Sipping Through The Barrels Bottles & Trail
Monday March 24th, 2025, 5:35pm
Sipping Through Windsor: Barrels Bottles & Brews Trail
Original blog by Nina Ngo
Hey besties, it’s your local tour guide, Nina. As your best friend who loves to explore and share some epic adventures, here’s my guide to the Barrels Bottles and Brews Trail! Who doesn’t love a good pub crawl experience? Now you can visit the region’s best breweries, distilleries and cideries. Whether you’re a local looking for a weekend plan or a visitor wanting to explore Windsor’s finest flavours, explore this trail with a Flight Log – one sip at a time.
How to Use the Flight Log
It’s super simple, follow these 3 steps:
Choose your own adventure, whether it’s for one day, a full week, or a full year. This mobile passport is a collection of places offering deals for your next visit. There are more exclusive offers when you choose to become a frequent flyer such as a birthday special and complimentary tasting! BONUS: You can purchase this flight log as a gift to be delivered for someone’s birthday now or in the future!
- 1 Day Pass is valid for 5 tastings
- 7 Day Pass is valid for 9 tastings
- Frequent Flyer is valid for 1 year and a tasting at each location, plus a bonus birthday tasting and exclusive monthly offers
- Easy Phone Access
This will be delivered instantly to your phone via text or email and is ready to use immediately. I highly recommend saving it on your home screen for an easy one-tap access. Plus, you don’t need to download an app!
- Stamp and Sample
Don’t forget to present your phone to an attendant or staff member to redeem discounts! At each location, check in to your flight log to redeem exclusive offers ranging from complimentary tastings to monthly giveaways.
The 13 Must-Visit Stops
In no order, these are the 13 must-visit stops:
This is the first premium craft distillery in this region. Handcrafting small-batch vodka, gin and whisky. Enjoy your tasting here along with a full menu featuring innovative and trendsetting culinary cooking along with the largest outdoor patio in Amherstburg, they’re open for lunch and dinner! Enhance your experience with a 45-minute distillery tour that occurs at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM on Saturdays. For $20 + tax, it includes a tasting of 5 spirits, a preview of the behind the scenes (i.e., barrel room), fun facts, and insider knowledge from experts, and more! I really enjoyed the Cinnamon Whiskey, and the Grapefruit Vodka was a close second! A great souvenir would be the tasting kit of the mini bottles.
Windmill Ridge Craft Cider & Beer
The family at Kranicz Orchards, known for their freshest fruits, decided to bottle their peach cider, and Windmill Ridge Acres was born. If you’re unsure of what to try first, they have a dry to sweetness scale on their canned ciders – I’d recommend trying the apple first, then the peach, and pear apple cider last. A fan favourite is their peach cider with pear apple as a close second – its smooth, light, well-balanced taste makes it nice to sip at any occasion. I even drank this for breakfast!
This family owned and operated brewhouse welcomes you just like family for your Barrels Bottles and Brews tasting! Meet the family behind GL Heritage and experience their beer patio surrounded by acres of agricultural land. You can enjoy your tasting in the tasting room or on the covered patio. Want more? For only $15, I highly recommend checking out their exclusive tour and guided tasting experience in the brewhouse. This 30-minute tour can accommodate group tours of up to 50 at once, allowing you to sample 6 beers on tap and explore the history behind the brewery. Their beers pair nicely with food made by rotating food trucks, starting off with The Hub Catering Co. The chef herself – Samantha Buhler, does a phenomenal job at creating the tastiest dishes like the hot honey grilled chicken bites. Fun fact: it’s pet friendly!
Walkerville Brewery
In the heart of Walkerville, this brewery is busy with all kinds of events ranging from Trivia Nights with Mack Flash to live entertainment, to even Books Brews Club! Go outside your comfort zone and check out any event they have – there’s always something for everyone and I love that. A must try is the Electric Haze Juicy IPA and Crème Brulée Porter for dessert! It pairs nicely with a classic pretzel – you can’t go wrong with that.
Speaking of pretzels – they have a delicious pizza pretzel and other bites you must try. I really enjoyed the atmosphere here as they have unique things to do such as a cornhole tournament or game nights. I personally recommend the Cranberry Belgian and the Zug Island Porter. They’re opposite in flavour as the Cranberry has a tart finish while the Zug has a more smoky, rich beer with a touch of caramel sweetness.
Two unique beers you need to try are their Lime and Maple Beer. The lime beer reminds me of what you would drink on a nice sunny day as it’s a refreshing ale with a hint of lime zest. The Maple tastes like maple syrup but even better – way to make it Canadian, eh! It also pairs nicely with food made by Smashed Apple Catering; I highly recommend the Ahi Wonton Tuna Nachos and the Smokey Brisket Board – chef’s kiss!
A unique experience to try is their Pints and Poses class, it’s $20 for an hour of yoga and a pint of beer. My go to is the Prairie Sunshine as it’s super light and refreshing – a great beer for those who are new to drinking beer. You can sip it throughout the class and try their tasting flight afterwards. I recommend bringing your own yoga mat and showing up 10 minutes early to get yourself situated.
Frank’s Brewing Co. has a nice outdoor patio, which is perfect for the warmer season. Also, a nice spot to watch sports with your friends. I really enjoyed their Cream Soda Beer, which is a fruit sour with a hint of vanilla. It pairs nicely with their craft burgers. Fun fact: you can order a keg here for your next upcoming event!
Leamington sits on the 42nd parallel, the most southern point of Canada. This is your sign to try the 42nd Parallel Lager, which is extremely popular. Their seasonal, Bogberry Cranberry Sour is also a fan favourite with a Lime Lager a close third. You’ll notice the wooden beer trays are in the shape of Windsor-Essex County! I was ecstatic to find out they have Dill on Mill Pickle Pizza and Beer Queso Nachos – the perfect addition to beer tasting flights.
Located in the heart of Amherstburg, this brewery has a lot of significant historical background which is showcased by the location, the indoor murals, and the names of the beer (i.e., Crystal Bay, Nuclear Sunset). In the 1800s, the property was described as “Lot 10 on the East side of Dalhousie Street”, which heavily influenced the name Lot 10 Brewing Co. In addition to only having 10 beer varieties on tap, with 5 classic selections and 5 seasonals. I am a huge fan of the Defroster, a spicy ale with a hint of ghost pepper.
A must try here is the Boyz 2 the Yard Milkshake NEIPA which has a citrus flavour with a hint of vanilla. For their guest taps, another favourite is the Vanilla Berry Daydreams from Craftheads. With a common theme of vanilla, there’s a nice light wild berry taste. This is the perfect pairing with their smash burgers – a staple in Kingsville. See if you can spot a picture wall of all the dogs that have visited! Super cute!
Nestled in the northernmost Carolinian forest on the shores of Lake Erie, Carolinia Cider Co. has a tasting barn located onsite at The Fruit Wagon. For those who want to try ciders but prefer not to consume alcohol, I highly recommend the Sparkling Silken. For an alcoholic option, the Off Dry and Pink Lady was delicious.
Known for their Pick Your Own Apples season, they’ve expanded their farm to open all year round to provide bakery goods, homemade jams, curated meat selection, and more. For a classic crisp cider, I highly recommend trying the Apple Cider, but for a unique flair, the Raspberry Cider was a fan favourite!
Tips for Making the Most of Your Experience
– Drink responsibly and pace yourself.
– Stay refreshed, hydrate between tastings, your future self will thank you!
– Be adventurous, try something you wouldn’t normally order, you might discover a new favourite!
– Bring along company, the best vibes are with good company!
– Share the experience and tag @twepi or @_ninango, I would love to see it! #BarrelTrail
Explore & pour the craft breweries, distilleries and cideries in Windsor Essex that make up the Barrels Bottles & Brews trail! Visit the stops along the way of the Windsor Essex barrel trail – the birthplace of Canadian whisky, award winning vodkas, craft breweries, and cideries made with hand-picked apples featuring some of the finest ales, lagers, stouts, ciders and more!
Take to the trail and enjoy a flight tasting at each stop and check in with your passport along the way. Purchase you Flight Log today!
Remember, you must be of legal drinking age (19+) to participate and to drink responsibly. See you on our next adventure together!
Head to barrelsbottlesbrews.ca to to start your tasting experience today!
Follow along with more of Nina’s adventures @_ninango
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