Very important: the cocktails are NOT part of the 'tasting.'
It really pains me to only give 3 stars to what had been 5 star experience, mostly because my wife and I felt misled by the incredibly hospitable bartender to order as many drinks as possible before the tour began as part of the experience, only to realize that they were indeed not complimentary part of the tour or tasting, but rather $12 per drink.
We came here with a groupon gift, which paid for a tasting, tour, and 2 free glasses. The staff, when we arrived were very friendly and appeared passionate about their craft as well as retelling their underdog story. When we initially got there, the bartender greeted us with such enthusiasm and constantly offered us drinks, telling us that it would help with the short tour and provide better insight into the distillery experience. While there was a sign with some cost, there was never any direct references that we'd have to pay separately and this was not a part of the tasting tour. The drinks were decent, in fact, I really liked how they used fresh ingredients and their own products. I was not a big fan of their birch mule, but mostly because it was too sweet. My old fashion was made well, but definitely limited in amount of liquor poured per cost.
The actual tour can be viewed if you just stood in the middle of the small room, but that's quite alright because it was part of the charm and done very well. I was personally very impressed and engaged the entire time, from the distillery stage to the casking, to the bottling steps.
As for the actual tasting, you were given 5-6 small mini shots of their selection, some of which are 100+ proof, so you will certainly be buzzed.
As I said, we loved the entire experience until we were awkwardly told to pay for all of the drinks we ordered before the tour. Had I been told specifically that these cocktails were beyond the tasting experience, I would have been ok with it, but the way in which we were goaded into buying as many drinks as possible with the air of 'it's part of the experience, it's no bother...' made it incredibly misleading. Just to clarify, there are signs that indicate the cost of the cocktails, but I would have liked the owners to be more direct about this unexpected transaction.
At the end, both my wife and I felt cheated and swindled, and it was a nasty aftertaste that lingers until the final words of the review. The experience would have been much better if we had known beforehand. Anyway, we paid tip, took our glasses and bid this place farewell. Please take this review with a grain of salt as it reflects our emotions and perspectives as patrons of this fine distillery. read more