Blackwater Distilling

I bought a Groupon to Blackwater Distilling. The Groupon stated reservations were required, but on the Blackwater website, it says reservations are no longer taken. So, my first impression was that the place was a bit disorganized. I do not like conflicting information and when I called during business hours to confirm that a reservation was not required, No one answered the phone or returned my voicemail.
Thankfully, my experience at the distillery was much better. The Groupon was accepted without question and the tour was very informative. It is a small space and we had an extremely large tour group (30 – 35 people), but everyone was attentive and did not disrupt the one owner who spoke about the distilling process. The information presented was very easy for a non-​distillery person to understand and I can actually say I learned several new things in the short 30 minute presentation.
If this place is becoming more popular, maybe reservations would be a good thing?! It was extremely crowded around the bar when doing the tastings and it was hard to hear the staff talk at the bar with everyone standing around, talking about the product, having side conversations, and such.
The honey vodka is delicious! The other spirits are tasty and they sponsor several local, all-​natural products, which i always nice to see.
4 stars because of the crowded tour and the conflicting information

Four stars because Maryland’s liquor laws prevent them from pouring mixes … Otherwise the full 5!
The tour and history of the operation was interesting. Chris really gave us the feel for where he and his brother are coming from in creating their products. If you like original, local, thoughtfully sourced products … they have drinks for you.
Highlight of the day is the tasting with «Sloop Julia». Julia shares her excitement for the flavors and creative mixing potential that Blackwater’s products offer.
The liquors are awesome and the energy of the staff is contagious.

The tour we purchased off of Groupon was fun. The rum and vodka are among the best I’ve ever had. The entire staff was friendly and made the experience fun. My boyfriend and I hope to go back to volunteer for bottling. Highly recommend!

Came here from a a Groupon for a day date with my boyfriend. As soon as you walk in the people are so welcoming and friendly and want to get to know you. It’s something that you can only get from a great small business such as this. Overall, the tour was informative – it was really cool to see the stock and hear more about the process of how they make their vodka and rum. The groupon comes with a bottle of the vodka, and we also bought a bottle of the honey. It was so good. The vodkas itself are on the higher end as far as price, but there’s a reason for it. Keep it up Blackwater! We look forward to seeing more of you in the Baltimore area!

The tour is informative — these guys know their stuff! While the facility is small, it gives the personal touch that a lot of tours miss. The tasting is to die for. The honey vodka is probably the best liquor I’ve ever had in the price range. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. The tasting at the end is the best part!

We found out about Blackwater through one of these Groupon type of deals, and in my opinion, it’s one of the many gems we discovered through those programs.
These folks are definitely worth supporting, especially as a smaller, local business, and that everyone there seems to really enjoy what they and the company do. The tour and their products are definitely worth checking out. The tour was both fun and informative, appealing both to aspiring distillers, and those aspiring to set up their own business.

Great tour and tasting, discovered this through Groupon & so glad we did! The owners were super nice & provided such interesting information about the business and their products. A really fun way to spend a couple of hours!

The tour was very informative. The samples at the end were great. Staff is very friendly. Great local place.

What a great way to spend an hour or two plus drive time.
We «toured» the distillery on a gorgeous early fall afternoon enjoying the quick drive over the Bay Bridge. Blackwater is located in a newer business park, not in a separate building as we were expecting. The small batch, artisan ally produced spirits — vodka, and now rum are offered in tastings after the tour.
Chris, who is the master distiller was knowledgable and passionate about his craft. He shared information on the raw materials– from Brazil and Italy! i know, exotic!, — the fermentation and distillation, and the packaging and aging processes as well as showing us the bottling area.
We were provided samples of two vodkas and two rums as well as True grenadine and tonic syrups. The vodkas and rums were so smooth that they are sippable over ice, no mixers needed, no burn and nasty aftertastes. We did also purchase the syrups and are planning a cocktail making contest to put them to best use.
Retail sales are available, credit cards accepted and there are t-​shirts and other items for sale.
They plan to grow and expand their offerings, and we plan to revisit to see the wall of aging barrels in a year or two. Hope they continue their hands on methods and friendly attitudes.

Well presented tour of their operations. Amazing work being done and will be back to purchase more products. Would suggest stopping in especially if you on your way to visit friends a great hostess gift

Had a great time! Bottle prices are reasonable for small batch excellence, and they gave me a couple cases of beer bottles for my homebrew. Definitely worth a stop by.

Friendly and informative tour followed by a delicious tasting of their wide variety of spirits and tonics. We walked out with almost one of everything. We will be back this winter when we run out:)

I’m more of a beer girl, but Blackwater won me over with their rum and vodka. This was the first time I toured a distillery, and I really learned a lot. The guide was very informative. I enjoyed the tastings too. I normally am repulsed by vodka, but feel that I was introduced to a highly palatable honey vodka for the first time ever at Blackwater. I do appreciate rum on occasion, and they are doing rum right here. The guide will explain to you the flavor profile of the rum, and how it all happens throughout the distilling process, and then when you taste the rum you can really identify all the flavor nuances. It’s a lot of fun. We took a rum and a vodka home with us, as well as some craft grenadine and tonic syrup. We’ve been enjoying delicious cocktails at home for weeks now!

Really interesting tour to take that is free so easily worth your time. In addition their vodkas and rums are worth trying. Went with a groupon and got a free bottle of vodka to take (crazy deal) The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable and as a person who isn’t the biggest fan of vodka their product is something I would buy.

My boyfriend and I visited as part of a Groupon deal. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was great and I’ve been telling friends to visit this summer!
Don’t let the building fool you. When you first pull up, it looks like an empty office building but don’t let that stop you. You’ll go on a tour of the back of the distillery and learn the techniques used to make high-​quality vodka, rum, and soon other spirits. Our tour guide was one of the owners. We were lucky to be there on bottling day and saw vodka being bottled!
The tour ends with a tasting. I never understood why people sometimes «sip» vodka until trying the vodka at Blackwater. It was tasty. All the spirits were high quality. I didn’t intend to buy anything but ended up buying Sloop Betty vodka, Sloppy Betty Honey Vodka, Picaroon Golden Rum, and tonic.
Only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is the tour could have had a bit more «pizazz». The information was interesting though so it held my attention.
Definitely recommend you visit and then buy their products!

It was a great deal in groupon and I highly recommend it if you like vodka. The place is very small and the tour is only three locations. It last about a half an hour but feels much faster. The staff is very knowledgable and are willing to answer any questions you may have about their distilling process. The best part is at the end when you have the tasting. You get to sample 2 rums and 2 vodkas. All have a great flavor. I got a bottle of the Sloop Betty original and a bottle of the honey. I can’t wait to see if they expand their line. A great way to spend a afternoon so if you get a chance go. I am going to go soon after i go through the bottles I got today.

Like so many others, I came here with a Groupon deal with several friends. The place is definitely small, but the tour is led by the owner, who is quite knowledgeable and welcomes questions and pictures. They offer tastings of 2 vodkas and 2 rums, as well as grenadine and tonic, which is DELICIOUS. For your free bottle (with the Groupon deal) you can choose between the regular or honey vodka. It was a tough choice, as they’re both very good, but I went with the regular, although I may go back to get the honey. They also have lots of merchandise such as t-​shirts and stickers, and the rum has a pretty cool story with the labels… I’d tell you here, but you should really take the tour to hear it for yourself.

Got a Groupon and figured «why not» …
The entire facility is probably the size of my front yard, the tour is basically a walk around of the small distillation. Don’t let the size of the facility or tour stop you from visiting!
Overall the tasting was what I would expect for a small operation.
Vodka — there is a define burn to the vodka at room temp, I would suggest using it as a mixer to cut the burn (at the price though, it would be a bit on the high price side)
The Honey is very good, our favorite of all (got a bottle to sip on ice at home)

Located inconspicuously in the middle of a business district, Blackwater Distilling offers a unique tour, delicious tastings and sells a phenomenal product. Having toured many breweries over the years I was excited to tour my first distillery and was not disappointed. At the end of the tour we were offered samples of all their products, including a rum that had only been on the market for four weeks, and then received a nice discount on anything we purchased. My wife and I walked out with a bottle of the honey vodka (which might be the best vodka I’ve ever tasted), the new rum and a homemade grenadine syrup from a company in DC. It is definitely worth the trip, especially if you are already going to Kent Island for shopping, dining, travel, etc.

Stopped at Blackwater Distilling this weekend for the tour and tasting and was glad we did!
The place is small and the tour is quick but it’s informative and neat to see the processes. You can ask a lot of questions and it seems like each tour is probably different based on what they have brewing at the moment and who is in the tour.
We bought a few bottles of their product and mixed up some craft cocktails when we got home! Delish!

Absolutely loved our tour, and they make a great product. When we were there (Feb 2015) they had vodka and honey vodka, and we got to sample the new rum. Looking forward to when the rum is bottled and when they start making other spirits as well!

The tour was very informative and interesting. The distillery is very homey and personal, it is owned by two brothers and they are both very personable and fun. I loved the Sloop Betty vodka, the honey vodka was my favorite, and the rum was exceptional. What a good time!

My wife bought the Groupon deal for the two of us as a birthday gift/​surprise to me. I’ve been to many breweries but never a distillery so I was excited about what to expect from the tour.
On the ride there you would never expect there to be a distillery located in the business park where it is.
The tour was simple, education but extremely fun. We got to ask a lot of questions about the Company and about the distilling process which was a huge plus.
At the end of the tour we did our tastings of 2 types of vodka, a rum and an infused pumpkin vodka. The Groupon deal allowed us to get a bottle of our choice along with the deal which was great!
I hope to see these guys get big as their product is great tasting and just an overall good vibe to the owners who run the Company. We would recommend the tour!!!

Found this place via groupon. The people at the facility were very friendly and the tour was very informative. Most importantly the spirits were tasty. I wish they had more infusion kits to sale, bc I would have purchased 2. I’m looking forward to the new addition of rum that this distillery will be making.

Stopped in on the weekend when I spotted all the «Blackwater Distilling OPEN» signs on my way to the park. Certainly glad I did.
I had a nice tour of the distillery and sampled some fine vodka and pre-​aged rye (that’s what I called it anyway… they let us taste the rye before it goes into the charred barrels).
So, first… friendly guys that are enthusiastic about their business. Love that. Passion brings great spirits! ;) Local distillery? Even better.
The honey vodka was great. I’m not sure how I’d drink that and I forgot to ask… but I’d think a straight up martini, on the rocks or a chilled shot would be just fine. The straight vodka tasted smooth as well. What’s vodka supposed to taste like? Nothing, right? Well… that’s what we had… it was smooth with a nice clean finish. I liked it.
They will be making rye and have plans to make a white rum next. I’m looking forward to both.
Stop in and take a tour. After the tour they are allowed to sell you up to 3 bottles of liquor. You can also buy their vodka around the corner at the Love Point Deli.
Good luck, Blackwater!!!
(NOTE — I feel like I should put a comment in here as some of you Unilocal peers are a little particular and may have different expectations. This is a small craft distillery. It’s not a huge place. You’ll get a nice tour, a tasting, and the opportunity to buy some liquor and gifts at the end. If you are going to make a day of it, drive straight down the road to Ram’s head after and enjoy some fine pub food and cocktails, or head over to Terrapin park, across the street, and talk a walk to the beach. Blackwater is a stop on your weekend excursion… not the destination ;)