The number of independent distillers continues to grow in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. Many now offer lounges for quaffing cocktails made with their own vodka, rum, gin, or whiskey. The splashiest debut in the area came in December with the opening of Todd Thrasher’s Tiki TNT, a three-story cocktail bar specializing in tiki drinks. Potomac Distilling Company will be bottling Thrasher’s Rum in the same facility soon.
Old Line Spirits in Baltimore’s Highlandtown neighborhood unveiled its cocktail lounge in the spring. Two other Maryland distilleries, Lost Ark Distilling Co. in Columbia and Blackwater Distilling on the Eastern Shore, are expanding their operations with a cocktail lounge and a tavern, respectively.
These 21 distilleries are all within a two-hour drive of D.C. Many offer private tours — some free and some for a fee — for guests who book ahead.
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