See why you should go on the We Get Tipsy in Portland tour with Portland Walking Tour the next time you visit Portland, Oregon.
Portland Walking Tours
A few days ago I had the opportunity to go on a walking tour with Portland Walking Tours. The walk I went on is named We Got Tipsy in Portland. I must say it is accurately named, except they might should call it we got loaded in Portland. Their website says that this tour was not for those looking to get drunk, but all of us were between tipsy and drunk by the time we finished the tour. I took Dawna from Fit Guitar Girl with me and we had so much fun. We ended up having to go to a restaurant and sober up after we finished the tour.
We Got Tipsy in Portland
We kicked off the tour by trying out three different types of beer at Rock Bottom Brewery. Our tour guide, Herb, has such in-depth knowledge of all types of drinks and he educated us on Portland beers and hops. Herb had some hops with him and we all got to touch and smell them. I learned so much and we were just one stop in on the tour! At one point we even had the chance to ask the head brewer questions. I didn’t really have any questions, but the others certainly did. Why do I always end up on a tour with that one person? You know the one. The one that wants to stump the person giving the tour so they ask one million questions.
No two stops on our tour were alike, but what they did have in common was they were all local and served local drinks. For example, we popped into one of the McMenamins in downtown, Al’s Den. It doesn’t get much more Portland than a McMenamins. At Al’s Den, we tried their Old Fashion made with locally made ingredients Edgefield hogshead whiskey, vanilla-bean syrup, and cherry bark-vanilla bitters.
Now, I did not include their Old Fashion in my list of 10 Best Cocktails in Portland, because I had never had one. It was so good it should have been on the list!
Not all stops were alcohol stops. Our tour took us by Cacao, where we had the chance to have drinking chocolate. What is drinking chocolate you may wonder? It is chocolate with cream and sugar.
At some point, we went to Oregon Wines on Broadway. I had never been here and thought the place was adorable. Here we tried some Oregon wines including, the one shown above a Dundee Hills Pinot Noir. I thought it was an excellent wine, but I’m not sure about paying $27 a bottle.
Towards the end of the tour we popped into a bar I was completely unfamiliar with, Hamlet. It’s a great spot and I will definitely be going back. (Hamlet is closed now. I’m sure they take you somewhere just as cool.) While we were here I was introduced to Aviation Gin. They make a drink called the Convertible with it.
Convertible Cocktail
- 3/4 oz Aviation Gin
- 3/4 oz Imbue Bittersweet Vermouth
- 1/2 oz freshly pressed lemon juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1 dash Peychaud bitters
- 5 oz soda water
Last but certainly not least was Cider Bite where we tried four different ciders. Until visiting here I thought I did not like cider. I would never order a cider, but there were two that we tasted that I would absolutely drink. So, if you want to try cider you gotta check this place out!
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