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The Winter Park Distillery is a unique space just a short 10 minute drive from downtown Orlando Fl. Part brewery, part distillery, this ‘brewstillery’ does not discriminate against either beer lovers or spirits lovers. For you beer fans, there is the Bear and Peacock brewery which brews a ton of delicious craft beers that you can enjoy in the tap house alongside a small selection of bar snacks if you’re feeling hungry. And for you liquor fans, under the same roof (but clearly divided by lines to adhere to strict licensing laws in Florida) you’ll also find the Winter Park Distillery. Starting out life in 2010 it was the very first distillery in Orange County Florida, and although St. Augustine distillery has it beat for oldest building, Winter Park Distilling company has the distinguished honor of being the very first distillery in Florida to produce Bourbon since prohibition.
The Tour
THE BREWERY TOUR
As far as distillery tours go, this one certainly falls on the causal end of the scale. Our tour guide, donning a Hawaiian shirt and with beer in hand throughout, was informative whilst always keeping things very casual and fun. Orlando has some other great breweries, but this is a brewstillery, you essentially get two tours for the price of one, so the tour begins in the brewery where you learn all about the brewing process at the Bear and Peacock brewery. Interestingly as the basic process of brewing is the same as the initial stages of distilling, doing both under one roof makes a lot of business sense. Unlike most distilleries, Winter Park doesn’t have to wait months, or even years, to start driving revenue. They can keep the money rolling in between batches of spirits with their fantastic beer. Sipping whilst you learn is enthusiastically encouraged on this tour so make sure that you take advantage of the ‘beer breaks’ throughout and work your way through the delicious beers that they have on tap.
THE DISTILLERY TOUR
Once you’ve learnt all there is to know about brewing craft beer you are then taken over to the distillery (a line on the floor designates the border between the two businesses). Here you’ll see their still, which is stainless steel rather than the more commonly used copper stills (sorry Winter Park, but copper stills are a lot more instagrammable). You’ll learn all about the distillation process and how it differs for each of their spirits. The tour guide is both engaging and knowledgeable about the process and will give you a good understanding of how everything works.
TASTING ROOM
The tour guide keeps things very interactive and encourages lots of questions, so the tour lasts longer than many, but eventually the group will get restless and want to move on to the tastings. For the tastings you gather around a small bar where the tour guide pours everyone shots of each of their liquors. I think they are meant to only be half shots, but after being 2-3 beers deep, our tour guide was pouring on the heavy side. But we’re certainly not complaining.
Which Bottles To Buy
Winner: Bear Gully Reserve
Runner-up: Bear Gully campfire
Honorable mention: Genius Vodka
For you Vodka drinkers out there, their Genius Vodka is plenty smooth and very drinkable but the real standouts from their range are their bourbons. They produce two, their Bear Gully Reserve is the award winner, and rightly so- it really is fantastic. Their second, their Bear Gully campfire, offers a smokey undertone which is surprisingly subtle given the smokey aroma. For us the reserve slightly shaded it, so that’s what we took home. Honestly we were a bit underwhelmed with the white whiskey (moonshine), and the rum’s didn’t stand out for a state that generally excels in producing quality rums. But definitely grab a bottle of their Bourbon- it is after all Florida’s original, so everything else is just an imitation.
SUMMARY
If you are looking for a brewery or distillery to visit in the Orlando FL area then kill two birds with one stone and visit Florida’s only brewstillery. Try before you buy and spend an evening sampling all their fantastic beer and liquors- the hardest part will be deciding what to take home with you.
TOUR DETAILS
Tour Times: Fri & Sat 7pm, Sun 3pm
Length of Tour: 60-75 Minutes
Cost: $12pp full price, but have a look on Groupon- we paid $4.75pp
Included: Tasting of all of their liquors
Booking: https://wpdistilling.com/book-a-tour/
TOP TIPS
1) Grab a beer: I know we are all about the liquor at FDJ, but hey- we love a beer too. This is a top brewery in Orlando FL, so make sure that you check out the beer selection at the taproom, we’d recommend the $10 flight so that you can try 4.
2) Check Groupon: We saved over 50% on entry cost, so make sure you check to see if they have any offers on Groupon.
3) Eat something: This is another tour that is heavy on the tastings, so come prepared. They let you try all of their liquors (which means you’ll be doing 6 shots), so either eat first or do what we did and grab a snack from the taproom whilst you wait for the tour to start.
Location & contact
Website: http://wpdistilling.com//
Contact Number: (407) 801-2714
Location: 1288 N Orange Ave, Winter Park, Orlando FL 32789
Florida Distillery Directory
For a full directory of the 50+ distilleries currently operating in Florida then check out our Florida Distillery Directory.
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