Bourbon Sessions at the Ripy Mansion welcomes Molly Wellmann, award-winning self-taught mixologist born and raised in Cincinnati. After 12 years in San Francisco, she returned to her beloved hometown to be closer to family. Molly is the author of “Handcrafted Cocktails: The Mixologist’s Guide to Classic Drinks for Morning, Noon, & Night”.

Molly has immersed herself in the knowledge of classic cocktails and fine spirits; studying the history and proper preparation of classic cocktails invented in the 1700s to the 1950s. She uses classic cocktails as a base for creating new and innovative drinks containing simple syrups, bitters, liquors and fresh juices she makes herself.

Molly is honored to have been able to work at many popular restaurants and bars throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She was the owner of the popular Japp’s bar (voted one of the 18 cocktail bars in the country by Esquire Magazine 2016). Molly was recently featured in Midwest Living Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincinnati Enquirer, People Magazine, Cincinnati Business Courier and City Beat, as well as many well-read blogs.

Molly is the Mixology Contributor for Bourbon+ Magazine and a regular speaker at Moonshine University in Louisville. She was voted best mixologist / bartender for City Beat Magazine for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022. She has won the Cincinnati Partnership Award from the Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2014, The Women Who Mean Business Award from the Cincinnati Business Courier in 2016, The Ellen Battelle Dietrick Award from the Covington Ladies Home in 2018 and the President’s Award from the Cincinnati Chapter of The Public Relations Society of America in 2018. She was also awarded Best Bartender/Owner in the Nation by Nightclub and Bar Media for 2019.

Molly will present the History of Rectifiers (or Non-Distilling Producers) in Cincinnati and Kentucky and guide us through a bourbon tasting of Dexter, Four Roses, and Weller. Molly will also show us how to make a Fall Old Fashioned Cocktail!

Tasting will be accompanied by light appetizers. Cash bar and tours of the Historic T.B. Ripy Mansion will also be available.

Net proceeds in excess of event costs go directly towards the continued maintenance and restoration efforts of the Ripy Mansion.