The St. Augustine Distillery

On our family trip to St. Augustine this month, my wonderful sister-in-law and her beau, Wallace, took a trip to visit the St. Augustine Distillery, founded in 2013.  The small company creates whiskey, rum, vodka and gin in Florida’s oldest ice plant.  The historic FP&L Ice plant was built in 1907 as part of St. Augustine’s first power and ice complex; the St. Augustine Distillery restored the building and it’s now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Sally and Wallace took the complimentary St. Augustine Distillery tour, which run all week long.  The the first tour starts at 10:30am  and Sunday’s first tour at 11:30am, every half hour until 5pm.  You’ll get a free tasting with the tour, too!  Thank you to Sally and Wallace for this adult peek into St. Augustine’s history and attractions and for the great photos and story below.  

Whether you are an inexperienced drinker at 21 years old or a “snob” when it comes to vodka, St. Augustine Distillery is definitely a place for you to visit. The St. Augustine Distillery is one of the first legal distilleries in the state of Florida. Not only does the distillery produce a delicious product, but they also put amazing detail into showing how they produce vodka, gin, rum, and bourbon and the natural products that they put into their products.

After learning about the distilling process at St. Augustine Distillery from a man dressed up as a bootlegger, I want to visit more distilleries and learn more about the history of distilling.

The St. Augustine Distillery produces vodka, gin, rum, and bourbon. I did not get the chance to try the bourbon, but I am positive that it is delicious because they sold out of it within 8 days of opening the first barrel. If you are in St. Augustine in November, I would recommend seeing if they have opened their second barrel of bourbon. As for the vodka, gin, and rum, they are amazing.

One of the special aspects of the St. Augustine Distillery is the distillery uses natural Florida air to add a special flavor to their products and sells products, that coupled with the alcoholic beverages, make amazing cocktails. Lastly, they have a spectacular restaurant and bar, called the Ice Plant, that focuses on farm to table cuisine and beautiful cocktails. There is nothing like getting a cocktail that has a sphere of ice to get one excited.   The St. Augustine Distillery and the Ice Plant need to be on your list of stops when you need a break from the Florida heat.