BOURBON AND BLUEGRASS

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We are big fans of tradition and culture here at the American Queen Steamboat Company. They are essential ingredients in our cruises on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and help provide true authenticity to an elegant vacation. As it turns out, two of those elements are bourbon and bluegrass and we’re proud to combine these icons of Southern Culture on two 9-day cruises this fall. Voyages travel from St Louis to Cincinnati August 29 through September 6, and then back from Cincinnati to St. Louis from September 5 to 13. Among others, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Chris Jones and the Night Drivers, Storefront Congregation, Kentucky Blue, Dave & Cathy, and the Juggernaut Jug Band have been booked for these Bourbon & Bluegrass cruises which include additional lectures, bourbon and moonshine tasting events, and plenty of designated jamming areas.

A five-time nominated Grammy Award Winner, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage are the most award winning act in bluegrass music history and most definitely at the top of their game. Crowned the “Queen of Bluegrass,” Rhonda Vincent has hits spanning three decades and is the most requested touring act in bluegrass. The high energy shows that typify the group have earned awards through IBMA and SPGMA for best live performance.

Chris Jones is a quadruple threat as a singer, a songwriter, a guitarist—and, DJ. Thanks to his role hosting SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction, he is one of the most widely heard broadcasting voices in bluegrass. When he's not on the air, Chris Jones is performing worldwide, from football stadiums in Bulgaria to Lincoln Center. He's won IBMAs for Broadcaster of the Year and Song of the Year, and as a sideman he's played with Lynn Morris, Special Consensus, Vassar Clements, April Verch, and The Cheiftans.

What do you get when you blend jazz, blues, ragtime, swing and original music with washboards, banjos, jugs and various and sundry hardware? Nothing less than the eclectic amalgamation called the Juggernaut Jug Band, about whom the Washington Post quips, “They don’t let virtuosity get in the way of having fun.” Also performing aboard, the Storefront Congregation is America’s fastest rising bluegrass act with the feel and sound of an Alison Krauss or Nickel Creek show. Dave & Cathy add a folksy feel to their river songs. These performers, in synergy with the riverboat culture on the American Queen, create an authentic and inimitable experience that brings the history and culture of the Ohio Valley region to life.

During these cruises, we will also have impromptu jams throughout the American Queen featuring the globetrotting bluegrass group, Kentucky Blue, a quilting exhibition from the Quilters Hall of Fame and numerous guitar and banjo workshops for beginning bluegrass musicians. You can even bring your instrument and join in a jam session in one of our “Pickin’ Parlors.”

But these cruises are not just about bluegrass, but also bourbon as well. And for those who partake, bourbon is not a liquid, it’s a religious experience. All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. You will explore Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail, a region of rolling bluegrass hills roughly within a triangle from Lexington to Louisville to Bardstown, where 95% of the world’s bourbon is made. Mix that Kentucky bluegrass scenery with our own American roots bluegrass music inspired by the music of Appalachia that blended Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English traditional music with African-American and jazz elements, and you have an unforgettable cruise.

Enjoy extensive tours along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail from several ports of call. Visit the Jim Beam American Stillhouse where Troy Beam will take you on a guided tour of his family legacy over 200 years in the making, an American Queen exclusive experience. Enjoy a barbecue lunch at My Old Kentucky Home; the 18th-century plantation home of that inspired the state song by the same name is now a state park. You will be joined for lunch by The Whiskey Professor, Bernie Lubbers of Heaven Hill Distillery, who will entertain you with stories and songs of bourbon lore. Bernie will lead the way to Heaven Hill Distillery itself, providing a tour of the “Rickhouse” and a tutored tasting of small batch bourbons Evan Williams Single Barrel and twelve-year-old Elijah Craig.

Travel to Kentucky’s state capital of Frankfort for a visit to the Governor’s Mansion, plus a reenactment visit with Ruth Hanly Booe, inventor of Bourbon Ball candy in 1932, with samples to enjoy. We’ll then visit 200-year-old Buffalo Trace Distillery where our back-of-the-house experience with bourbon makers will show us how things are done at the “World’s Most Decorated Distillery.”

Famous bourbon makers will also join you as you cruise. Tastings, food pairings and presentations onboard will reveal some of the rarest and finest bourbons made. You can even join our chefs and learn the intoxicating secrets of cooking with bourbon. We also are featuring an exclusive “Moonshine Matinee” deck party. Feast on delicious barbecue, learn the art and history of moonshine making from some genuine Tennessee Moonshiners and, of course, sample some of the tasty “shine” you’ve learned so much about. The party continues with an outdoor festival-style Bluegrass Jam Event.

But there’s even more to these cruises than just the sounds of bluegrass and the smooth taste of bourbon. The American Queen brings alive the stories, places, people and unique customs that make up our history and have shaped who we are today. The American Queen Steamboat Company is uniquely positioned to do so thanks to the deep relationships that we have built in places such as Kentucky. We know the land and the people and are able to share a “sense of place” with you. On these cruises, you will be immersed in the quintessential elements of America such as Abraham Lincoln, the Louisville Slugger, the legend of the Kentucky Derby and, naturally, bourbon whiskey and bluegrass music.

If you make your reservations and pay-in-full before May 30, 2014, you can take advantage of an extraordinary offer and save up to $2,000.* So book the suite or stateroom of your choice today and let the bourbon flow and the bluegrass capture your soul on these unforgettable
cruises into the heart of America’s cultural icons.

*Offer expires May 30, 2014 and is valid on new, paid-in-full bookings only. Save $2,000 per stateroom ($1,000 pp) on these 2014 American Queen voyage dates: 7/08, 7/15, 8/01, 8/08, 8/15, 8/22, 8/29 and 9/05. This offer is not valid on American Queen cabin categories G, H and I. Full payment at time of booking is required to redeem these offers-space cannot be held. Offers are based on cabin availability and only while inventory lasts. Offers are not valid on group bookings or existing reservations and cannot be combined with other offers, promotions or discounts. Fares quoted are in U.S. dollars. Cruise fare does not include taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare. Additional terms and conditions may apply - call for details.