Oh what a great tasting. Chocolate and Spirits! I learned so much about what makes great chocolate…read more The dark chocolate was my favorite. But the best part were the friends!

This place was one of my favorite spots from my trip to Jacksonville. If you're not familiar with…read morethe area, when you see Intuition Ale Works, go around the corner down A.P. Randolph St to E Forsyth St. Sharla was our mixologist. Both she and the cocktails were phenomenal. I will be returning whenever I happen to be in Jacksonville.

Ducked into Citrus Distillers from the rain on a business trip. Niki gave me a fantastic tour of…read morethe facilities and I did some tastings afterward. The lime and orange tequila was a real stand-out, as well as the blueberry, peanut butter, and and pecan whiskeys. I got to bring lots home for a very reasonable price. I highly recommend you check out this distillery!

In from out of town and looking for something different to check out and found Citrus Distillers…read more Thoroughly enjoyed the tour and meeting some of the staff. Dustin's passion for distilling a quality product and his deep knowledge showed with every question he answered, and as he explained each part of the process. The marble still was sooooo cool looking! And the story behind it was, too. I was not really able to partake of the samples being tasted -- 'cause someone has to drive! -- but everyone else was very impressed. And we got a couple of bottles to take home. Looking forward to crackin' open the Peach Mango Tequila. Smelled like beautiful ripe fruit!

My wife and I have visited The Ice Plant several times over the years, and it remains one of our…read morefavorite dining destinations in St. Augustine. The combination of imaginative cocktails, exceptional food, and a unique atmosphere makes every visit memorable. The cocktail program is outstanding. We enjoy trying a variety of their exotic and inventive drinks, and they never disappoint. The flavors are bold, creative, and unlike anything you'll find at a typical restaurant bar. The Yellow Submarine cocktail is quite possibly the best drink I have ever consumed. Made with curry-infused Bermuda black rum, lime, ginger, and Asian five-spice brown sugar syrup, it sounded unusual on paper but came together beautifully. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered four of them that evening, something I rarely do. That was three years ago, and despite returning several times since then, I have never seen it on the menu again. The food is equally impressive. Two years ago, I ordered the Skillet Roasted New York Strip served with Yukon Gold potato-anna, roasted asparagus and spring onions, watercress, and black truffle hollandaise. To this day, it remains one of the top five restaurant meals I have ever eaten. Every component on the plate was exceptional. The steak was perfectly prepared, the crispy potato galette was irresistible, and the black truffle hollandaise elevated the entire dish to another level. It was the kind of meal that stays with you long after the plate is cleared. I would gladly drive 300 miles just to eat it again. Most recently, I had the wild mushroom bisque, and it was the best soup I have ever consumed. Rich, creamy, buttery, intensely mushroomy, and perfectly balanced, it was everything a mushroom soup should be. The addition of crispy pickled onions and crème fraîche added texture and contrast that made an already outstanding soup even better. My wife and I enjoyed it so much that we returned the very next day hoping to order it again, only to discover it had already rotated off the menu. My only complaint about The Ice Plant is that some of their greatest creations seem to disappear as quickly as they arrive. While I appreciate the constantly evolving menu and understand that seasonal changes are part of what makes the restaurant special, there are certain items that deserve a permanent home. The Yellow Submarine cocktail, the wild mushroom bisque, and the Skillet Roasted New York Strip with black truffle hollandaise are three of the finest things I have experienced there. The fact that I can vividly remember one of these items from three years ago and another from two years ago says everything. Great restaurants serve good food. Truly special restaurants create dishes and drinks that stay with you for years. The Ice Plant has done that for me more than once, and that is why we continue to return whenever we visit St. Augustine.

I visited on June 18th at around 6pm, and the only negative thing I have to say is about the…read moreattitude of the host at the entrance. When I arrived with my pregnant wife and my service dog, he asked somewhat curtly if it was a service dog. After I confirmed and thanked him, he rudely placed the menu on the table, turned around without saying another word or showing any basic courtesy, and just walked away with his back to us. It was a pretty cold and uncomfortable welcome. That said, the restaurant is absolutely charming. I really loved the interior ambiance--it's cozy, well-decorated, and has a very pleasant vibe. The food was extremely delicious. We ordered the Half Pound Ice Plant Burger and it was juicy, fresh, and packed with flavor. You could taste the quality in every single bite--the meat was perfect, the ingredients fresh, and everything very well balanced. Definitely one of the best burgers I've had recently. Despite the initial host experience, I would return without hesitation for the food and the atmosphere. Highly recommended, but they could improve the initial greeting.

We always run out to Grey Matter Distillery in Mayport to check out their themes, so of course we…read moremade a plan to stop in for Pink Matter. I think this might be one of their more under rated themes. If not this, then their retro them for certain. It's almost hard for me to write about their cocktails nowadays because they're always so good. I went ahead and attached a LOT of photos to this review of cocktails from the past several themes they've done as well. I just love the fact that they always have real craft cocktails, not just a minor twist on something that they're charging more for. It's worth noting that they always offer Mocktails and THC infused drinks for the non alcohol drinkers. We didn't try as many things as we usually do but we REALLY liked what we did get a chance to try. Off the top of my head, I'd say the Cabana Boy was my personal favorite. That's the whiskey sour that comes as a pairing in the Twin Palms special. My wife liked everything enough that she didn't have a favorite. If you haven't been to Grey Matter Distillery; go check out this theme because it's a good one. Then make sure to keep on eye on them because I'm guessing their Retro Theme will be coming back next and I'm always excited for that one too. A version of this review originally appeared in the Jacksonville Fun, Eats & Drinks Facebook group.

Grey Matter is the place to spend the evening sipping on a few cocktails and enjoying the scenery…read morebecause the Grey Matter team invest a lot of time in making the environment embody the theme of the month. They currently are set up as a time capsule for the millennial with everything decked out in 90's nostalgia. The menu is a composition book with cocktail names Be-Kind-Rewind. The bar looks like something made by Lisa Frank and one room has a reproduction of a teens bedroom complete with mad libs, giga pets, and Brittney spears posters. Go back in time and take advantage of their trivia nights and music trivia as you get a buzz.

My husband and I came out for an early Mother's Day weekend get away and we visited a few tasting…read morebut our absolute favorite was the city gates spirits! We were greeted by lots of people and the ones that really stuck out were Lexi, Keeley and Janel they were so welcoming and sweet! Jessica hosted our tasting and was so fun and funny which made the whole experience even more enjoyable. El was our last tasting for the whiskey tasting and she was knowledgeable and able to answer all of our questions while being so sweet. Definitely a stop we have to make each time we are here in st augustine!!

Always a great experience! We visited two days on a row and had Lexi take us through the spirit…read moretasting both times. What a fantastic employee! Each time we've visited we have had wonderful experiences. Everyone is always a joy to interact with. Lexi had a large group during our first visit and then just the two of us the second time. Both times we walked out with our favorite spirits and some new ones. The peanut butter whiskey is always a staple and this one is my favorite. We now have a new addition to our must-have collection, mango datil whiskey. I dont even mix these with anything as they are incredibly smooth. Can you? Sure. But why? The spirits also change out and I'm a little sad that the cookie dough whiskey will become seasonal (that one did mix well with the peanut butter and caramel). But the new key lime pie rum was delicious and the coconut rum is another favorite. Was there anything we didn't like? I am not a fan of the roasted pecan whiskey but I can appreciate why others will enjoy it. In our tasting, Lexi swapped that one out for me so I didn't miss out. The care and joy the team has is palpable and a must stop when visiting the St Augustine area. Big fan and we now stop by multiple times each visit to sample and take home our favorites. Im excited to try the new rye whiskey on a future visit. One thing to keep in mind is that the tasting used to be free and now costs $5. Personally, I don't mind since there is a $5 coupon to use in the store that can be stacked so it becomes essentially free but it's a relatively recent change (the same applies to the nearby St Augustine Distillery and San Sebastian Winery). Do I wish that this one was still free? Of course. Will it stop me from visiting? Nope. It just breaks up my purchases so I can apply the cost each time. (And it's much better than the winery which gives you a plastic cup...nice but not really repeatable.) Overall, City Gate continues to be my favorite Distillery for flavored spirits. Thanks for always providing a great experience and product! And thank you to Lexi for being awesome!

It is a cool spot. Glad we popped in. Friendly guy at the bar. The spirits were definitely a miss…read morefor us. Hard to get it all down. Giving backyard moonshine vibes.

Marlin and Barrel is my first 'check in' when I get to Fernandina. For $5, you can pre-game by…read morehaving their distillery tasting. Best five bucks you'll ever spend on some really unique and quality libations. Jayden led the tasting tour and she was amazing . She did a fantastic job of presenting the spirits and accentuating the highlights of each bottle. If you come to Fernandina and don't visit, then you're missing out! Drop in, try some samples, and take home the good stuff. Oh, one more thing: hot pepper Bloody Mary. You're welcome!

Many cocktails to choose from. We did a fun little tasting of 6 different liquors. It's owned by…read moreSusan and her husband. Susan was so knowledgeable and friendly. I look forward to coming back for a full cocktail sometime.

We had the best time celebrating our cousin's birthday here. They allowed us to bring in food and…read moreprovided delicious cocktails. Decor is cool and the folks working there were very nice. Space is small so a large group might have trouble. Probably best for group size 15 or less.