WHISKIES OF WINDSOR
LOCAL PRIDE
With its storied Prohibition-era history, Windsor is one of Ontario’s best-kept secrets—home to cutting-edge whisky distillers and plenty more.
With global awards and classic and innovative spirits flowing, Windsormade whisky is having a renaissance. “The water of Windsor is flowing!” says Tish Harcus, a Canadian whisky industry legend who recently celebrated 30 years with Canadian Club.
Windsor brand Canadian Club was created by Hiram Walker, a businessman from just across the river in Detroit. Walker first opened a Windsor distillery in 1858, and brands founded by fellow Canadian whisky barons J.P. Wiser, Henry Corby, William Gooderham and James Worts are all made in Windsor today. The city became a hotspot during U.S. Prohibition in the 1920s, when Canadian spirits illicitly crossed the Detroit River to satisfy thirsty Americans, and since then Windsor has helped make a permanent name for Canadian whisky worldwide.
Today, there’s nothing underground about Windsor’s pride in its spirit: tours, tastings, cocktail bars and even craft breweries are just some of the ways it celebrates Canadian whisky’s local heritage. Here’s where to go, what to taste, and how to explore.
Barrels, Bottles & Brews
This self-guided tour includes possible stops at 11 Windsorarea breweries, Wolfhead Distillery and the J.P. Wiser’s Distillery Experience. Taste your way through Windsor, Amherstburg and Kingsville to get your free BB&B (Barrels, Bottles & Brews) passport stamped: eight stamps earn a Barrel Trail prize. barrelsbottlesbrews.ca
Drinks of Walkerville
Tour the Hiram Walker & Sons distillery that makes many Windsor whiskies, including four you can taste in the
J.P. Wiser’s brand centre there. Make a selfie stop at the vintage Canadian Club headquarters, visit Walkerville Brewery (located in a 1928 whisky warehouse), and sip craft cocktails at F&B Walkerville. windsoreats.com/places/ drinks-of-walkerville
Windsor Whiskipedia
Explore the full range of Canadian whiskies that bloom in Windsor, which is known as Rose City.
Canadian Club Premium Canadian Whisky LCBO 42, $28.45
The whisky that started it all for Windsor is a pale-gold pour with the faint scent of caramel corn, citrus peel and lots of soft spices like ginger and cinnamon. It’s perfect in a trendy Whisky and Soda Water Highball with a twist of lemon.
J.P. Wiser’s Deluxe Whisky LCBO 893, $28.95
This signature blend from a distillery founded in Prescott, Ont., now located in Windsor, is rich with caramel and sultana aromas, with a finish that’s both sweet and spicy. Try it in a classic Old Pal cocktail: 2 parts Canadian whisky to 1 part each dry white vermouth and Campari, garnished with orange zest.
Rum Runners and Spirits of Windsor Tours
Hop on these interactive tours with in-character costumed guides. The Rum Runners tour explores Windsor’s connection to Al Capone and bootlegger haunts and includes a speakeasy lunch. Spirits other than whisky reportedly flow around Windsor: from ancient burial grounds on the Detroit River to haunted whiskybaron mansions, get spooked on a Spirits of Windsor jaunt. rumrunnerstour.com spiritsofwindsortour.com
THERE ARE 1.6 MILLION BARRELS OF WHISKY AGEING IN WAREHOUSES JUST EAST OF WINDSOR.