I love flying Southwest – and I do whenever I have the chance. On June 4th they launced nonstop flights from Baltimore and Chicago to Cincinnati. To celebrate this milestone, Southwest invited me and a few other bloggers from Baltimore and Chicago to Cincy for the day to take a tour of what the city has to offer.

Cincinnati
We ate so much great food – the Cincy food scene is legit. But, the snack and beer scene is where it’s at. Our first snack stop of the day was at Holtman’s Donuts (1332 Vine Street | Cincinnati, OH 45202).
These fluffy beauties were calling our name. The group got two dozen donuts to share and that was a blessing. I didn’t get to try them all but I can’t resist anything with sprinkles. This airy donut was a great mid-morning treat.

Cereal Donut

Holtman’s Donuts

Vanilla Sprinkle Donut

Assorted Donuts
Instead of eating the donuts in the shop, we got them to go and enjoyed them at the Rhinegeist Brewery (1910 Elm St | Cincinnati, OH 45202). The name, Rhinegeist, translates to “Ghost of the Rhine” and refers to their place in the historic Over-the-Rhine Brewery District in Cincinnati. The brewery is built within the skeleton of the old Moerlein bottling plant.
The space was amazing, the taproom was a huge open space with some games like ping pong and corn hole. There was also a rooftop deck and I was really digging that vibe. The weather was in the upper 80’s – outside was the place to be! In order to get the most out of our brewery visit, we each opted to get a flight of beer. We tried Bubbles – a rose ale, Puma – a pilsner, Hustle- a red lager, and Truth – an IPA. My favorite of the beers was Bubbles. It was sweet and lightly fruity, perfect for a warm summer day. Hey, Rhinegeist – can you ship some of these to Baltimore?

Rhinegeist Brewery

Flight of Beers

Flight of Beers

Rhinegeist Beer Taps
Last on our dessert tour of Cincy was Graeter’s Ice Cream (2939 Terminal Drive | Hebron, KY 41048). This ice cream spot handcrafts their treats in 2 1/2 gallon batches at a time. They sell their ice cream at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport so we picked up a little bit to go before our flight.
Hello plane snacks! I tried the vanilla bean and the chocolate, chocolate chunk. Both were amazing but I was really digging the vanilla bean. It turns out, I can get Graeter’s in the Baltimore region so I will be picking up pints at my local grocery store to give all of their flavors a fair chance.

Graeter’s Ice Cream
You can see where else my travels take me, here.
Interested in visiting Cincy for yourself? Act fast! Southwest is offering a fare sale to there and other select destinations until June 9th!
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While this trip was paid for by Southwest Airlines, all views stated here are my own.
Categories: American Food, Cheap Eats, Dessert, Ohio, Travels
Yum! It all looks so good!
mmm Definitely down with those Holtman’s photos!
They were so light! Definitely a must visit!
BLACK RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP from Graeter’s is The Best!
This looked like an awesome day trip! I must make my way there this Summer!
xo Anna Elizabeth
https://www.lifestylebyannaelizabeth.com/
FYI Rhinegeist does distribute to Baltimore, check their website or local big craft beer shops to pick up their staples!
I checked, according to their site they only distribute in Ohio, Kentucky and Massachusetts.
I have had all these things this week!
Sounds like you’ve had a great week then!
Graeter’s Ice Cream is to die for. AFTER a trip to Eli’s legendary barbecue……
Def going to Eli’s on my next trip to Cincy! Thanks!