TAMPA, Florida – Dark Door Spirits is a distillery that has it all – cocktail classes, custom bottled alcohol experiences, a tasting room, and local handcrafted spirits.
The distillery was founded in 2015 and has specialized in unique whiskeys, gins, vodkas and, more recently, rums. They follow a “grain-to-glass” distillation model and source most of their grain from Florida sources such as the University of Florida Agriculture Program.
“At Dark Door Spirits, we are probably known for unique and creative spirits,” said Matt Allen, CEO and co-founder of the distillery. “We love doing fun things, basically because we can.”
Dark Door Spirits is popular for distilling beer into whiskey – the first product to hit the market was The Spirit of IPA. Since then, the distillery has worked closely with local breweries such as Green Bench Brewing Company, Motorworks Brewing and Cigar City to produce high quality whiskeys.
“Nobody does it nearly as well as we do, I can tell you,” Allen said of the beer distillation in Tampa Bay. “In Germany it would actually be called ‘beer schnapps’ … it takes a little finesse and a little … fine tuning to get it right.”
The distillery is open seven days a week and offers a variety of hospitable courses and experiences.
Tastings and tours are offered daily, usually in the afternoon during the week and earlier on the weekend. The tours cost $ 15 for an hour and include a walking tour of the liquor making process and a look at the equipment, followed by some liquor tastings. Guests are welcome to have a cocktail and listen to music after the tour.
Cocktail courses are offered several times a month. Guests learn to make three cocktails while snacking on a charcuterie box. The course costs $ 50 for an hour and a half and includes a tour of the distillery.
Dark Door Spirits also offers a bottle-your-own whiskey experience. Over the course of 2 hours, guests try different bourbon and rye whiskeys from the barrel and then combine 2 or more types of whiskey to create their own blend in the form of a 1 liter bottle to take away. This experience costs $ 150 and includes a tour of the distillery.
“Have lunch before you do this,” Allen said.
Not a whiskey fan? The distillery offers a similar gin experience, where guests can choose from a range of gins infused with botanicals and flavor profiles to create a custom bottle.
To book a tour or course, click here.
Dark Door Spirits is located at 6608 Anderson Road, across from FedEx. Their website has a list of the award-winning liquors available and where to buy them.