Second Sight Spirits — Attraction in Ludlow

We were in from Canada for a concert and wanted to check out a distillery while we were in the Covington area for a few days.

We're not strangers to distilling and the process, we've been on various tours for different spirits before. When looking around I wanted to go someplace that was a bit different.

Second Sight is exactly that. We had a tour and tasting with Carus and the absolute BEST part was it wasn't just "here's our still, here's how we make whiskey and bourbon, here's our barrels, here's where we bottle."

It was all about the wild ride of how the owners got to where they are as a distillery. Carus is an A+ storyteller in the best of the southern tradition of storytellers.He was also an ambassador for the region. We're only here for maybe 3 days and I already want to come back for more just on the number of spots he pointed out to us. I know the bourbon trail goes further south but it's going to be hard to get to it with the killer restaurants and bars we know about after the tour.

The tour was entertaining from beginning to end. Hands down, I would recommend the tour.

The aesthetics and "shtick" of the whole place is fortune telling in an old school carnival way. The decor is perfect - lots of fun stuff to look at, but not in a disjointed way. The theme is there, cohesive and cute AF. Plus they have a fortune telling goldfish and a mustache ride machine for 50 cents - how can you say no? The whole place made my little alt/drag/cosplay/creepy prop-making nerd side so happy.

On to the spirits - which is why you're probably there.

We tried the apple liquor, smoked cherry, the hazelnut liquor, the Oak Eye Kentucky Bourbon and the Moving Pieces whiskey. There may have been another, but it started to blur a bit after that.

The flavored spirits we had were really, really good. The smoked cherry was the standout, not too sweet, you got some smoke and great cherry taste. This is where I shake my fist at the border laws about how much liquor I can bring back, because I wish I could take back a few bottles of that.

The Moving Pieces was my fav of the non-flavored we tried. It was a bit hot, which I expected at 5 years, but delicious. I'm dog crap at picking out the specific flavors in whiskeys of any type but I really got the caramel notes. That's the bottle I picked up to bring home.

The bar/lounge - Morgan is a delight. The cocktail menu was impressive with regular and seasonal options. I added a cocktail to my ticket and picked up a a second during the tour. The Devil's Bestie was a great after-lunch starter and I sipped a Gothic Frost after that. I never had a pumpkin-themed cocktail before, only lots of pumpkin beer. I kinda feel I've been missing out this whole time. PLUS - the bar can do Italian sodas, mocktails and also stocks Boylen soda. My abstaining wife had choices!

Final note - the women's bathroom. Yes, we are gonna go there. Single serving (rejoicing in nonbinary/gender nonconforming here) and the bathroom had pads and tampons stocked. Honestly? That kicks ass in the most thoughtful way. They were already a kick ass boutique distillery and then they went that extra mile in a small but important way? Hell yeah.

Final verdict - check it out. If you like boutique spirits, it's great. If you're a carnie/alt person at heart, you'll love it. If you're a maker of some kind, you'll be completely into the story of how they made the distillery and the accessories that make up the aesthetic of the place. If you have a goth wife or girlfriend in your life, you need to take her there - remember that goth partners are a year long commitment, they need more than one month of spooky enrichment.

Bonus points awarded for Frankie, the rescue pooch who came in with the friend of the owners and...

What a wonderful find!! We had cocktails and did the tour.

Audrey was our bartender and gave us suggestions on 3 menus - regular cocktails, seasonal cocktails, and coffee (spiked available). I got the classic old fashioned and my wife got something with Thyme in the name. We both loved the drinks! Audrey was an excellent conversationalist and we enjoyed learning more about Second Sight from her. In addition to cocktails, they have snacks, a “mystery” snack machine, and local pastries!

The bar and sitting area is beautiful, and they have really done a great job building our the “second sight” fortunetelling theme.

We had a tour with Carus, one of the owners - he’s charming, a great storyteller, funny, and does an excellent job being both entertaining and informative. I learned a lot about distilling!

Our tour came with a round of tastings. Carus gave us background information on all the flavors and suggestions for mixers. We loved the Oak Eye Bourbon, the Apple Pie Moonshine, and the spiced rum best. We also enjoyed the Queen Mab Hazelnut Liqueur- too sweet to drink on its own but would be a wonderful mixer, or Carus told us to mix it into whipped cream and top off hot chocolate! Can’t wait to try that!

What I truly loved is how passionate Carus is about what he does, and the local area. He told us all about other stops on the bourbon trail, local restaurants and bars (and the best thing to order at each place, it’s vibe, etc.)

We bought two bottles and a t-shirt and are already planning to return. We’re also super excited to go on the 3rd Saturday of the month when they do a Burlesque/Drag show!!

Do yourself a favor and go try out this gem of an...

I had toured Second Sight Spirits in early July and ended up being the only one on my tour. It was such an enjoyable experience that I added another visit to a Bourbon Trail itinerary with friends flying in from Florida.

The Second Sight story is so different from other distillery tours. Instead of the same old "grains come in and are cooked, fermented, distilled and aged...", guests hear a story of two childhood friends who learn the trade from some interesting people that they meet in their travels. I won't spoil the story since Carus is a much better storyteller. These guys have persevered through the challenges of creating their business and you can't help but root for them to succeed.

Besides making some very tasty spirits, the Second Sight guys are just fun people to be around. We laughed, traded jokes and left with smiles on our faces and a few bottles as well!

My group ended up touring six distilleries (including one of the big ones) and we still look back at the Second Sight visit as a highlight of the weekend. Thanks Carus for accommodating our schedule and making it a...