Check Out Philadelphia Distilling’s Huge New Fishtown Location

Pennsylvania’s first craft distillery is opening up a brand new, semi-public distilling facility-cum-drinkery in Fishtown, and it’s a big one — 15,000 square feet, to be precise.

Philadelphia Distillery, known for its Bluecoat gins and Vieux Carre absinthe (amongst other spirits) will start doing the actual distilling in a few weeks, but the venue will be opening to the public this Sunday.

You’ll be able to take tours of the facility, or simply drink cocktails featuring their products, and in both a nice touch and promising sign for the mixology on display, the bartenders are involved in the distilling process.

Beyond the barrels and copper Forsyths, the complex will include a bar-slash-lounge with patio in warmer months, a retail store, and event space four floors up. There’s a kitchen too, although it will stick to snacks for the general public. This is not going to be a late night watering-hole — at this stage, it’ll only be open to the public until 9:30 p.m. (full hours are below).

Grid View

The cocktail list centers heavily around the distillery’s two Bluecoat gins (barrel finished and American dry), with an equilibrious balance of classics (negroni, gimlet) and house-devised concoctions. The menu — check it out below — seems particularly bold on the plants and herbals front. Between a selection of three gin and tonics (most wildly, the parsnip-rosemary one), a creamy absinthe option with chickory dandelion (Outflanked), and the dill, basil, and coriander trio in the Penn’s Woods, Philadelphia Distillery is unafraid to experiment with savory palates.

STATUS — Philadelphia Distilling has its grand opening February 19 and 20 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m at 25 E Allen Street. After that, regular hours will be Thursday to Sunday, 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with distillery tours available on all open days.