A Toast to the Craft Cocktails of Columbus
By Malinda Meadows
Leigh Ann Simms and Blair Beavers had long known that when it came to elevated cocktails and highly skilled bartenders, Columbus was a gold mine. But there was just one small problem: Places like Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and New Orleans were getting all of the recognition for their craft cocktail scenes.
The pair felt that Columbus was underappreciated, that the cocktails they were sampling here were just as good—if not better—than ones in the bigger cities. So, in 2016, to address this atrocity, they decided they wanted to help give credit where credit was due.
The tour provides a front-row seat to view the craftsmanship of top bartenders.
THE RISE OF THE COLUMBUS CRAFT COCKTAIL TOUR
When the duo started the Columbus Craft Cocktail Tour, or C3 for short, their mission was simple: to highlight the skills and craftsmanship of the city’s best bartenders.
Like all new endeavors, it began with extensive research and development. This included sampling various bars in the neighborhoods, engaging with the bartenders, learning their favorite techniques and perhaps nursing a hangover or two. “A personal sacrifice,” Leigh Ann jokes.
After thoughtful R&D, they chose 15 or so bars to be part of the experience. Tours are divided into neighborhoods—such as Grandview, Downtown or the Short North—and each tour consists of three bars within walking distance. So if you sign up for the Short North tour, for example, you may find yourself starting at ROOH then strolling to Denmark and Soul at the Joseph. (You’ll even get a peek at the hotel’s artwork at the last stop.) Yet just because C3 is a walking tour, Leigh Ann is adamant about expressing that it’s not a bar crawl by any means. It’s something much bigger.
FROM NEWBIES TO REGULARS
“It’s like being at the chef’s table—for cocktails,” she explains of the C3 experience. A chef carefully chooses ingredients, understands which ones complement and which ones contrast, and knows how to best prepare them. A craft cocktail bartender does the same with their mélange of spirits, ingredients and garnishes.
The bartenders craft the cocktails right in front of the guests, creating a dedicated, intimate experience unique to the tour. Both newbies to the cocktail world and more seasoned enthusiasts can feel free to ask questions while gleaning new ideas and techniques to try at home.
“We’ve had everyone from 21 to 65 partake in the tours,” Blair says, with anniversaries, birthdays and bachelorette parties among the most common reasons for imbibing. Private tours are available too—all you have to do is ask—but the most surprising group of participants to me was this: long-term Columbusites.
“It’s funny because we’ll get people who live in the Short North on the Short North tour,” says Leigh Ann. Sure, it’s a great way to get to know your local haunts, but it goes deeper than that. “A lot of times people will say, ‘I never know what to order,’” she continues. “After the tour, they’re equipped with the knowledge of what they like and how to order it. Many of the guests even turn into regulars.”
Soul at the Joseph was a tour stop for this group.
MORE WAYS TO WHET YOUR WHISTLE
The C3 experience doesn’t end at the final bar of the evening. After each tour, guests vote on their favorite cocktail, which gets shared to the Columbus Craft Cocktail Tour website with instructions and tips from the mixologists who made them. Some of the most recent winning cocktails include “Put That In Your Pipe” from Denmark, “Garden Delight” from Goodale Station and “Diehard IS a Christmas Movie” from Soul at the Joseph.
For those who want to dive deeper into the world of spirits, try their podcasts: If This Bar Could Talk and Women & Whiskey: Stop Mansplaining Me. The former is an intimate chat with the folks behind the bar, Blair explains, and a way to get to know the person making your drinks. Leigh Ann hosts the latter, where she talks with trailblazing women who are shattering the glass ceiling of the whiskey industry.
Keep your eyes open, too, for the annual Columbus Cocktail Classic, where guests and bartenders alike can sample new and exciting cocktail creations, listen in on seminars or watch a little friendly competition. Bartender-chef teams pair up to create the best cocktail and amuse-bouche complement, and the audience gets a taste as the judges deliberate. It’s akin to the cocktail tour under one roof, occurring on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.
But for now, as we enter into spring, the cocktail tour is an excellent way to stretch the legs, oil the pipes, support our city’s talented bartenders and raise a toast to something that Blair and Leigh Ann have known for many years: Columbus is the place to be for craft cocktails.
Book a tour at columbuscraftcocktailtour.com, follow on Instagram and Facebook and listen to their podcasts on the website or streaming services.
