When people think about Kentucky bourbon tourism, they think Lexington. Bardstown. The rolling Bluegrass landscape with white-fenced horse farms and rickhouses aging barrels in the summer heat. What they don't typically think about is Northern Kentucky — which is why the B-Line tends to surprise people who discover it. The trail launched in 2018 as the official northern gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and it has grown to include nine distilleries, ten dedicated bourbon bars, and ten bourbon-centric restaurants spread across Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties.
What the B-Line Actually Is
The B-Line is a self-guided bourbon experience — there's no set order, no tour bus, no required itinerary. You pick up a free B-Line Passport, visit at least two distilleries, two restaurants, and two bars on the list, collect stamps, and redeem it for free bourbon swag. The whole thing costs nothing to participate in beyond whatever you spend eating, drinking, and buying bottles. It's designed to be done over multiple outings rather than in a single day, which is both a practical recommendation and an honest acknowledgment that doing nine distillery tours in one afternoon would be inadvisable.
The Nine Distilleries
The distilleries on the B-Line range from established regional names to newer craft operations:
- New Riff Distilling (Newport) — One of the most recognized names on the B-Line, known for high-rye bourbon and a commitment to Kentucky straight whiskey standards. The distillery is located on the Newport riverfront with a tasting room and tours.
- Boone County Distilling Co. (Independence) — Named after the county, doing small-batch bourbon and whiskey production in Kenton County's southern suburbs.
- Neeley Family Distillery (Sparta) — Further south than the other B-Line stops, in Gallatin County, but part of the trail's broader network.
- Second Sight Spirits (Ludlow) — A small craft distillery in Ludlow, just west of Covington, doing gin and whiskey in a neighborhood setting.
- Augusta Distillery (Augusta) — About 45 minutes east of NKY in Bracken County. Worth the drive for the setting — Augusta is one of the most scenic small towns in northern Kentucky.
- Becker & Bird Winery & Distillery, Wenzel Whiskey, Pensive Distilling Co., and Old Pogue Distillery round out the nine, covering different styles and geographies within the B-Line territory.
The Bourbon Bars
The bar program is where the B-Line gets particularly strong. The Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar (OKBB) in Covington's MainStrasse is the most well-known — a dedicated bourbon bar that carries a comprehensive selection of Kentucky products in a bar that takes the subject seriously without being precious about it. Smoke Justis in Covington maintains over 500 bourbon labels alongside its smoked meat program. Three Spirits Tavern in Bellevue, Prohibition Bourbon Bar and Jerry's Jug House in Newport, and The Globe in Covington round out a list that covers the region geographically and in terms of atmosphere. Whether you want a quiet bourbon tasting or something louder, the bars on this list span the range.
The Restaurants
The restaurant component of the B-Line overlaps with NKY's broader food scene. Coppin's at Hotel Covington, Bouquet Restaurant, and Lisse Steakhuis are the upscale anchors. Libby's Southern Comfort brings a more casual Kentucky comfort food perspective. The common thread across the restaurant list is serious bourbon programming — not just a generic spirits menu, but actual attention to Kentucky whiskey paired with food that fits the context.
How to Approach It
The most practical way to do the B-Line is to start with the Newport and Covington stops — New Riff, OKBB, Smoke Justis, Coppin's, Bouquet — since they're concentrated enough to cover in a day or a weekend without much driving. Then work outward to the Boone County distilleries and eventually the further-afield stops like Augusta when you want a reason for a longer day trip. The passport program keeps it feeling purposeful without being a forced march. And because the bars and restaurants are places you'd want to go anyway, the B-Line essentially organizes a set of experiences you were probably going to have in NKY regardless.
NKY Bourbon vs. the Bluegrass
The B-Line distilleries are smaller and newer than the Bluegrass giants like Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, or Woodford Reserve. That's a feature, not a defect — you get more direct access to the distillers, more flexibility on tour times, and a craft production perspective that the big names can't offer the same way. The bourbon itself is genuinely good and getting better as the regional craft scene matures. NKY isn't Bardstown yet, but the B-Line is building something real, and the bar and restaurant infrastructure around it is already there.
What to Buy and What to Expect
The B-Line distilleries produce a range of expressions that are worth understanding before you visit. New Riff Distilling is the most nationally distributed and the safest starting point — their Kentucky Straight Bourbon is bottled in bond, meaning 100 proof and aged at least four years, and it's a fair representation of the regional style. Their OKI Reserve (produced by MGP and finished at New Riff) is worth trying if you want something different. Second Sight Spirits in Ludlow leans heavily on gin and fruit spirits, so go in with appropriate expectations if bourbon is your primary interest. Boone County Distilling Co. does small-batch bourbon that sells largely through their tasting room — the bottles you find there won't be on any shelf in Cincinnati.
On timing: most B-Line distillery tasting rooms are open Thursday through Sunday, and weekend afternoons get busy at New Riff in particular. Arriving early on a Saturday or going on a Friday afternoon avoids the peak crowds. Tours need to be booked in advance at most locations, and New Riff offers guided tours that are genuinely educational about the bourbon-making process rather than just a marketing exercise.
The passport program is worth picking up even if you're not planning to do all nine distilleries in the near term. It's free, the swag is legitimate (the branded glassware is actually good), and having it in hand gives you a reason to space out visits over the year rather than treating the B-Line as a single itinerary to complete. A good Saturday format: one distillery, lunch at a B-Line restaurant, and one or two bar stops in Covington or Newport before calling it. That covers three stamps, lets you drink responsibly over the course of several hours, and gives you a genuinely good day in NKY without the recovery consequences of trying to do too much at once.