Five Brothers Bar & Kitchen on the second floor of the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience will open as a full-fledged dining and drinking spot this fall.
Until it does, however, the beautifully renovated, industrial chic space is available for craft cocktails and a limited menu, making it the most popular pop-up of the summer.
The popularity factor increases when you add in a full concert schedule running from now until the first week in September.
“Our Larceny Live concerts will take place every other Thursday evening through Labor Day,” says Josh Hollifield, general manager of the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, adding that the concerts, a partnership with Larceny Small Batch Bourbon and Southern Trace Songwriters, will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and are free to the public.
This is the second year of the concert series, and Hollifield notes that it has increased in length of time and scope of performers, offering as he says, “a preview of things to come.”
The concert series kicked off at the end of May with Alyssa Flaherty, a rising star on the Nashville scene who has been compared to the likes of Kelsea Ballerini and Ashley McBryde.
June performances will be by Dustin Collins (June 13th) and Shane Dawson (June 27th). Georgia-born, but raised right here in the Bardstown area, Collins has been described as “blending the simmering murmur of Jason Aldean with the redneck defiance of Hank Williams, Jr.” One of his better known songs, “I Like to Drink,” seems especially appropriate for Heaven Hill audiences.
Kentucky born and bred Shane Dawson and his band are said to musically remind audiences what it is they most love about the country sound.
Singer/songwriter Ashley Jordan will take the stage on July 11th bringing her soulful melodies of America’s heartland to the audience. A storyteller at heart, she has shared the stage with such icons as Trace Adkins and the Charlie Daniels Band.
Following Jordan will be Dawson Steagall on July 25th. A native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Steagall got an early start with his vocalizing at age three. His debut single is “Somewhere I’ve Never Been.”
August at Heaven Hill Distillery will get even hotter with shows by Rachel Oldham Ballard (August 8th) and Sara Kelly (August 22nd). Both of these ladies, Kentuckian Ballard and Kelly from North Carolina, are powerful storytellers through song.
The majority of the performers are up-and-coming country singers/songwriters/musicians, but the September performance will be a departure from songs about love gone wrong and life behind bars.
Wrapping up the concert series on September 5th will be Soul Circus Trio out of Louisville. Rather than country, the seven-member band specializes in pop, rock, funk and R&B.
Of course, concert-goers of legal age can partake of adult beverages courtesy of Five Brothers team of mixologists. Two signature cocktails will be featured: Thieves’ Punch (Larceny Small Batch Bourbon, blood orange and cranberry bitters) and Rosemary’s Heist (Larceny Barrel Proof, Rosemary bitters, rich simple syrup).
There will also be Kentucky Proud pop-up food items available for purchase. While there will be no ticketed bourbon tastings on the concert nights, the gift shop and museum will be open for browsing.
“We’re hoping everyone will come out and support our concert series which makes for a nice summer distillery experience,” says Hollifield, “and then come back in the fall when we open the full-service restaurant.”
For more information about the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience concerts and other Bardstown attractions, go to VisitBardstown.com