The Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area and the City of Waterloo Museum are co-hosting a guided whisky walk called Barrels and Bites through the uptown core in Waterloo, Ontario, on April 14, 2026. This ticketed event will take guests on a tour of four local restaurants to experience curated drink tastings paired with food from local chefs.
Participants will visit Solé Restaurant, Bodega Rose, the Huether Hotel, and LaLa Social House. At each stop, guests can enjoy pairings created by local mixologists along with live music and stories about the city’s past.
Gary Bernier, a certified whisky sommelier and ambassador, will lead the educational portions of the tour. The walk celebrates the community’s 130-year distilling heritage, which is also the focus of an exhibit at the City of Waterloo Museum called A Distiller’s Tale: The Art & Legacy of the Seagram Distillery.
The stops on the tour include historic landmarks, such as Solé Restaurant, which is located inside a 150-year-old building that once belonged to the Seagram distillery. The Huether Hotel also adds to the experience as the home of The Lion Brewery, which has been operating since 1842.
Anyone interested in attending the Barrels and Bites walk must be at least 19 years old. Tickets are required for entry, and the organizers offer refunds up to seven days before the event.
