Mariana C.
Yelp
I have been on a few distillery tours now (some in Pittsburgh, and OBX); I was so excited to see a local one pop-up in my social media feed last month. I'm dissapointed in myself for not knowing about Lost Ark sooner!
This tour was certainly the best value: packed with information and, of course, alcohol ;) [$25 per person, $10 for non-drinkers and the underage over 12 haha]
You learn the foundations of what makes whiskey, whiskey vs bourbon, or rum, etc; the step by step process they go through distilling their products; the story of how their distillery came to be; and other fun facts along the way. It's really neat getting to see the equipment up-close, really gives you an appreciation for the scale (size, amount of raw product, time...) it takes to produce things we consume so quickly!
Then you move on to the tasting. You really get a whole line up of their products, I don't think I've been on another tour that gives you as many different items to taste. And it's not just lining up shots haha It really is educational, from what goes into each item and how to properly taste it.
Some of my group, myself included, were feeling very 'relaxed' by the end of the tour ;) I absolutely loved that you get to keep your Lost Ark glass from the tasting! We've been using them at home to enjoy some of the items we purchased.
Of course the fun isn't over just yet. Included in your tour ticket is a drink from the bar as well! They have lots to choose from; I went with the Hoco Sipper (bourbon, black tea, lemon, sugar, seltzer, usually comes with spiced cherry rum float, but I'm allergic to cherry so I asked for it without cherry). SOO tasty! I will be back for more of those :)
We had dinner reservations up the road to get to, but they had live music getting set up as we were finishing up our drinks. And you can get food from HomeSlyce delivered to your table, using a qr code. So we will definitely be back to try that sometime too.
Free surface parking, chill atmosphere, friendly people dedicated to their craft :) Love that we have something like this here now! Will have to take a bottle down next time we go to an alumni event at SMCM for a photo op with the Dove hahaha