New Lexington boutique wine, cheese bar, bourbon tasting room promises different flavor

Sometime in the new year, you’re gonna want a little cheese, maybe a little wine or bourbon, or some chocolate ... or maybe something a little different, like a cornichon. And there will be a new place to look for all of that.

Cibon, a new nearly 4,000-square-foot boutique food and spirits shop, will be opening at 211 Rosemont Garden, across from PieTana and Rosemont Station and near Olive’s Apron bakery and tea shop, not far from the bustling Southland Drive corridor.

West Sixth Brewing co-founder Brady Barlow and his wife, Megan Winfield, hope to have the shop open in early February.

Barlow, who is in charge of sales for the brewery, said more than 20 years ago he and Winfield were partial to such a place in Rochester, N.Y., where they were living at the time.

“We visited each Saturday,” Barlow said in a Facebook post. “It was our place, and it was special. Cibon had a ton of fine food, cheese, wine, and an atmosphere that you didn’t want to leave. ... We have always wanted to recreate that atmosphere in Lexington ... the wine, the fine foods that are deliberately sourced and that you can’t get just everywhere, and, since we are in Kentucky after all, it would be a bad decision to not throw in the best bourbon available and, since I am not changing my role at West Sixth, there must be some beer. Since we are not getting any younger, the time has come to start our passion project.”

What will Cibon sell?

Barlow said in an interview that they are sourcing specialty teas, chocolates, cheeses, salami and other things that they’ve found on travels.

“It will be things we like, that we think are good,” Barlow said.

Cibon will be “for people who like good food and good drink,” Barlow said. “We’ll try to be somewhere everyone can come and find something they want. Gifts will be a big part of it. I follow my stomach.”

The front room will be a wine bar with cafe seating and things to nibble on. “We won’t be cooking burgers or pizzas but we will do pairings with cheese, salami and other items you can buy in the store, and that menu will change quite often,” Barlow said.

They also will have a second room that’s more of a comfy space, with non-alcoholic offerings as well.

“The goal will be to have a coffee component in the mornings, kind of a hangout in the mornings, comfortable seating, interspersed with retail,” he said.

And he’s looking forward to introducing people to all kinds of things.

“That’s what excites me the most about it, people will be trying things they’ve never tried before” Barlow said.

Things like cornichons, a kind of pickle of which Barlow is particularly fond. “It’s not something readily available,” he said. “There’s a whole world of stuff out there that’s just not available. I just want this place to be different.”

Bourbon room, tastings at Cibon

The back room will be a bourbon room.

“We have a lot of rare bourbon that we will integrate into a program,” he said.

They will offer the space for guided tastings as well as other events, he said.

“We’ll have a fair amount going on, want people to be comfortable coming in, getting a glass of wine and imported cheeses. Everything will have a reason for being there but not pretentious,” Barlow said.

Janet Patton

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-379-5233

Janet Patton covers restaurants, bars, food and bourbon for the Herald-Leader. She is an award-winning business reporter who also has covered agriculture, gambling, horses and hemp. Support my work with a digital subscription