We aren’t big whiskey drinkers. (Heck, we aren’t big drinkers of anything much, except water!) But in Windsor, Ontario, on wintery afternoons, there aren’t many options for tourists … so we drove down Riverside Drive to the Canadian Club Distillery’s world headquarters — which look for all the world like an Italian palazzo.
And there’s a reason for that: when Hiram Walker decided to build the world headquarters for his increasingly popular brand of whiskey, he vacationed around the world until he spotted a palace in Italy that struck his fancy. $100,000 dollars later (quite a sum, for the time), he had a copy of his favorite palazzo, complete with mahogany-paneled offices and marble fireplaces.
While the phone recording claims tours run from May through December, they’re apparently a year-round affair, as we were able to walk in and snag spots on the noon stroll through the home office. The gift shop and tasting center are located in what used to be Mr. Walker’s Bank, where workers could cash their paychecks — less charges they’d run up at the company store, of course.
The tour includes a stop in a wine cellar once used by Al Capone as a secret meeting room. The gangster, the company’s number one customer during Prohibition, commanded his own personal entrance and a windowless private lair insulated from prying eyes. (The number two customer was a Kennedy, we were told.) There, he helped the company design flat, thick glass bottles that resisted breakage … and that could be literally slipped into a boot and walked back over the border. (Coining, apparently, the term “bootlegging.”)
As all factory tours should, this one ends in the tasting room, where we were given small samples of the company’s four flagship products. A little sip of each did me just fine, but I have a nephew, I believe, who would have wept over the whiskey we left behind in each sample glass.
The guides are knowledgable, the company has a remarkable sense of humor about the darker side of their business during Prohibition, and everyone in our party seemed to enjoy their hour wandering through the “Palace that Whiskey Built.” In fact, the only thing I can criticize about the place was the Thai eatery our guide recommended, a hole in the wall (which is *not* a problem for me) that served us indifferently prepared, mediocre Thai food (which *is* a problem).
Lesson learned: follow the Canadians to whiskey … but for dining options, trust TripAdvisor.com over local recommendations!
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