Onyx Moonshine Speakeasy

This place is really worth finding. High end moonshine presented in a wine tasting stile. Could not leave without taking home their Aunt Tilly special reserve and their special stash! A little difficult to find but understood that going in. They tell you when you come in it would not be a «speak easy» if it were easy to find.

Simply put, the hour we spent at the Onyx Speakeasy was a blast and a half! We loved every minute of our visit.
As so many Unilocalers have written, Onyx is hard to find, but I think that confusion adds to the enjoyment of the «speakeasy» theme. Because once you find the place, you are almost giddy with relief and anticipation. And when you finally swing open that mock bookcase that’s actually the inner door leading you into the 1920s themed tasting room, the Speakeasy Experience is in full swing. All it lacked was a sliding slot on the door and Humphrey Bogart croaking «Joe sent me».
As you walk through the bookcase door you’ll see a large bar and a comfortable lounge with a dozen or so tables. Our hosts behind the bar were Adam and Pete, and they did a great job describing the strange creature that Prohibition was. They were very knowledgeable about the subject and also told us about Connecticut’s moonshine and speakeasy history.
Their website describes how Adam and Pete brought that history to life, «With its launch in 2011, Onyx Moonshine became New England’s first legal moonshine since Prohibition, and the first ultra-​premium American moonshine ever”. Be honest, have you ever seen the phrase «premium moonshine» before? I thought not.
Our Groupon priced tasting for two cost $ 18, and it entitled us to their $ 10 basic tasting of four samples, plus $ 5 and $ 3 upgrades for whiskey and infusion samples. You won’t find a BOGO like that at Stop and Shop !
We sampled six products — the basic Black Onyx Moonshine, Apple Honey and Cape Cod Cranberry versions, Secret Stash Reserve (a whiskey), Infusions, and a higher end Whiskey.
Man were these fun to try. They were soooo smooth and went down quite easily. The Apple Honey and Cape Cod versions had the definite tastes of their respective fruits, but had none of the «sweetness» you might expect. The infusions were fun too –We had a choice of Root Beer, Butterscotch, or Chocolate Mint. We tried the second and third and they were so good!
It was fun watching Adam and Pete tell us about each product, and serve them –some were on ice, some were neat, some had a few drops of water added-​all little tricks to enhance the flavor.
The Moonshine can sub for vodka or whiskey in just about any cocktail. I picked up a free pamphlet, «A Bartenders Guide» that gives you nine (the website has quite a bit more) suggested cocktails to go along with my $ 29.99 bottle of Moonshine. I’m going away for a group weekend soon, and am looking forward to serving a Moonshine drink called «Connecticut Mule» to the gang.
What’s a CT Mule? Just add 2 oz Onyx, ½ oz lime juice, and a splash of ginger beer, serve on the rocks. Sounds like it will be quite the hit.
Nice job Onyx! You guys rock.

This place is awesome!!! We were visiting the area and got a Groupon for a tasing. $ 18 for two b people was the deal, and it was one of the best decisions we made for this stay.
Let me start with the whiskey. Phenomenal. Super smooth and so delicious, I highly reccomend their apple and cranberry ones. Their infusions are great too, and the place itself has a really cool décor and ambiance
The people are amazing. The owner and founder serves you the whiskey and the head brew guy tells you all about the flavors and history. They really love what they do here, and are super friendly and personable.
Just a tip: the place is in an industrial area, and can be well hidden. Look for the door with the charter oak on it. The hidden doorway and bookshelf entrance add to the ambiance of the place. If you are nervous about finding the place, don’t be! It’s meant to be an adventure. I mean, original speakeasies didn’t gave signs!

Cannot say enough positive things about this place (and the product). I’ve always been a fan of Onyx and to meet the cofounder tonight and experience the line-​up (with a history on each bottle) was a really fun and informative experience.
When you get here, you have to work to find the place a little bit; but you will find it. Hint– there is a sign with the label’s tree (Charter Oak, I’m guessing) welcoming Girl Scouts at the correct entrance. At the end of a hallway is a bookshelf and behind that, a elegant speakeasy lounge furnished with real 1920’s antiques and artifacts.
The ambiance is sexy, yet rustic. Surprisingly, it’s not at all pretentious. On the contrary, the room is a representation of the owners passion and attention to detail. (Have I mentioned how great the product is, yet?). Great place for a date or group outing.

Came here on a Groupon. Upon approaching the building it looked very suspect. But once we got inside it’s a really cool spot. High top tables and funky stools. The bar area was really cool. I don’t remember the name of the guy who facilitated our tasting but he was one of the founders and was very knowledgable. He was able to answer all of our questions. The whiskey/​moonshine itself was great. My personal favorite was the butterscotch. Definitely a great way to spend an hour on a saturday afternoon.

We came here after purchasing the Groupon and had such a great time! It was so cool to be able to try each of the different moonshines and I especially enjoyed the infusions. I highly recommend this as a fun stop on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday funday!

Great tasting with co-​founder of Onyx, Pete. We came here with a Groupon so it was only $ 18 for me and my husband. It was a great deal because it included the $ 10 base charge and the $ 5 upcharge for the whiskey and $ 3 upcharge for the infusion. Essentially buy one get one free. I would recommend it while it lasts! Even without the Groupon, it was a good time. I definitely recommend getting at least the infusion.
They had two types of infusions available and I loved the one infused with horseradish and sundried tomatoes! I wish they offered the infusion for sale, but they don’t. They do offer the Onyx 111 at the warehouse for purchase. The rest of the moonshine was great to taste as well. I loved the tips Pete offered for mixing or drinking on the rocks or with just a few drops of water (I’ll let him explain why that is important, if you don’t already know!). He also shared with us the various Connecticut sources that they use in their infusions (e.g., apples, I think from Willington, CT). We purchased a bottle of the Apple Honey Infused Moonshine since we liked how it tasted alone. The other moonshines we tasted, such as the Onyx Moonshine 80 tasted perfect for mixing.
My favorite thing about the tasting was the cool rustic modern room it was located in. They did a great job decorating it. You would not think you were in a warehouse! (Yes…it is a bit sketch to find it but not too hard). The only thing I wish they allowed was to linger in the room and enjoy a glass of moonshine. Unfortunately, they are limited by the liquor laws and cannot serve it. They appeared to allow lingering though! Our tasting was about an hour and a half. We were lucky because it was very busy and we started fairly quickly. Through that time, we enjoyed some of their crackers and saw other people hanging around at their tables.

A great tasting experience with Pete. He was extremely knowledgable about Onyx and all of the different products. My favorite was the Onyx Apple Moonshine. It’s light tasting and so flavorful.
Such a cool facility as well. I think everyone should definitely go taste Onyx once and you will be hooked!!!