Stopped with friends after a great dinner down the street. The place is super cozy with really friendly staff. We sat at the bar for a quick drink and chatted up the bartender. It was a great time. I ordered an Old Fashioned and was spot on classic. Everyone else ordered an orange creamsicle drink that was for a special event going on that might be one of the top five drinks I've tasted in my life! It's shame it's not on the regular menu. Anyway I'm hoping to get a chance to drop by for another drink soon. read more

Stopped by to use some Royal Oak Dollars. It was busy, but not too crazy on a Saturday night. We tried the old fashion, brown Russian, hot chocolate stache and smoking section. All were really good. The hot chocolate stache was good for people who can't handle too much whisky :). The staff was very friendly and the ambiance is warm and inviting with couches and string lights in the back room. read more

Motor City Gas - Brown Russian and old fashion - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Awesome place to get some craft cocktails! My group and I went here after a late evening so I ended up getting an espresso martini. Definitely want to come back and try some type of Whiskey or Bourbon beverage. Others had some vodka drinks that looked really good too! The servers that were still in there were really nice and had some great suggestions for our group to enjoy! read more

Motor City Gas - Espresso Martini - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

I can't imagine a scenario where I drop below a 5 star rating. Phenomenal whiskey and rye. Top notch service. My favorite is the Stink Eye Rye. I would put that up against any Rye in the country. I have been to several different distilleries across the country but Motor City is my favorite. read more

Quaint distillery with craft cocktails and a ton of whiskey! Whiskey lovers meet here! Dave was a great bartender. Great spot for a drink before dinner or with a friend. read more

Motor City Gas - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Simply stated, this a a great spot for really high quality whiskey and service. The hours are a little limited, sure but they have great selections of bottles, both pints and 5th as well as rotating custom cocktails, cherries, "snorts" ( take home shots) and swag . They also have a side room that you can rent out. The service is always top notch and really prompt. This is not cheap whisky or bourbon, it's quality. So if you're a whiskey fan, I say stop in and check them out. Oh, and you can get a tour and education on distilling. read more

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Visited on a Friday night for a date! We got a bourbon flight and the black walnut manhattan Pros- the drinks were very good. The bourbon was good and so was the manhattan Cons- the pours were very inconsistent in size and the music was strangely too quiet. read more

My mother just passed and four of us stopped in for an informal wake. We were in Royal Oak and Yelp suggested this place, with flying colours. We had everything from an Old Fashioned to a flight of Rye Whiskeys. A tad pricey for oldtimers like us, but the ambiance and the celebration made it worth our while. I'm told they change the drink menu quite often, so there's a plus and they have an array of options. Not your granddad's bar by a long shot. You can watch the distilling process or just people watch. Service wasn't the best, but we'll chalk that up to generational bias. 04/25 read more

This is my second time coming to Motor City Gas. Its a great atmosphere. It feels like stepping into a log cabin. The whiskey is good. I wish they had a few snacks on the menu but great stop in Royal Oak! read more

Motor City Gas - Whiskey - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Jordan gave amazing service. MC Gas is and always has been amazing. The cocktails are the best anywhere and how you can convince even the biggest whiskey hater to be come a disciple of the spirit! And now serving Tanya's Pizza?!!! Gotta try the orange creamsicle when the have it. Best drink eva! read more

Ambiance of the place was fantastic and the bartender was very helpful with both drink selections and suggestions for other places in the neighborhood, as we were in town for a comedy show later that day. I ended up buying some whiskey to take home after trying a few of their selections. Definitely would suggest stopping in! read more

New menu! The drinks are great as always! Very friendly & quick service! Very cute place for drinks & they serve pizza too! read more

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Great place to hangout for a craft cocktail. Ive never felt rushed and the staff is so friendly and welcoming. I really love that nothing is premade. read more

Motor City Gas - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Over the past year, Motor City Gas has become my #1 go-to cocktail bar! Birthday? MCG Date night? MCG Random Wednesday? MCG ... you get the point. The cocktails here are so good that my dear wife went from not liking bourbon/whiskey *at all* to asking for an MCG outing at least every couple weeks! I won't comment on individual drinks as they change their menu seasonally and it's always absolutely delicious... EXCEPT for the Bourbon Creamsicle slushee that they have during summer -- it's the perfect treat after a run or bike ride! If there's one warning, it'd be that they seem to only have 2-4 employees working at any given time (often the bartenders have to also act as servers), so the service can be a bit slow, but worth it. read more

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Motor City Gas is a great place for a cocktail before dinner in downtown Royal Oak. They use their own products in their drinks and rotate their menu seasonally. This trip our party of four had a hard cider (delicious) a cinnamon whiskey sour (Amazing!) the Manhattan (The bitters had a hint of nutmeg which really brought out the bourbon in the Manhattan). The only sort of miss for me was the Smoking gun which had Rye, walnut bitters and a lit cinnamon stick. The smoke was off putting here and I felt like I was just sipping Rye (which is ok by me). Probably a drink in someone else's wheelhouse but I would not personally get it again. We had a very good visit and had a break from the first snow of the season. read more

Motor City Gas - The smoking gun - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Their Bourbon Egg Nog is Christmas in a glass! They offer several different types of whiskeys and cocktails. I also tried the Pumpkin Lord Commander and it's creamy delicious! My favorite cocktail is the Blueberry Smashed. If you love blueberries, mint, lemonade and of course bourbon. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. It's a nice cozy environment complete with a projected fireplace. It is wheelchair accessible with plenty of seating and large bathrooms. If you don't know what you like then just try a taste first. Don't come hungry because they don't have food; only popcorn. read more

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Delicious cocktails! @motorcitygas_whiskey in Royal Oak is a cozy bar with some great drinks. Small venue - easy to miss but I HIGHLY recommend you check them out. For those who love straight whiskey or bourbon, there are many great options. My husband loved the freight train (& ended up buying several bottles!). I'm not big on drinking whiskey or bourbon straight so I tried the thyme traveler (fresh lemon & lime juice with plumb bitters, thyme lemon simple syrup & rye whiskey) & the impared (fresh pear juice, ginger lemon simple syrup, lemon juice & bourbon). Both were excellent. Bartenders were great. Loved the atmosphere. You can't find their product in the stores so this makes a great gift. read more

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Educational bartender and unique whiskeys. Appreciate the warm bulbs, rich wood paneling, and copper accents. read more

Motor City Gas - "Taste" pours - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Been buying Whiskey here, more specifically Rye, since the pandemic. Today I sat at the bar with my brother who is in town from Phoenix. Not only was the whisky great so was the conversation with the server. We talked about soccer, Spacemen 3, record shops, England. I love this place. read more

Are you a lover of whiskey even if whiskey doesn't love you all the time. Don't worry about that here because the whiskey will love you back and leave a warm feeling with you. You can taste it here and grab it to go. No food available when I visited so plan accordingly. read more

Drink was good, worst service no one ever came to check on us in the back room See drinks are empty but don't ask if you want anything more read more

Great atmosphere. Kind of off the beaten path in Royal oak. Alcohol all distilled in house. Very smooth. Highly recommend!

This is one of my favorite places in Royal Oak. It's a small business whiskey distillery. They've been building it slowly over the years, and their menu continues to expand. They serve great cocktails and offer plenty of choices for whiskey flights. The employees are super helpful if you don't know what you're doing and answer any of your questions. They don't serve food, but sometimes they host food trucks and you're allowed to bring your own food. I've definitely had pizza delivered there once or twice. This place is the best. Don't miss out. read more

We happened to be strolling through downtown Royal Oak on a cool fall night and decided to check out Motor City Gas. I had only heard positive things and been meaning to check it out for quite some time. Finally had the opportunity and it did not disappoint. Motor City Gas is a small distillery tucked into a store front, a couple blocks off the main Royal Oak downtown strip. The bar area has a type of rustic feel to it. Wooden paneled walls with that salvaged look. Concrete floors. A sturdy custom made wood bar. Tons of whiskey barrels everywhere. To the right side of the bar area is an opening looking into another room where they distill the whiskey. The centerpiece of said room is this giant copper and steel still and its maze of connected pipes. Cool to be able to view this work space. So we made our way to the bar area near the back and pulled up two bar stools. Wasn't too familiar with what they had to offer so I carefully studied their menu of specialty whiskeys. Through the doors behind the bar you can see a storage room stacked with many, many barrels of aging whiskeys. Booze-wise, I started with the less aggressive options and worked my way up. My first drink was a neat pour of this apple cinnamon type of whiskey. Great flavor, sweet, and still a nice kick of alcohol. Kind of reminded me of apple pie. After that I tried some more traditional options. Something rye. Something peaty. The last whiskey I had was some sort of BBQ cayenne jalapeno whiskey. Yes, getting adventurous at this point. According to our barkeep, the story behind this whiskey was a local BBQ establishment had asked Motor City Gas for some whiskey barrels so they could make a BBQ sauce in them. Once they were done with these barrels, Motor City got them back and filled them with whiskey and made this creation. This whiskey was pinkish red, spicy as hell, and high octane. I will admit it was rough but it was also one of the most unique I had ever had. Our bartender was great. Friendly guy with great stories. I believe he was one of the owners but I really can't remember. Anyways, if you are going to downtown Royal Oak and looking to check out an interesting, unique drinking establishment, please give Motor City Gas a try. There is nothing else like this in town. read more

Motor City Gas - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Some great whiskeys here. They also had some that I didn't care for. Tastes were mostly $3 a pop. We bought a bottle for $46. On their coasters it says fuel the comeback. Not really sure Royal Oak ever needed to "come back" but catchy if you associate it with Detroit I guess. No food here and not much seating space. When we left it was standing room only. Worth a visit if you like whiskeys. I updated this because I was clearly drunk the first time I posted. read more

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Checked out Motor City Gas with a girlfriend. It was late in the evening, so I'm not sure if they closed down half the place. With only a few people sitting in the main room, I was confused if the adjoining rooms were for staff or customers, since there was a combo of supplies and tables. If the main room is the only sitting place, then this is a small bar! It's definitely intimate and the staff seemed accommodating. Of course we sat right at the bar. I had a warm spiked apple cider and a glass of 'The Crown', which both were delicious. Expensive but delicious. I recommend this place, however I also recommend stopping for some food beforehand. This place does not serve food, not even kettle chips. Careful. read more

If you love bourbon this is the place. Some of the best bourbon cocktails I have ever had and Carly does a great job describing them. read more

Motor City Gas - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Tucked onto a street off the main strip in Royal Oak. A combo of tasting room and distillery. A small bar with uncomfortable stools and some tables. They were making alcohol when we there and the smell was quite strong and disagreeable. The mixed drinks are good, as are several of the whiskeys made there. There is a small rack of tees and sweatshirts. They sell bottles to take home. The staff is pleasant. Some of the bar area is rough and amateur looking. read more

Motor City Gas - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Why #motorcitygas_whiskey? After @jackdaniels this is our second visit to a whiskey distillery. This was a small local distillery we visited and not as big as JD. The drinks were amazing. Though this is the first time we've tried corn whiskey we really liked it. Bar tenders knows his mixes and gave us the best drink as asked. Must try - all drinks. . . #motorcitygas_whiskey #distillery #whiskey #locallyowned #Mi #local #cornwhiskey #tonic #lime #plumbbitters #lavender #blueberry #alcohol #mixiners #weekendlife #foodporn #trynewplace #iphonography #shotoniphonexr #michiganfoodexplorer #michigan read more

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So this is our first visit to a Distillery and we like what they're doing here. We liked it so much we took a fifth home of applesauce moonshine. Cool place check it out. There are lots of flavors here... you're bound to like one of them. Awesomage to the 3rd power! read more

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Boys trip to Detroit and as we are all Bourbon drinkers this was a must visit! We sat at the bar and I ordered a 3 bourbon flight. Wow....wow and wow. This was some top shelf product with some high octane. Smooth....balanced and nuanced as well. That flight didn't last long all. The 2 guys serving....a blonde and a guy with long hair (sorry guys that I dont remember your names) were solid in their craft. They knew the product and were damn funny to boot. They really made the day with their knowledge and wit! Highly recommended! A must visit! Dont miss this place! I will say that Detroits dumb signage laws make it hard to spot but use Google Maps and BINGO! read more

Motor City Gas - Bourbon flight - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

This place is awesome! Not gonna lie, from the name alone, I had reservations about this place. I was scared it would be some tough-guy spot playing loud classic rock where bikers hang out lol. Man, was I wrong. Actually a really relaxing spot, great for small groups of all ages. Their whiskey selection is good, but I didn't get a chance to try any samples - I'll have to next time. I had a cocktail (Bill Murray) and it was absolutely delicious. Definitely an inclusive environment for whiskey novices and experts alike. I will definitely come back here to slowly convert my friends into whiskey drinkers :) read more

The Rosemary-bourbon drink with Cardamom bitters was amazing. This place always has good mixtures and drinks for every taste. It is a nice place to hang out with friends and chat. Only downfall of this place is that there is no food. They do sell some bagged chips and jerky that you can buy, but I do think you'll be nice if they actually had food service. Overall, still a place you want to check out in Royal Oak and enjoy. read more

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This is a great little distillery. Everyone that works their is friendly and knowledgable. The staff/owners have no problem talking about specials and what they have and/or future plans, making you feel like you are "in the know". The majority of drinks I've tried have been very tasty. Stopped in for St. Patty's and the owner gave us a tour of their new expansion (exciting!!!) along with some apple infused goodness! (Kind of looked like ecto cooler gas!) The RESULT: good vibes and a warm buzz! read more

Motor City Gas - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

If you like whiskey (and if you don't, why are you reading this review?), you need to find your way to Motor City's tasting room. It's even worth a special trip. As a "tasting room" they aren't licensed for many of the things you'd expect in a bar - so their hours are more limited and there aren't TV's or music (apparently that requires additional licensing) but they do have fabulous whiskey made right here from local ingredients. Even the mixers and bitters are made right here. And what a selection of spirits!! Including moonshine if you're so bold. Wow. We were able to sample a few, enjoyed a $3 "taste" and ended with a spectacular cocktail. My rye Manhattan was awesome with barrel aged bitters. My wife had the Gas 'N Ginger with homemade ginger ale that was incredible. Service was amazing from Megan who was a delight to chat with and is quite a cocktail expert. You need to get here and sample some local spirits. You'll love it. read more

Motor City Gas - Manhattan with Royal Oaked Rye. Superb! - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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This little distillery tasting room in Royal Oak is totally worth the trip! They are distilling some tasty spirits here and Megan was a terrific and engaging source of info. We sampled their smokey single malt Scotch and the Belly Up Bourbon. You can't go wrong with either. The cocktail list looked really interesting and the Gas 'n Ginger with their house made ginger ale and Royal Oaked Rye was pretty perfect. My husband's Old Fashioned was great, too. I tasted their Shag 'Nasty which is a shagbark liqueur with flavors of toasted marshmallows, hazelnut & supposedly cotton candy (although I couldn't taste that part). Megan suggested the flavors really opened up over ice & it was an outstanding suggestion. Just go here, sample some spirits, order a cocktail and enjoy yourself! You're Welcome! read more

Motor City Gas - Gas n' Ginger - House made ginger ale and Royal Oaked Rye - Delightful!! - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Delightful place! Drinks are creative, delicious and reasonably priced. Bartenders are friendly and find to talk with. We'll be back

Amazing whiskey flights. Pricey for the bottles but it's totally worth every penny! It's nice that's is closed to Main Street and parking is easy to find neat by it always seems. read more

Motor City Gas - Whisky flight - Distilleries Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Drink was amazing! Atmosphere is really nice! The staff was very friendly. If you have not checked this place out yet put it on your list! read more

So I really wanted this place to be good but unfortunately it wasn't. The old fashions we ordered tasted like they were 1% whiskey, 99% sugar. Such a bummer. And I would have ordered another one but $12 for another crappy old fashion was a risk I didn't want to take. read more