Follow the Ohio Distillery Trail

Check into 39 participating locations on this free mobile trail and sip on award-winning spirits or enjoy special discounts and perks offered at some locations to trail participants. There’s something for everyone on the trail — tours, full restaurants, tastings and more. Here are a few highlights of stops around the state. 

Find award-winning bourbon, whiskey and vodka at Everwild Spirits in downtown Sandusky. Nearby, the Toledo Spirits Company crafts a variety of spirits from vodka and whiskey to gin and rum, along with moonshine and other liqueurs. Visit their cocktail bar and kitchen, Bellwether, then take a cocktail class. 

If you’re looking for a festive drink, head to Cincinnati Distilling in Milford for their peppermint schnapps crafted with locally made Doscher’s Candies. You can also sample their bourbon, whiskey and more paired with your meal. Fans of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory will love the Snozzberry flavored vodka at Hayner Distilling & Importing Inc. in Troy, which also offers a free shot glass with a non-alcohol purchase for distillery trail participants.

Stop in Logan to find two Southeast Ohio distilleries on the trail. Hocking Hills Moonshine offers multiple moonshines, including flavored moonshines at 45-proof and their highest, Buckeye Thunder, at 151-proof. Try their bourbon aged in white oak barrels. Motherwell Distilling Co. is named after the Motherwell Iron and Steel Company that used to be in the area, and their peach spirit, The Lubricator, is named after one of the company’s inventions. Also among their offerings are vodka, gin, whiskey and bourbon.

One of the many Central Ohio stops is Ashville’s M&O Spirits that offers award-winning spirits among their whiskey, bourbon and vodka. In 2023, they earned the prestigious honor of being named Craft Distillery of the Year by the John Barleycorn Awards. Go barrel thieving in Columbus at Echo Spirits Distilling Co., during an upgraded version of their distillery tour where you can pull your own sample from a curated selection in the warehouse. They also offer cocktail classes and the opportunity to bottle your own bourbon. 

Get in the holiday spirit at Towpath Distillery in Akron with their two seasonal liquors. Be sure to try their Winter Gin, a mix of botanicals, and their Holiday Spiced Rum, a molasses-based rum with holiday spices. Medina’s BKO Distillery is the home of Voudoux Vodka, with whiskey, tequila and more in its future. Distillery trail participants can get a free tour of the distillery. 

Fore more information about the Ohio Distillery Trail, visit ohiodistillersguild.org. 

Proof Magazine is for Ohio spirit lovers and is produced by Great Lakes Studios. Don’t miss an issue by subscribing to Ohio Magazine. View a digital version of the Proof Magazine Holiday 2024 edition here.