COLUMBUS – Ohio has tours dedicated to coffee, beer and wine. It was only a matter of time before someone put together a Buckeye State version of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail.
The Columbus Distillery Trail is a curated tour, co-sponsored by Experience Columbus and Destination Grandview, of more than a half-dozen Columbus-area distillers, some of whom have won international accolades and all of whom have been at the forefront of a nationwide craft distilling movement for more than 10 years.
Anyone 21 or over can download the Distillery Trail’s digital passport.
Each stop on the trail offers tours and tastings, many with full bar service:
- Echo Spirits Distilling Co. launched in 2020 in Grandview, “aims to echo a time when we got to know the folks making the things we buy, and a laid-back bar offers great cocktails and food deliveries from nearby restaurants.”
- Middle West Spirits is one of the country’s fastest growing distillers and was named U.S. Distillery of the Year in the Berlin International Spirits Competition. Its 15 spirits include gin, whiskies, bourbons, vodkas and bourbon cream.
- Endeavor Brewing and Spirits launched as a brewery in 2017 in Grandview and its liquor lineup includes craft brews, vodka, rum, dry gin, a botanical gin, and a menu provided by rotating food trucks.
- Watershed Distillery started up in Grandview in 2010 and opened the state’s first restaurant connected to a distillery, Watershed Kitchen & Bar, in 2017. Its spirits include gin and seasonal nocino made from spiced local black walnuts and apple brandy.
- 451 Spirits, tucked in an alley next to a neighborhood dive bar in Clintonville has been described as “a mad scientists’ den,” featuring riffs on rum, whiskey, mezcal and absinthe that start with unusual mash bills, but end with remarkable results, like Pizza Pie’Chuga, distiller Chad Kessler’s play on Pechuga mezcal infused with local favorite pizza Mikey’s Late Night Slice.
- Noble Cut Distillery in Gahanna is noted for its vodka and whiskey but gets high marks for orange and grapefruit versions of limoncello.
- High Bank Distillery in Grandview Heights has a full-service bar and restaurant. Its Whiskey War Barrel Proof Blend recently received the Best of Class in American Blended Whiskey Award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The distillery trail joins the Short North Art Trail, curated by the Short North Alliance, and the Columbus Coffee Trail.