, scrubs, shampoos and sprays, you’re probably already a fan of this shop which has been a downtown fixture for nine years.
Don’t worry…..nothing is changing there. What’s new, according to owner Steve Stivers, is the expansion into an adjoining space where the central focus is a make-your-own candle bar. Stivers says that visitors get the opportunity to blend their own scents and then select their own candle jar.
DIYers will be thrilled to learn that other creative opportunities await, beginning with a February 12th cookie decorating class just in time for Valentine’s Day.
He’s also scheduling pottery, jewelry making, and T-shirt designing classes, and once he gets his liquor license, mixology classes (what else would one expect of a Bardstown business?)
So, if visitors are looking for something new in bourbon, hotels, and retail in 2024, Bardstown invites them to come and see for themselves all it has to offer.