Dark Door Spirits

I visited Dark Door Spirits on a Saturday for there monthly create your own bottle event. It is an hour and a half Whiskey experience where you get to taste Dark Door Bourbon and Rye and come up with a combination for your own bottle. You leave with a bottle of your own blend. The cost of the event is $150 per person and includes the bottle that you blend. We really enjoyed the experience and will be checking out future events at Dark Door.

Usually, when I go to sample at a distillery, it's samples. Nothing to get buzzed about- just a tasting to help me pick what bottle or bottles I want to take home to my bar. This place. I had stayed in the car for a few minutes before joining John inside and the Christina had ALL of them lined up- there were so many bottles. So.... the only time I left buzzed from samples. Gin, Rum, Whiskey, Vodka, Tequila, Liquors. They had damn near everything here. Plus craft cocktails and a couple cocktails on tap. I mean- wow. Favs:Pandemic at the disco- I think the smoothest Vodka I have EVER had and the name and bottle are was hilariously funDemeter- a citrus-botanical gin which I loved at first sip and that was before I knew it was named after a Greek GoddessSmoked- They have 2 flavors of smoked Rum, both Mesquite and Hickory- I liked the mesquite better and this was John's favoriteSprit of the Harvest- Classic Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey, another very smooth liquor- Rye whiskey can sometimes be a little harsh- but not this oneThose are the ones we bought.Special mention:Underworld- Agave Spirit (Tequila)- I don't care for Tequila, the only time I enjoyed samples was in Mexico and now this place. It was deliciousLost Cause- holy hell. That's all I am going to say about thatDid I mention- I didn't even try them all!?!?! They make some IPA blend Whiskeys and collaborate with local breweries. Their stills were inspiring- I can't remember how tall their big ole still was, but it was awesome!

Located amongst the granite warehouses, it was a bit tricky to find - you'll think you are pulling into the wrong area, but then you'll see their sign over a door in the far left corner. Walk into the office, and that's where they have all their merchandise and liquor available for purchase, as well as being the start of the tour.My boss had been given a membership for Christmas, and thus was allowed to bring our whole office in for a tour & tasting. Our hostess/tour guide was a very sweet woman named Christina. She was relatively new to the booze business, so while she did give very interesting and factual information on our tour, my boss actually knew far more details than she could provide.I love that when you walk in for the tour, you're immediately given two samples to try. We tried a vodka drink and a gin drink. And then you're given a full size drink of whichever you preferred to accompany you on the actual tour.The tour is held in the adjacent warehouse. The have big fans overhead, and the bay doors open, but I imagine it could get pretty warm in the summer so plan accordingly. It was awesome looking at their stills, and hearing about their processes. One of the big draws of this distillery is that they offer a make your own bourbon station (by appointment), where you taste, and then combine your favorite liquors, directly from a large assortment of casks. They also have that option available with gin, and I intend to join that event at the end of the month.After the tour we went back into the main air conditioned office, and proceeded to sample every single liquor they produce. My favorite was the rye, Spirit of the Harvest. I also really liked the Barreled Spirit of Prohibition, which was their lavender gin that had been oak-barreled. Bonus points for their vodka, called Pandemic at the Disco.In addition to their make your own bottle classes, they also offer cocktail classes on Thursday evenings, where you are instructed on how to make three cocktails and snack on a charcuterie board. I have started following them on social media just so I can return for some of their special events. This is my longest review ever so... I'm out!TL; DR: Go!

I had a fun time touring Dark Door Spirits! I found out that they do distillery tours and decided to visit. I started off having a cocktail that uses their Spirit of the Prohibition Gin. It was a Saturn, which they made with some passion fruit puree and lemon. It was really tasty! The tour started and Chris showed us the distillers. He explained that each liquor has a to be distilled in a certain way in order to be considered a specific liquor; for example, gin has to be passed through juniper berries. They also have a lab where they do micro distilling tests to test the taste. After the tour, Chris poured us samples of each of the liquors they had to offer. I smiled at the name of Pandemic at the Disco, which is their essential vodka. Made during the pandemic, the bottle art has tributes to the toilet paper panic, Netflix bingeing, and facemasks. I bought the Spirit of the Prohibition Gin, a lavender gin, to take home with me.Chris says that they have events planned that people can concoct their own whiskeys! Looks like there are fun things to look forward to when I come back and visit!

If you want to drink don't do it alone. Come to one of the drink classes learn all about the process and of course enjoy a number of beverages. You will leave with new recipes and techniques to make drinks for you me next event. I highly recommend eating before you come, but they do provide a snack box just in case you didn't.Don't be shy mix and mingle. Fun to do as a couple or single or with just a group of friends

This vodka, whiskey, gin, and rum distillery is located in a warehouse neighborhood north of the Tampa international airport and Hillsborough Avenue. The first time driving here wasn't too bad as it was very straightforward (Northbound on Anderson Road). What could be confusing is the fact that there are warehouses everywhere and you may miss the sign if you're not paying attention. I love the fact that this is a hidden gem location!The people who work here are more than willing to have you try out whatever you'd like in an impromptu tasting, if you ask (and if they are staffed enough). I really loved their Blood tai and Kola-da cocktails! They each used their own Dark Door mesquite smoked rum. I ended up getting a bottle of this, in addition to their lavender gin.I was excited to learn that they had cocktail classes in addition to their distillery tour. Good stuff. I think you can reserve this place for private parties also (Ask them for accuracy). It was worth the visit.

What an experience this place is. I really didn't know what to expect. A few friends and I got the opportunity to do a tour here and the staff was very knowledgeable, they explained the process of how they make their spirits and the best part of all is of course the samples. I wasn't expecting so much variety. They offered vodka, gin, rum and whiskey. I didn't overdue it and try them all but they certainly do have their own unique flavors . I would definitely recommend this as a date night experience or even something to experience with a group of friends.

Dark Door Spirits..... OMG..... what a treat! Bumped into the field distributors at a restaurant in downtown Ft Myers, Fl. After talking with the guys, they gave us a business card and invited us to their distillery just North of the Tampa Airport. Well worth the trip up there. It is soooooo much more than "just" a distillery. It has tasting tours, events for larger or private groups, classes for making your own bottle with plenty of botanical herbs to concoct any spirit you want. We found a couple of favorites. You need to really check out their website.... darkdoorspirits.comA definite stop if exploring the Tampa area.

This was the first stop on our distillery tour. We found this place on Groupon but the prices are very low without it. The tour starts with a cocktail of you choice and ends with a tasting. The owners are very hands and and were spotted several times throughout the tour. The tour was 20-30 minutes long. They have several th nhs for purchase and several photo opportunities. They host a variety of events. You can find the list at the start of the tour.

Good booze, good people and great space.We've visited Dark Door several times and they never disappoint.Dark Door is a distillery near the airport (ish). They make Vodka, Gin, Whiskey and probablyMore. Our first encounter was a Gin Cocktail class. During the Covid times, I'm still very hesitant to be in group settings but Dark Door has a great setup for safety, in their social space having huge bay doors they keep open and lots of large fans going. Safety, check.In our class we learned so much about making cocktails, and were given several very tasty drinks and even a sweet charcuterie and cheese box. It was a great and fun experience I highly recommend. We also tasted the full range of spirits in the tasting room and took a few bottles home. The next time we visited we went to the Full Moon Market. Again, it was in the social space, doors open and fans on. The vibe was very cool and I really enjoyed visiting all the vendors and buying from several of them. I have the Gin mixing experience on my list of things to do and I make sure to keep an eye on their social media for a huge variety of cool events that they host.