While in New Hampshire I was pleasantly surprised by my visit at Cathedral Ledge Distillery. They…read moreoffer quality products and until researching I had never heard of them before. They source their organic grain from Maine and New York and distill and age small batches on-site. I did a flight of their bottled-in-bond bourbon, wheated bourbon, and rye, cask strength bourbon, and maple liqueur. I usually like wheated bourbons, but enjoyed their regular bourbon and rye the best. It was an impressive operation with friendly staff. Cathedral is only five years old, so everything had a four year age statement, but they told me they are stashing barrels for older aged whiskeys. They are also looking to expand into single malts. If in the area check them out.

Such a cute distillery to stop at! The space is open and cute! Exposed beams and all the barrels…read morefor the vodka! Everyone is super friendly and helpful! And they mix a great cocktail! Stop in!

Found this place randomly for Maine Maple Sunday and glad we did! The place cooks up their own…read moresyrup and makes Maple Whiskey! They're open every Saturday and have an assortment of maple items and offer a good 10+ different options for mixed drinks. Their Blueberry Lemonade mixed drink was amazing. To top it off, they offer a few basic bites to eat from their kitchen (though - it's best to just count this place in as a snack spot with drinks than a full blown meal). Great atmosphere overall.. And you might just run into the Maine Cabin Masters. We did!

If you're visiting Portland, pop over to Washington Ave and visit this local gin distillery. Grab a…read moresofa, stool, or chair in their tasting room with some friends and immerse yourself in some local made gin cocktails. The beautiful high ceilings with huge windows and the afternoon sun streaming in is an extra bonus to this laid back spot. They have multiple seasonal cocktail options that are delicious, along with the classics (Bees Knees & French 75 were my favorite!) Our favorite gin here is the Hardshore original gin (pairs perfect in a homemade lemon drop) and the Hardshore North Oak Gin. A convenience is also that you can order the gin for a flat rate of $12 shipping (minimum two bottles) to your home! We were introduced to this place when we went with a group of friends- it's a great spot for a large group. We liked it so much, we went back the next time we were in the area. They have board games, outdoor seating, and are pup friendly, what more could you ask for! IG- Lentz_Explore

Went tonight for live jazz and the atmosphere was impeccable. I'm a sucker for live jazz, and the…read morecherry on top was the Rosemary Collins I had while listening. Great drinks, great vibes, 10/10.

Excellent distillery. I spoke to Tim, one of the owners, and he shared the stories of each spirit…read more Great experience. Recommended stop while jumping through the breweries in the area. got a chance to taste all their spirits and each one was delicious and had a unique flavor profile. Really tasty suasion, gin, and rum.

15 mins away form Portland. Definitely, worth visiting. Tour and tasting was $5. Staff as very…read moreknowledgeable and Friendly. The product tasted wonderful. I recommend the tour

Awesome tasting spot. I thought the bourbons were excellent and the blueberry vodka was definitely…read morea Maine treat. Don't skip out on the horseradish vodka. Definitely something everyone needs to try. The homemade syrups are also fantastic. We bought the blackberry and maple and they have been great to use as mixers in both cocktails, homemade sodas, and coffee. The owner really knew his stuff and gave a great experience talking through all of the profiles.

We stopped in on the fourth and chatted with Cole who was manning the front. He was very…read moreknowledgeable and friendly! He recommended us some good syrups to take home and even gave us some samples. Definitely check out this place if you're in the area!

Maine maple weekend 2025!…read more We decided to go to Chadwick's Craft Spirits for one of our stops. I read about the history and a few reviews and thought it would be a great stop. Little did I know it would be THE BEST stop on our tour! Every person working at Chadwick's was AWESOME!!! One review stated, "The people there made you feel like family!" They were absolutely correct. First we met Lynn's niece and she told us a lot about the history and the layout of the location. Super kind, happy and friendly. The next spot at Chadwick's was the sample table and the woman we spoke to was AMAZING! Sorry, I can't remember her name, (maybe too many samples? Lol) She knew everything about each product and answered every question we asked. They had 10 items to sample. There was vodka, whiskey and liqueur. Some of the flavors were raspberry, blueberry and strawberry and plain vodkas. The whiskey flavors were maple, apple pie and cinnamon and reserve 100 proof. All of them were delicious!!! Then we met Lynn and she was awesome too. She was in the distillery and she was informative and friendly. We talked about how she began and all the hard work to get her where she is today. Next, we went inside the shop and met AJ and his sister! (Sorry, I don't remember her name either but she was warm and sweet. Both of them were exceptional at service, not just with us, but with everyone they spoke to. They have a lot of products there, from t-shirts to spirits and much more. We were told that some events are coming soon, including open mic night, live bands and much, much more!!! The location is perfect, very quaint and charming and worth going out of your way for. The only advertising is by word of mouth and social media, so please spread the word!

What a unique place! Off the beaten path but not too far. In a beautiful place with eclectic…read moreseating and fire pits! You receive a tasting and then choose your drink. This is casual yet so fun!! Karaoke on this night but they also have bands! This is a must on a Saturday night!!

Top notch service and selections. I had a tasting earlier and all of their alcohol is on-point. I…read morepersonally usually like sweeter tasting things more, and the seasonal Maple drink I just happened to stumble on it in my travels and ended up getting that! Bathroom floor has leaves decoration on it. I meant to get a picture of this, but I forgot to, and it was too embarrassing to go back to get the pic later on because I was the only customer in the building at the time and I would've felt too weird asking to use the facilities so soon (unnecessarily) or to ask if I could take a picture of leaves decoration on a floor. The entire building has a rustic farm house look inside, but everything is clean and comfortable and not "rustic" or "rural country" in a dirty sorta way.

Great customer service and not just wine to taste. While not a big gin fan, I did get a bottle…read morebecause it was great. Would love to be able to bring a bottle of everything back. Worth the drive off Rt 1. to check it out.

Just to be clear, we did not go on a long drinking weekend in Maine!…read more We did go to Cold River Vodka for a tasting though. Wow! First off, their blueberry vodka (made with Maine Blueberries) may be the best Vodka I've ever had. Their gin, also amazing. Their aged vodka tastes like scotch! The place is fun, the crew is fun! I also learned the origin of English folk drinking Gin and Tonic (it was to help with Malaria)! It is illegal to ship alcohol in the US, so you have to carry it home in your suitcase. I am happy to say all three bottles made it home safely!!!

On our way up Maine this weekend, we decided to visit this vodka distillery we'd passed by on many…read morepast occasions. I'm so glad we stopped in. Vodka and gin are made and bottled right on site here using local Maine potatoes in the process. The entire business and production area is housed in a lovely old building with the distillery operation located on the main level. One flight up finds you in the tasting and salesroom. There was a tour already in progress when we arrived so we went right up to the tasting room where we had the place to ourselves along with the lovely staff person. She poured us tastes of their two signature vodkas: the regular and the blueberry flavored. Along with potatoes, blueberries are another signature Maine crop. Both vodkas were delicious. Normally, I don't think vodka tastes like much of anything and it's more about how smoothly it goes down. The plain vodka had a smooth and subtle flavor to it; very clean, crisp and easy to drink. While I am not very knowledgeable about flavored vodkas what I can tell you is that the blueberry had a lovely natural aroma of fresh blueberries with a hint of their flavor that was not overwhelming. It was subtle and agreeable. We purchased a bottle of the plain vodka; they were out of the blueberry. I turned down a taste of the gin since I don't care for it. I will use the bottle we bought simply to sip or in martinis. It's too good on its own to dilute with anything else and I think should be enjoyed as simply as possible. The tasting room also sells an array t-shirts and baseball hats and other souvenirs emblazoned with the name of the product: Cold River Vodka. On our way out, the tour that had been in progress was over. The tour guide greeted us warmly and offered us our own private tour which was very kind. Seeing all the gleaming equipment along with the huge 1,000 pound sacks of potatoes was quite something. This is a small but impressive operation. What we found here was delicious locally crafted vodka using all local ingredients, especially those Maine potatoes. We're happy we discovered Cold River.

I recently visited Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery and had a very enjoyable experience. One of the…read morebiggest draws was their $1 tastings, yes, just one dollar for a taste of their ciders, wine and spirits, which is really fun and makes sampling without commitment super easy. The service was great, our server, Courtney, was exceptionally friendly, helpful in guiding us through the selection, and made the whole experience relaxed and enjoyable. I want to note, as a point of context, that in September the production facility of Sweetgrass's main operation in Union suffered a devastating fire. Despite that, the Portland tasting room remains open and functioning, which is a testament to their resilience. On the tasting side the variety was solid, and the $1 price point made it easy to try a bunch of things. The ambiance is cozy and inviting. If I were to pick one improvement, I'd say the tasting pours felt a bit light compared to some other spots I've been to....not a complaint, just an observation given the price point and expectations. In all, Sweetgrass is a strong pick if you're looking for a laid-back, local winery/distillery stop in Portland with friendly staff (shoutout to Courtney) and wallet-friendly tastings.

Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery is a farm winery and distillery that opened in Union, Maine in 2005…read more It was founded by husband and wife Keith & Constance Bodine. Keith has been in the alcohol business since 1992, and he earned his MS degree in Food Science and Enology. Constance has been called the heart, soul and brains behind the business. She spends most of her time in the fields, gardens and barns that produce the various ingredients used for making their wine and spirits. Sweetgrass is Maine's first farm winery & distillery; using over 70,000 pounds of Maine-grown fruit and grain each year. The distilled spirits are hand crafted in old world tradition with a copper alembic, still capturing the full flavors of their gin, rum, and traditional apple brandy. A secondary tasting room and retail shop opened on historic Fore Street in the Old Port section of Portland in February 2014. In September 2025, a debilitating fire destroyed the Union facility. The Old Port location remains open, but the future of the Union location remains uncertain. My extended family and I visited Sweetgrass's Portland location this past summer while we were vacationing in Maine. While exploring Old Port, we walked past their window and I said, "Hey, this looks like a cool place!" We went inside and signed up for a tasting. For just $10, customers can choose any five wines, ciders or spirits to taste. The five that I chose included "Maine Hard Imperial Cider" (Dry Cider), "Blueberry Smash" (Semi-Sweet Dessert Wine), "Back River Gin", "Cranberry Gin", and "Apple Brandy". The latter was easily my favorite of the tasting, but unfortunately they had no more bottles for purchase. I plan on ordering some online in the future. I am so happy that I discovered the Old Port tasting room by chance. I felt really bad when I learned later on that the Union location burned down. I'm happy to hear that no one was hurt and I hope that they are able to rebuild.