Carlton Cocktail Walk, Carlton, OR

Many thanks to Carlton Cocktail Walk for hosting this experience. As always, all opinions are my own.

On March 9th, the charming town of Carlton launched their inaugural Carlton Cocktail Walk celebrating local makers and cocktail shakers. Located an hour’s drive away from Portland, Carlton wine country makes a great weekend getaway destination. The Carlton Cocktail Walk happens during the second Saturday of every other month. If you happen to be in town then, I highly recommend that you add this crawl to your “to do” list. Carlton has about two dozen tasting rooms within city limits, and ten of those businesses have teamed up for a walking tour highlighting the best of the best in Carlton. Some spots on the tour feature specialty cocktails, while others showcase the work of local artists. Each location also offers the chance to solve a riddle to reveal the location of the secret speakeasy.

I had the opportunity to experience the first Carlton Cocktail Walk with the perks of a press pass. The featured cocktails and artists will change for future crawls, but the destinations remain the same. Mark your calendar: the second Carlton Cocktail Walk is coming up soon on Saturday, May 11. Since the event falls on Mother’s Day weekend, I’m sure there will be some lovely surprises for all the ladies attending the crawl!

For a look at the previous Carlton Cocktail Walk, here are my real time Instagram stories as I was out and about exploring Carlton…

When we arrived in Carlton, our crew headed directly to Bull Run Distillery’s Carlton Post to check in, where Bull Run’s Jennifer Kadell was already shaking up whiskey cocktails. If you’re familiar with Bull Run Distillery’s first location on Distiller’s Row in NW Portland, you’ll enjoy their intimate Carlton Post as well. After some sipping and snacking at Bull Run, we moved on to Barrel 47 for an intriguing gin and IPA concoction.

Next up on the Carlton Cocktail Walk: wine o’clock! At K & M Wines, we solved the riddle and received a map showing the location of the secret speakeasy. To celebrate, we sipped on a refreshing white wine spritzer with a touch of pineapple. Next, at Marshall Davis Wines, we enjoyed a rose sangria in their spacious tasting room. Did someone say rose everyday?

Afterwards, we popped into The Horse Radish to taste the Razzle Dazzle Fizz, which I’ll admit was too sweet for my taste even though I do love raspberry and sparkling wine. At Carlton & Coast, I took a break from cocktails and sampled some tasty flavors of B-Side Booch. We made our way over to Republic of Jam and Carlton Cocktail Co, a cute jam shop with cocktail making ingredients. This stop offered not one, not two, but three cocktails featuring Wild Roots Spirits. We shared samples of all three cocktails (sharing is caring!), while snacking on mushroom lettuce wraps and veggie dumplings.

Last, but not least, we visited the Carlton Cocktail Walk secret speakeasy. Tucked away in a bright and airy greenhouse, it’s easy to see why My Traveling Speakeasy (now renamed to Bit By A Fox Speakeasy) was a popular destination on the crawl. The speakeasy’s bartender Lynnette Shaw was lively and engaging, while crafting flight after flight of mini cocktails. I believe this was my first time imbibing in a greenhouse, and I certainly hope it won’t be my last. The perfect finale to our cocktail adventures in Carlton. Cheers!

Note: This post is in collaboration with the Carlton Cocktail Walk. I was invited to attend this crawl with a press pass and received complimentary refreshments. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.