We love a good food or drink “flight”: a menu option that gives you several small samples at a time, allowing you to try a variety of flavors all at once. You’ll usually find this type of menu offering at breweries or pubs, but lately, we’ve seen it popping up at other types of restaurants—and we are definitely on board!
Right now, we’re seeing everything from kombucha flights to chocolate flights take Fort Collins by storm, so we decided to create a definitive list. Read on to learn more about these inventive menu items and prepare your taste buds for lift-off!
Beer Flights
When you think of food or drink flights, the one that probably comes to mind is a beer flight! Because of its popularity throughout the world, it is also one of the most common flights you’ll find. Almost all of Fort Collins’ many breweries offer some kind of beer flight or sampler, allowing you to try different types of beer before committing to a full glass or growler. Click here to explore our favorite breweries in the area where we guarantee you’ll find spectacular and interesting beer flights on the menu!
Spirit Flights
Spirit flights are another popular flight option in the area, with many local distilleries jumping on the trend and allowing you to sample popular spirits before committing to a large bottle. At NOCO Distillery, you can order a NOCO Tasting Flight featuring five spirits of your choosing. At Elevation 5003 you can order rotating cocktail and spirit flights. CopperMuse offers a flight of four, 1-ounce tasters of vodka, gin, rum and more. And at both The Whisk(e)y and Old Elk Distillery, you can enjoy delicious, local whiskey flights. The majority of other local distilleries also offer flights and samplers in some form, so we encourage you to explore their menus for yourself!
Beer and cider go hand in hand, so it’s no surprise that local cideries have started offering flights too! Locust Cider Fort Collins is a franchise of a smaller cidery chain that offers samplers of their iconic flavors like Dark Cherry, Honey Pear, Vanilla Bean, Mojito, Blackberry Sage and other seasonal varieties. Scrumpy’s is another local favorite, allowing you to sip their own Summit Ciders as well as ciders from other purveyors like Branch Out, Woodchuck, Talbott’s and Wild Cider.
Wine Flights
The alcohol flights don’t end here! You can also get flights of delicious wine at several wineries and wine bars throughout NoCo. Ten Bears Winery, The Welsh Rabbit, Taste & Savor Wine Bar, Blendings, Sweet Heart Winery and many more all offer flights. Just don’t forget to pair your wine flight with a tasty charcuterie board or another appetizer while you’re at it!
Did someone say margarita flights? Blue Agave Grill has always been our go-to for fun, tasty tequila-based drinks in Fort Collins, so we aren’t super surprised that they’ve started to offer not only tequila flights but margarita flights as well! Get their signature margarita, a Muy Macho, Sangria Swirl and Presidente for just $12.50. Looking for something sweeter? They also offer a dessert tequila flight featuring Patron XO Café, 1921 Crema, Grand Marnier and brownie bites for $19.99.
Manhattan Flights at The Still
The Still Whiskey Steaks’ barrel-aged Manhattans are one-of-a-kind. They currently offer three on their menu, but if you don’t want to commit to a full glass—or want to taste everything The Still has to offer in one round—order their Manhattan Flight! For $16, you’ll get three smaller, smooth and tasty cocktails to try.
Did you know that Fort Collins is home to our very own “Fermentery”? Turtle Mountain produces kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut locally in Old Town. Their taproom at The Bean Cycle allows you to try some of their delicious ‘booch in the form of glasses, growlers or flights! You can taste these bubbly concoctions Sunday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Cupcake Flight at Butter Cream Cupcakery
The Butter Cream Cupcakery doesn’t actually offer a special “flight” of cupcakes, but they do have plenty of mini cupcakes that you can order to create your own! Their mini cupcakes—which come in flavors like red velvet, chocolate, vanilla bean, snickerdoodle, and more—are just $1.95 each or $19.20 for a dozen.
Chocolate Flight at Nuance Chocolate
A Fort Collins’ classic, Nuance Chocolate creates small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolates made straight from cocoa beans. You can pick up these delicious and authentic creations in the form of fresh truffles, single-origin and flavored bars, hot chocolate and more in their Old Town shop. You can even order a taster flight if you can’t pick just one to try!
Snooze always has a lengthy wait for brunch, especially on the weekends—but for good reason. Everything at this breakfast giant is incredible, especially their pancakes! If you want to try a little bit of everything, order their pancake flight, so you can cover a variety of flavors. The signature flight includes Pineapple Upside Down, Blueberry Danish and Sweet Potato pancakes, or you can choose any three pancake flavors you wish!
Bacon Flights at William Oliver’s
William Oliver’s brunch menu is something special! Served Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., you can get items like an Avocado & Egg Sandwich, Brunch Hash, bottomless mimosas and, yes, a whole pint of bacon! This special taster isn’t technically a flight, but it’s still pretty tasty and fun. Enjoy five thick-cut strips of their signature bacon served in a pint glass with a shot glass of maple syrup for dipping on the side.
Cheese is a popular commodity around here (and the rest of the world)! Because of this, you can order cheese flights at not one, but two FoCo dining destinations. The first is the Welsh Rabbit, a cheese shop and bistro in Old Town offering you the chance to craft your own cheese plate—alongside beer and wine flights!
The second is at Social, a small, intimate cocktail bar known for their inventive drinks and tasty appetizers! Their cheese flight features three cheeses along with nuts, dried fruit and seasonal house jam for $14.50.
Where will you fly next?
Which of these inventive food and drink specials are you planning to try first? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments