By Kathy Witt
Particular to NKyTribune
In a state awash in bourbon — with near 100 distilleries scattered throughout the Kentucky panorama, numerous trails devoted to its appreciation and sufficient barrels of bourbon growing older in rick homes to provide each Kentuckian with greater than two barrels apiece—differentiating oneself could appear to be the unimaginable dream.
Second Sight Spirits’ founders Rick Sofa (L) and Carus Waggoner imagine every part they do needs to be good for the spirit. (Picture from Second Sight Spirits)
However for Ludlow distillery Second Sight Spirits that dream got here true with slightly magic, a little bit of mysticism, and a complete lotta showmanship. It’s a one-of-a-kind distillery with a nonetheless designed and constructed by house owners and founders, Rick Sofa and Carus Waggoner, and that includes an enormous crystal ball, plus a laidback tasting room and lounge, espresso bar, extra crystal balls, Magic 8 balls and fortune-telling fish.
Sitting squarely on a nook going through Elm Avenue in Ludlow, the distillery, in response to Waggoner, is completely at dwelling on this city whose character was formed by the river and the railroad.
“Railroad cities had been settled by hardworking, salt-of-the-earth people,” mentioned Waggoner. “We do our greatest to work onerous, keep approachable and make everybody really feel welcome.”
Backgrounds in Las Vegas productions, together with because the creators of Cirque Du Soleil’s LOVE and Viva Elvis—two of the world’s largest reveals—mixed with a “new imaginative and prescient of artisan distilling that focuses on premium, native merchandise offered in an modern approach,” the childhood mates have set Second Sight Spirits aside from different distilleries, and raised the bar on memorable bourbon experiences.
Ninety-minute excursions faucet into the mysteries of distillation, circus tales from the house owners’ days on the Strip, the historical past of constructing a enterprise by Craigslist finds luck and bartering and a tasting of Second Sight Spirits’ Oak Eye Kentucky Bourbon. It additionally contains tastes of their hazelnut liqueur, maybe some rum and probably even the distillery’s moonshine.
Second Sight Spirits’ co-owner Rick Sofa shares what to not do in constructing a nonetheless on the distillery’s excursions. (Picture from Second Sight Spirits)
The moonshine is a nod to Sofa and Waggoner’s shared household heritage in moonshine: Waggoner’s great-grandfather ran moonshine within the hills of West Virginia. Sofa’s great-grandfather was a sheriff who busted these engaged in “producing unlawful spirits beneath the sunshine of the moon”—the time period from which moonshine was derived—after which drank the fruits of their labor.
Second Sight Spirits is on the B-Line, Northern Kentucky’s self-guided bourbon path, and a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Path® Craft Tour. Along with its Oak Eye Kentucky Bourbon and hazelnut liqueur, the distillery makes six completely different types of rum, together with Second Sight Unbarreled Rum and Second Sight Smoked Cherry Rum, and 4 sorts of moonshine.
“We hope to have new releases by the center of the yr, however we’re preserving these secret for now,” mentioned Waggoner.
The lounge, that includes interactive components, will be rented for weddings, displays, events and different occasions. The distillery is understood for particular occasions open to the general public, together with dwell music live shows, seances, comedy showcases, writer occasions and extra, and its hands-on experiences, which incorporates Fortuna’s Tank.
“You’ll be able to stroll up and ask a query and a change will create bubbles that assist information our fish to the reply to your query on the aquarium’s background,” defined Waggoner.
Second Sight Spirits crafts a wide range of merchandise, from Oak Eye Kentucky Bourbon to high-quality rums and different specialties. (Picture by Second Sight Spirits)
A Swami Snack machine and a fortune-telling Zoltar for the nonetheless are within the planning phases—simply two extra ways in which one in every of Kentucky’s most authentic distilleries is preserving issues thrilling, new and completely different.
Discover Ludlow and Second Sight Spirits, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, when the distillery hosts the inaugural “Books, Baubles & Bourbon Bookfair,” that includes seven regional authors and their books, together with Kathy Witt, plus authentic jewellery designs by Hail – Information & Oddities and bourbon giveaways. A number of authors, together with Peter Bronson and Jane Ammeson, will current talks on easy methods to publish your e-book.
Secret NKY is impressed by Kathy Witt’s books, Cincinnati Scavenger: The Final Seek for Cincinnati’s Hidden Treasures (Northern Kentucky’s and Southeast Indiana’s, too), and Secret Cincinnati: A Information to the Bizarre, Fantastic & Obscure.
Kathy has grow to be a daily columnist for the NKyTribune and is presently writing Good Day Kentucky, due in Fall 2023. For extra details about her books, go to the Secrets and techniques & Scavengers Fb web page. Electronic mail Kathy at KathyWitt24@gmail.com.
