Zest 817 NIGHT LIFE // Into the Blackland

Blackland Distillery

PHOTOS BY TWIG CAPRA

Into the Blackland

Fort Worth’s newest distillery might be its most modern.

BY ROBERT PHILPOT

Blackland Distillery is not a speakeasy, but on your first visit, you may have trouble finding the door. You might even have trouble finding the place. There’s a patio out front, with a fence that shields it from traffic. There’s a sign, but if you’re not looking for it, you might not see it.

“People seem to find it,” said founder Markus Kypreos, who then added with a laugh: “And then they get lost at our door. But I think there’s some allure. There’s something about this idea of when you do find the door and you come in and walk in, it takes you a good five minutes to acclimate yourself. ‘Wait a minute? What is this place?’ ”

“This place” is a small, unassuming spot that opened March 20 next to Doc’s Records and Tapes in the Foundry District, a collection of old warehouses that have been transformed into retail and food establishments and decorated in enough murals to form an Instagram theme park.

The bar at Blackland offers a small cocktail menu, including a $10 tasting flight of all four spirits.

PHOTOS BY TWIG CAPRA

Once acclimated, you’ll see that Blackland has five modern European stills imported from Amsterdam, some of them named for Kypreos’ family members –– “Nick” for his dad, “Maximus” for his son, and “NiKole” for his daughter. You can take a geeky tour of the stills, tanks, and barrel room to learn more.

The place to hang out is the cocktail lounge, with its modern-stone, horseshoe-shaped bar and cozy-looking booths lining the perimeter. There are no TVs, and there’s a no-talking-on-the-cellphone rule. You can, however, text or take pictures. There is also a turntable, and customers can contribute to Blackland’s soundtrack.

“We’re doing this thing where if you go next door to Doc’s to buy a record, and you bring it over here and have a drink, we’ll play one of your songs,”

Kypreos said. There are limits, but if you want to play something as aggro as, say, Slayer, the bartenders will play it if they think it won’t break the mood at the time.

The bar seats 56 people and the patio an additional 45. The bar offers a small cocktail menu, including a $10 tasting flight of all four spirits, as well as an on-tap Old Fashioned that’s so potent you may find yourself walking over to nearby Craftwork Coffee to make an attempt to counteract it.

Blackland Distillery

PHOTOS BY TWIG CAPRA

“We have yet to be accused of making a weak drink,” Krypeos said.

You can also get some help from the food on the menu: a meat-and-cheese tasting board, seasonal hummus, or marinted olives from Meyer & Sage, longtime Fort Worth chef Callie Salls’ catering/retail business that recently launched its own brick-andmortar in the Foundry.

Kypreos is a former attorney who followed his passion, going to culinary school at night while he practiced law, then to spirit schools to learn about distilling.

“It’s not that I disliked being a lawyer,” he said. “This is just much more of a passion of mine, and I wanted to do something a little bit different. The culinary world has taken off, and you’ve seen all these craft breweries take off, but I still think that here in Texas, we’re still behind in the distillery world compared to the Portlands and Seattles and Denvers of the world.”

Distribution is planned for Blackland’s spirits, labeled simply Blackland Bourbon, Blackland Rye, Blackland Vodka, and Blackland Gin.

PHOTOS BY TWIG CAPRA

That has been changing. Fort Worth is already home to several distilleries, including Firestone & Robertson, which makes TX Whiskey; BLK EYE Distillery, makers of BLK EYE Vodka, on the Near Southside; Acre Distillery in downtown Fort Worth; Trinity River Distillery southeast of downtown; and North Texas Distilleries near DFW Airport.

Distribution is planned for Blackland’s spirits, labeled simply Blackland Bourbon, Blackland Rye, Blackland Vodka, and Blackland Gin. They all come in attractive decanter-style bottles with hints of Art Deco in the design. It will be a few months before you see Blackland in stores.

“We’re doing that on purpose,” Kypreos said. “We’re trying to build buzz for the brand here in Fort Worth. We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback, and I want people to know what we’re about and come see the bar.”

Don’t-Miss Cocktails

Blackland Old Fashioned, Hibiscus Fizz, and Sunshine Swizzle.

Vibe

Hip, sophisticated, and comfortable.

Prices

$8-12. All major credit cards accepted.

Who

Blackland Distillery

Where

2616 Weisenberger St, 682-268-5333

When

5pm-12am Sun-Wed.

Zest817.com