Craft Cocktails in St. Augustine

It's no secret - St. Augustinians loves to drink, and probably so do you. More recently, however, the town has been captivated by the desire to drink fancy beverages. It's called craft alcohol, and it's trending in St. Augustine just as much as everywhere else. In fact, St. Augustine may be able to claim pride of place when it comes to expertise with alcoholic concoctions. It's in our history - Pedro Menéndez brought a brewmaster with him when he arrived here in 1565 from Spain, and the town's namesake, St. Augustine of Hippo, is the patron saint of brewers.

Be it beer, wine, or spirits, locals and tourists alike are increasingly seeking handcrafted iterations of their preferred libations. Whether you want to see how local alcohols are made, explore the more artistic side of artisanal inebriation, or enjoy the best possible version of a cocktail classic, St. Augustine is the finest city for fine drinking endeavors.

What is craft alcohol?

"Craft" is short for "handcrafted," which itself implies that something is made with love and care. Not only is craft alcohol made with love and care, it is typically produced in small batches, thus allowing for a higher degree of quality control, and a greater emphasis on flavor. Human intuition and artistic expression play just as much, if not more of a role than the scientific processes that explain how alcohol is actually made. Large corporations typically employ tried and true methods in the manufacturing of their wines, beers, and spirits, and more power to them. They make a lot of money and make us customers happy by producing affordable, recognizable products (that get us intoxicated). This leaves an awful lot of room for experimentation, which is where craft brewers, distillers, and vintners find the space to create. That creative space in the marketplace is growing, and St. Augustine is leading the charge in Florida.

The creative output of craft distillers is in step with the resurgence of the craft cocktail. While anyone can pour cheap rum into a cup of cola, a mixologist will blend alcohol with a variety of sours, sweets, bitters, shrubs (vinegar-based fruit juice mixers), and garnishes to precise measurements. The resulting concoction intoxicates not only because of the alcohol, but for sheer flavorful joy. St. Augustine has its own distillery, winery, and brewery, and is also home to a variety of bars and restaurants willing to take their time and mix things up (to the proper, precise measurements, of course).

St. Augustine Distillery

The St. Augustine Distillery offers free tours daily. Access to the museum is open to tour-goers and passers-by alike. The tour details the history of the building itself (a former ice plant), prohibition laws and how they affected Florida, and the basics of distillation and barrel aging. Beginning with a six-and-a-half-minute intro video outlining the history of the distillery's inception, the tour also introduces guests to the local farming and business communities that the distillery works with. From there, guests are taken onto the production floor, where they are given a brief description of how spirits are made and have an opportunity to witness the very process itself, including copper pot stills and white oak barrels. The tour concludes with a tasting of the spirits in cocktails (the most popular method of consumption of alcoholic spirits), as well as neat samples (without mixers or ice), and, in true Florida fashion, an exit through the gift shop.

In addition to its distinctive vodka, gin, and rum, the St. Augustine Distillery is producing the first-ever (legal) bourbon in the state of Florida since prohibition. The production floor doubles as a warehouse, and as the distillery strives to imbue their spirits with a "terroir" (sense of place), there are no climate control mechanisms. What this means for the average guest is that it can get very hot in the summer, or on any hot day, as we tend to have a lot of them. Dress accordingly, and as with any alcohol outing, STAY HYDRATED.

Tours and tastings are available seven days a week, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (no reservations necessary).The retail shop is open seven days a week, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Ice Plant Bar & Restaurant

Above St. Augustine Distillery is an aptly named and gorgeously decorated bar and restaurant that takes both its food and its cocktails to the next level. Everything in this farm-to-table establishment is as fresh and as carefully prepared as it could possibly be. Both the food and drink menus are seasonal, keeping things fresh, and keeping you (and me) coming back over and over again for the sake of trying new things.

The Ice Plant's mixologists are experts at crafting classic cocktails. For example, they make the best Old Fashioned to ever grace my lips. It's so good, it has effectively ruined the Old Fashioned for me everywhere else I go (and yes, let that serve as a challenge to every other bar on this list).

All of that being said, however, the real fun begins when you delve into their signature cocktails. That's where the expert balance of flavors demonstrated through their approach to the classics is perfectly matched by sheer creativity.

Forgotten Tonic

From the moment you enter Forgotten Tonic, the atmosphere makes you want to party, but in a tasteful manner. Even more specifically, when it's day time, it feels like night time, but a young night at that. You get anything other than an "Oh my god, I'm trapped in a cellar" vibe. I was worried the lighting would be too dim for the pictures of my utterly perfect cocktails, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I was also pleasantly surprised not to spill my Manhattan, considering it was served quite elegantly in a martini glass, and I am the opposite of elegant (especially when I've had a few) and can be quite twitchy. The Manhattan (another classic) gave me the courage to order a signature cocktail called "Raising Cain," which managed to conquer both my taste buds and my eternal affection. Featuring St. Augustine Cane Vodka, Raising Cane was mixed with elderflower liqueur, blackberry shrub, lemon, and honey. The honey provided just the right amount of sweetness, while the blackberry shrub complemented the local vodka just perfectly.

Odd Birds

Odd Birds is owned and operated by some local folks who are not at all new or unfamiliar with the craft cocktail scene. Located on Anastasia Island, Odd Birds has a rotating drink menu and bills itself as a gastropub. A "gastropub" is any bar that serves high-end drinks and food. While I can only attest to the quality of their drinks (high end doesn't seem fitting enough, "highest possible end, if there is an end at all" perhaps?), their Venezuelan arepas look incredible. As Odd Birds changes things frequently, they're worth following on social media. They frequently feature guest bartenders, or "gypsies," from other high-end establishments around the state on select nights who bring their own personal style and artistry to the bar for the evening.

The Floridian

The Floridian now has a full bar in their location on Spanish Street. I tried the Garden Gimlet because I had been thinking about nature for two days prior, and because I like the sound of an "earthy" cocktail.

You can see here that it's made with St. Augustine Distillery Gin, basil, cucumber, lime, elderflower wash, and simple syrup. I'd never had a cocktail made with these ingredients until this point, but The Floridian has proven to me that it's not only possible, but optimal. My eyes and my mouth have been opened, and yours will be too, if you just find a good excuse to break from a gin and tonic to try something different. You may just want to take up gardening - and drinking - together.

Casa Reina Taqueria & Tequila

The Casa Reina is the place to be on weekends for those of us who love to taste tequila - and lots of it. When I stopped in to visit, I decided to honor America's oldest continuously occupied city (yes, that's St. Augustine) by ordering the Old City - Tres Generaciones Reposado, house honey syrup, chile bitters, and fresh lemon. After an Old City or two, it became easy to make friends with locals and visitors while watching the bartenders create magic with the tequila menu.

This is just a sampling of the many fine cocktail lounges in St. Augustine. For a complete listing, visit here. Viva San Agustín!

This article was originally written by Benjamin Tier in 2015. Amy Angelilli updated it with current information in 2023.