Lost Spirits Distillery | LA Mommy Blogger Tribe's Mom's Night Out

My entire life, I have been a fan of the whimsy. Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Phantom of the Opera, were some of my favorite reading as a small child. Magical adventures, full of whimsical places, were my jam. So when I read about Lost Spirits Distillery, I knew that there would be a little bit of that on the tasting tour.

Boy, was I blown away!

Lost Spirits Distillery is known for their rum and their whiskey. The founder, Bryan Davis, has created a distillation process that, in 6 days, creates a bottle that tastes like a 20 year aged spirit.

That's the gist. That's as much as I got from the few interviews and videos that I saw about Lost Spirit Distillery, prior to taking the tour.

What I got on this tour, was something completely unexpected. The wealth of knowledge and beautifully told stories, coupled with tasting some of the finest rum and whiskey I have had in a long long time, took me on a magical journey that I could not wait to share.

I'll start at the beginning...

It was 8:00pm, when I was done getting my boys down for the night. I had thirty minutes to get ready and be out the door by 8:30pm, giving myself just enough time to get to the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. I was headed to LA Mommy Blogger Tribe's Mom's Night Out, and meeting the girls at Lost Spirits Distillery.

It was a long day, and I was tired. Thoughts of canceling were lurking the the back of my mind, as I frantically put myself together and ran out the door. I was too excited to see this distillery for myself.

I love the Arts District. I love the galleries, the restaurants, the beautiful murals all around the small part of Downtown LA. But at night, it's a little more edgy, to say the least. I began to question this adventure all together. I was alone after all. But as I parked my car, and skittishly walked up to the famous Red Queen entrance of Los Spirits Distillery, all of my worry melted away and was replaced by sheer wonder.

The guides greeted me, and gave directions, to which I paid no attention. I couldn't! I was too busy taking in the red velvet room and all the whimsical fixtures that surrounded me.

I was last to arrive, so my girls greeted me with hugs, as we were led behind door number one, to our first tasting of the night.

We learned a little bit about the distillery here in this circular, very theatrical room, and tasted the strongest rum on the menu, Navy 61 Rum. It was intense, yet very flavorful.

Everything here, at Lost Spirits Distillery, is more that a simple tasting. It is an experience that tickles your senses. It is an adventure, and I knew it, as soon as we walked into this beautiful room.

After our first tasting, and a few very interesting tidbits about the rum, the curtains opened and we were led to the next part of our tour. Shocked to find a white gondola, swaying on the water, we took a ride down a magical river, to our next destination.

When we arrived at our destination, we stepped off the gondola, onto a little wooden bridge, that took us to yet another whimsical part of the distillery. The thing to remember here is, every single part of this tour, is a fully functional, working part of a real distillery. Including the river, which serves as a coolant.

As we walked down the bridge, we came to a stop in a room lit only with red lanterns. A room full of vats containing, what looked like a boiling liquid, only it was not hot at all. This is where the yeast was doing its magic, turning the liquid into alcohol.

I truly wish I could explain the process as eloquently as it was told to us, but I cannot. You just have to go and experience it for yourselves.

In front of us, in the photo below, is a vat full of the bubbling liquid, being turned into alcohol, and behind us, are a series of pipes, where the steam distillation process takes place.

And as we were guided into the next room, we got a very special treat. Bryan Davis, the founder and genius behind Lost Spirits Distillery, took over our tour. This is where things got real interesting.

Bryan, spoke passionately, about his invention, which makes a 6 day old spirit, taste like one that has been aged for 20 years. Correction, the process takes 6 days to age the spirit 20 years. He dove deep into the science behind the process, and somehow made it relatable and exciting.

Did I mention that Bryan was an arts major? Not a scientist! Guess that explains the artistic whimsey that is Lost Spirits Distillery.

Bryan led us to the Trophy Room for our next tasting.

He had us taste the Rum first, before delving into the incredible story and history of how this Rum came to be, and how it is made. You won't get a spoiler alert here, folks. Let's just say that, had we known the process prior to tasting, there would likely have not been tasting.

But, I cannot stress enough, how interesting and well told, each and every story and detail was on our tour. Taste the Rum, folks. It's worth it!

We toured room after amazing room, we learned more about Rum, Brandy, and Whiskey, than we could ever imagine, and we enjoyed every single curious moment.

We were taken to the lab...

We went on a otherworldly and delightful carousel ride, with a tea cup of Brandy in hand...

And we had a party on Whiskey Island...

Los Spirits Distillery was an experience that both surprised me and surpassed every expectation. I was blown away and poor hubby had to hear all about it for weeks.

It was so amazing, in fact, that I had the hardest time writing this piece. I feel like I want to share every magical moment, thought and piece of information, but simply cannot put it all into words. You just HAVE to go and experience this beautiful place for yourselves. You will NOT be disappointed.

I'm off to plan my next visit!