32 | CINCY AT 250


www.nitravelnews.com


April/May 2026


hidden corners that once defined this riverfront region. Beneath the City


Beneath Cincinnati’s streets lies a hidden world of 19th-century tunnels,


remnants of


abandoned breweries, forgotten


passageways,


and the city’s early industrial underbelly from Prohibition times. Today, those same spaces set the stage for one of the region’s most distinctive nightlife spots: Ghost Baby, a cocktail bar carved into a historic lagering tunnel. With candlelit corners,


live music,


and a moody, speakeasy vibe, it turns Cincinnati’s underground history into an experience you can literally step into. Cincy’s Chilli Identity As the region’s bourbon story is rooted in traditions brought by early European settlers,


Cincy’s most


iconic dish grew from that same European creativity. A uniquely spiced chili that today lives on in iconic spots like Skyline Chili, Gold Star, or Camp Washington Chili,


where


“NORTH MEETS SOUTH” EXPLORING THE CHARM OF THE CINCY REGION


AS America celebrates 250 years, Cincy celebrates the role it has played in shaping the nation. Known in the 19th century as


“Porkopolis” for


its booming meat-packing industry and founded on the banks of the Ohio River, the region quickly became a hub of cultures and commerce, where people, ideas, and trade converged to drive early growth. By 1890, nearly 60% of Cincy’s population was German, giving the region one of the richest concentrations of European heritage in the US. From the birthplace of professional baseball to its distinctive “North meets South” charm, visitors can taste the


region’s history region boasted through


Cincy chili, a thriving bourbon scene, and microbreweries the


long


before it became cool. Cincy began in 1788 as a frontier settlement on the Ohio River and quickly grew into a major gateway to the American West, protected early on by Fort Washington and later booming into the “Queen of the West” as river trade and industry surged.


Maija Zummo,


International & Domestic Communications at Visit Cincy,


Senior Manager, said:


“Across 250 years of American history, Cincy has stood as a beacon of culture, creativity and community. From its early days as a frontier settlement on the Ohio River to its rise as a powerhouse of industry, brewing, music and sport, the region has continually helped shape the story of America. Cincy’s people, ideas and traditions have left an enduring mark on


the nation’s identity, and as America marks this milestone anniversary, we are proud to celebrate the unique role our region has played in that journey.” Northern Kentucky is one of Bourbon’s historic heartlands Cincy is the front door to bourbon country, as Northern Kentucky became a distilling hub as early as 1797, one of the first regions where bourbon production boomed thanks to ideal conditions and influential distilling


families like the


Samuels (Maker’s Mark) and O.Z. Tyler (Old Forester). Northern Kentucky, just across the river from Cincy, became one of its earliest and


most influential heartlands, with river trade, immigrant distillers, and booming 19th-century whiskey towns shaping the spirit’s rise. Today, visitors can explore this heritage through the B-Line, a modern bourbon experience that links craft distilleries like New Riff with all nine local


Was Cincy the Original Sin City? As Cincy serves as the modern gateway to


Kentucky’s bourbon heartland, the region also reveals a very different side of its past in Newport’s notorious gangster era. Long before Las Vegas rose to fame, Newport was


the country’s original playground


for gambling, speakeasies, and mob-run nightlife, a legacy visitors can step into today through the Newport Gangster Tour, which traces the casinos, crime bosses, and


tradition that would become central to the region’s identity. Cincy’s Role in America’s Journey to Freedom Perched on the edge of the Ohio River, once the dividing line between slavery and freedom, Cincy played a defining role in the Underground Railroad. For decades before the Civil War, enslaved African Americans escaped north through a network of secret routes and safe houses, aided by abolitionists, free Black communities, and courageous conductors. Cincy became one of the most vital crossing points for freedom seekers, leaving behind stories of bravery that shaped the nation’s moral arc. Today, visitors can experience this history firsthand at the National Underground


distilleries proudly featured on the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Visitors can enjoy Prohibition Bourbon Bar, frequently noted for boasting one of the largest Bourbon collections in the world, or Nicholson’s Fine Food and Whiskey, on the Cincinnati side, is often listed as a ‘must-stop’ for whiskey lovers in national guides. Revival Vintage Spirits is often called the Indiana Jones of vintage bottles, giving customers the rare chance to sip spirits made before Prohibition or during the Kennedy era.


visitors can taste the classic 3-way or a cheese-laden coney in the region where it was born. Created in 1922 when Macedonian brothers Tom and John Kiradjieff created their signature spiced meat sauce at Empress Chili Parlor, they unknowingly launched a food


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