What to Know
- The Obscure Distillery & Cocktail Experience, presented by Fever
- The "guided tasting," created for guests who are 21 and older, features a compact series of creatively crafted sips: a trio of house spirits and "three original cocktails"
- 1356 Palmetto Street in Los Angeles
- $68.81 (and up); the experience runs about two hours
- The "seasons" change at The Obscure, with different spirits in the spotlight; Season One and Season Two are available for booking now
- Non-spirited libations are also available by request; food is available next door at The Rising Sun, an alfresco cafe helmed by The Obscure team
Discovering the story of a sophisticated sip as well as the intriguing ingredients that give the cocktail its particular character?
It's not always easy to do so, though a menu might reveal a detail or two, as can a fabulous bartender or server.
But there's a special place in the Arts District that puts the festive focus on a libation's particular history, as well as the oh-so-special spirits chosen for the drink.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
It's The Obscure Distillery & Cocktail Experience, a made-for-grown-ups gathering that provides a "guided tasting," one that asks cocktail mavens to go on an atmospheric journey.
The journey involves the sipper's tastebuds, of course, but the well-dressed setting has story to spare, too: You're inside an immersive space rife with ethereal outdoor magic, including mossy "trees," architectural flourishes with gothic flair, waterfalls, and low-lit loveliness.
Théron Regnier, the project's head distiller, partnered with "a small team of bartenders and artists" to create "the pandemic project."
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
Like many innovative artist-started ideas from the early 2020s, The Obscure has flourished, providing "a place where mixology and storytelling meet — an immersive cocktail experience for drinkers of all levels."
But the experience is flowing well beyond the boundaries of the Arts District: The Rites of Fall Rye, one of the featured spirits in the current tasting, is for sale in The Obscure's online bottle shop.
Priced at $150, Rites of Fall Rye is a collaboration with the American Chestnut Foundation, and every bottle sold helps the nonprofit's restoration-minded goal: Helping these treasured but "functionally extinct" specimens thrive.
For more about this offbeat and elegant sipping adventure, one that is led by knowledgeable mixologists and pros who know high-quality spirits and botanicals, visit The Obscure site now.