Opened in 2019 just before the pandemic, the owner has invested a lot of money to make two amazing…read moreproducts. So far, there's vodka and rum but there are plans to expand. If you're in the Lunenburg area, take a short drive out of the way to taste the super smooth vodka. Products are organic and the wheat in the vodka is local. You will love the fancy molasses-made rum. You can't get this stuff in the liquor stores so stop in six days a week (closed Mondays). Lots of free parking and easily accessible right on the side of the road!

The Coldstream Clear Distillery tasting room is located just off the highway as you are headed into…read moreHalifax. It is really easy to access, but is hiding behind the Taco Bell so it is easy to drive past it the first time if you do not know what you are looking for. Once you have found it the tasting room is a lot of fun. They have a wide range of rums and vodkas that you can sample as well as their sodas which are premixed drinks with soda water. You can also order a flight of cocktails which the staff makes right there in front of you. The day we visited the staff member was amazing and was very kind and helpful. With your cocktail flight in hand, you can head out outside to enjoy drinking them. The drinks were all very tasty. We tried the Blueberry Mojito the Creamsicle, Espresso Martini and the Paradise. Our two favorites were the Espresso Martini and Paradise. We stopped because we were working on getting stamps for the Cheers Trail, but it would be a great stop for anyone that enjoys small distilleries from the local area.

This distillery is so great! It's been open for a few months and their home made vodka is…read moredelicious. You can usually try any vodka, and their variety is unbeatable. My favourite has been their poke pie vodka. Their coconut vodka is also amazing for piña coladas. The staff are so friendly and are especially kind - they will literally offer to help you with anything. Definitely will be back!

The Hubs and I were in the area and we decided to give this place a try on their spirits…read more There are 4 quad seating inside and when we were there on that sunny Sunday afternoon in October, there were 2 other groups with us. The bartender is knowledgable and super easy to talk to. Everything is made in house. Cocktails can be had for $12-15 each. We opted for $10 with 4oz each taster. Tasting notes: Gin Wild: sweeter gin. Had apple flavours. Ocean Rose: more juniper, more musky than Gin Wild. Noon Gun Gin: peaty and sweet. Almost a cross between rum and gin. Gin Royal: for those from Westcoast, this is close to the Empress Gin: colour, nose and flavour are all similar. Nauss' Reserve Rum: deep, sweet, easy to drink, smooth. Definitely great with coke. Spice Rum: citrus on the nose and palate. Smooth and really good for sipping. Fort George Genever: pure alcohol on the nose, very punch in the face in the palate (raw alcohol taste). It's like an unrefined whiskey. Granite & Grain Whisky: The Hubs is the "whiskey connoisseur" of us two. He said that it had a cardboard taste. Overall: Love this little distillery. Great place to try spirits.

A great spot for a quick cocktail or to discover something new. A tiny spot on Agricola that's…read moreaccessible and fun. A tiny bar top is tucked under the staircase that leads to the upper level with just a few seats. On the main floor, an intimate space allows the view of the stills behind glass in the distillery. The staff are the stars here. Knowledgeable and fun, they will answer any questions and suggest new things to try. Great gin, but there are also other options (vodka, whisky, etc.). Non-alcoholic options available as well.

What incredible talent & artistry Todd puts into creating these spirits! So many inventive and…read moredelicious flavors - gin, vodka, rum & more - there surely is something for everyone at Raging Crow Distillery. And Todd was so welcoming and fun, explaining everything to us and offering a sampling. Purchased this exquisite gin, and a few small bottles to fly home with.

Si vous cherchez une distillerie qui a une grande variété de différentes alcool local, vous devez…read morearrêter ici, c'est une de plus belle distillerie que j'ai visité dans la région. Vous devez goûter à la vodka dill pickles, ils font un mix césar maison unique. Très accueillant personnel.

Another delightful winery up in the Valley, just beyond Port Williams. Great views of course, a…read morevery attractive large deck along one side of the winery and a pleasant, bright and airy interior. Some excellent wines, especially the reds (the Quintessence is a good as anything in the province), a unique sparkling mead and a very powerful rummed cider (9.5%), plus several whites and a rose. I had the red flight, wife went for the classic and for eats I chose the beef tip panini, which was truly outstanding. Delightful service, as seems to be the case at all the wineries we've visited. Bought a few bottles to take home and the bill came in at about $150, which isn't bad. Definitely worth the trip up from Halifax.

Definitely worth a stop if you're on the wine-o tour but this one is maybe only worth doing a…read moreflight. It looks like this place still needs a little bit of refining but it has some pretty good potential in the next few years. The wine is decent. Their red really is good but their rosé is a little bit more fruity than we like and much darker than expected. Not a huge selection here but a really nice location overlooking the vineyard. I'd personally skip the food as it seems like it's being too fancy for what it is. We got the cheese board and it definitely is trying to be a little more fancy than it is. It comes with 3 cheeses and there are only 3 options so if you don't like blue cheese, let them know when you order so they can give you more of one of the other two. The thing we found odd was the tacky Breton crackers. It would have been nice to have some kind of artisan crackers instead and perhaps some sort of a jam, jelly or spread. We found it to be a little tacky for $16. The service was a little bit in the middle and we waited around a while to even get a menu. Once the server recognized we weren't helped yet, she apologized and picked up from there which made us not want to get up and leave like originally planned. Overall, I think this place is worth a shot but perhaps don't expect to be wowed and maybe grab a meal before you show up. I can see this being a great place to do a flight just to try what they've got or just have a glass of wine on the patio that's being extended (they were working on it while we were there). Lots of parking and just off the road.

Very hospitable. They make your feel welcomed. That's much better than I expected!!read more

Stopped in here early on a cold Sunday afternoon in May to enjoy a couple drinks. We had the place…read moreto ourselves because it's the off-season, and it was quite cozy. HDC specializes in rum tastings/flights, but I deferred to the cocktail list. They were unable to make 2 of the 5 cocktails on the list (out of some ingredients?), which was disappointing. The staff (a few kids back from college for the summer) is well-intentioned, but I didn't get the sense they were "seasoned" enough to know a lot about the spirits they were serving. Just my bias about 19-year-olds behind the bar. Had the same Stormy Weather cocktail made slightly differently by two different bartenders. Still tasty, but that lack of consistency gave me pause about the staff's experience. All this said...be sure to make this spot a stop on your Halifax boardwalk bar journey!

What an awesome little hidden gem! Off the beaten path, this place isn't easy to find because there…read morereally isn't any signage for it in the area. One attraction sign on the main Highway through Hubbards shows them, but not any directions. This establishment would benefit from a few well-placed signs to get tourists down. The building is unassuming in the front. It is accessible which is great. There's an ice cream hut in the parking lot and a counter on the left when you enter for off-season ice cream service. This is an old schoolhouse so it's HUGE inside and the bar is very open. A small step leads out the back door to a massive patio. Seating up top or below with multiple options. Sun or shade. Couch or chairs. Lots of options with fire pits, too. Surprising we have never heard of this place and only recently discovered them on social media; they just celebrated their 5th anniversary! You can't buy their products at the NSLC but they do ship across Canada. The list of cocktails is extensive. While I'm not a fan of flavoured drinks, I could not resist a fun flight on a hot September day. Super reasonably priced and crafted with care. The Funhouse was definitely fun with a shark in the glass and topped with cotton candy. Surprisingly not too sweet! Samples of their spirits are free and I highly recommend the gin which we ended up buying a bottle of. Service was super friendly, engaging and overall effective. A great place for large groups. The entire establishment is dog friendly. Only downside here is some of the labels are a little bit tacky but that's pretty minor.

From the owner: Black Harbour Distillers Inc. imports the finest spirits from across Canada and the world to assist…read morein producing exceptional blended spirits. Black Harbour is a distillery that manufactures blended spirits and ready to drink beverages. Our process includes show charcoal filtering (2x), refining, and polishing our spirits to prepare for the final stage of blending our superior Nova Scotia ingredients. We do not vaporize our alcohol or use a still on site. We do ensure our process delivers some of the highest standard spirits locally produced at a competitive price.

I visited with friends during a road trip in the area. I wasn't sure what to expect, but we had a…read morenice time. We missed the turn off for their road the first time even though there is an old truck with "Caldera" painted on it and a small sign. They're set back a bit from the main road, so they don't quite catch your eye until it's a bit late to turn. The parking lot is pretty big and more than accommodated all of the visitors while we were there. At first glance we were a bit surprised at the buildings because the barn is so old and weathered, but there's a newer (metal) barn that the distilling happens inside. Once we learned the story of the old barn (which actually looks great inside), we were really impressed. (Get them to tell you all about it!) The distillery is really focused on local stories with all of the ingredients for the whiskey being grown locally and the names related to the community. The colour of the Hurricane 5 whiskey is a beautiful caramel (see photo). They offered free samples of the Hurricane 5 while we were there (August 22nd) and a cocktail at a great price that included ginger ale, ginger beer, lemonade and whiskey. It was perfect for a hot sunny day! They also mentioned that they were about to come out with another whiskey and would soon have a cognac as well. There was no seating in the barn, but outside on the back courtyard (through the barn) were four Adirondack-style chairs and some other areas where you could sit. It's not really set up for people to stay and enjoy a couple of drinks though; it's more to get you in, let you taste the options and send you on your way with a bottle or two. I would have appreciated a couple more chairs since there ended up being more than 10 people there at the same time.

From the owner: A creation steeped in tradition, seasoned with our salt air. The ocean defines our culture and our…read morewhisky, crafted with that same passion. Caldera is more than a beverage, it's a spirit... connected to the heart of the North Shore. We'd love for you to explore River John, Nova Scotia. Let us welcome you to our fields, farm and friendship

3 Nova Scotia wineries in the Annapolis Valley led by a seasoned sommelier! Great wines, good…read morecompany and a superb lunch. One of the highlights of my trip east!

We had a lovely time with Paul and Mike. We learned a lot more about Nova Scotia and saw landscapes…read morewe wouldn't be able to since we were visiting and staying in Halifax. The wineries were happy to see us and we made a friend or two in our group. Know you can talk directly with the tasting room staff after each tasting to learn more about each place.