Sunday Funday At Luminary Distilling

With the hustle and bustle of the work week, I usually live for my PJ days. You know, those days few and far between where you roll out of bed and if you're lucky, pull your hair back? It's a day of sipping coffee, binging on Hulu or Netflix and the PJs stay on. It's rare that I have a reason, let alone a desire to get dressed on the weekend but I saw that Luminary Distilling had a Bloody Mary Sunday #Funday and honestly my love of a good Bloody Mary got me to get dressed and venture out.

Luminary Distilling is a local, artisan distillery specializing in small batch spirits:

• Gem City Vodka

• Flat Cap Wheat & Rye Whiskeys

• High Back Gin

• Apple Pie, Cherry Pie & Peach Moonshines

• Limoncello

It's located next to Fuhrman's Plaza on upper Peach and there's plenty of parking so I didn't have to race anyone to get a spot. I had never been here before, so didn't quite know what to expect. When you walk in, the room is open and there are plenty of tables and chairs set up. My friend and I quickly claimed our seats at a bar along the wall and headed to get our first beverage of the day. I ordered a spicy Bloody Mary with Old Bay around the rim. Usually when a bar has a special like this, they give you dinky little plastic cups. Not here. My Bloody Mary came in a wonderfully tall pilsner glass. There were no complaints on size ;-)

I was checking out the vodka they were using, it was a jalapeno-infused. My thought was this is either going to be incredibly yummy or I'm going keel over as my mouth burns. Can't lie, I was a tad scared. We headed over to the toppings bar. My eyes grew wide as I looked at ALL the options. I told the gentleman, "One of everything please." He loaded up the skewer with Spanish olive, shrimp, dill & gherkin pickles, cocktail onion, cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, pepperoni and salami, slapped a slice of bacon and a celery stalk on my drink and I was ready to go. They also had fresh horseradish and a variety of hot sauces in case you wanted an even bigger kick. Headed back to our seats and dove in. Not sure where to begin I ate the bacon (how can you go wrong starting with bacon?) and took a sip. I was waiting for the heat from the jalapeno vodka to flood over me like a tidal wave (can't help singing Paradise By the Dashboard Lights in my head since there's the tidal wave reference. Big shout out to my incredible sorority sisters of ZT / ASA). While there was heat, it was the right amount. It had good flavor and the accoutrements made a meal. I was in Bloody Mary heaven.

As my friend of 30+ years and I chatted we watched the crowd and the staff. It was a mixed crowd with everyone seeming to be in a good mood for Sunday Funday. The staff and owners circulated keeping the area clean and pouring those drinks. They were friendly and accomodating, answering questions while serving customers. There was also food available from Rory's Ristorante consisting of mac & cheese, steak panini and a frittata which I tried. It was really tasty! All the food looked good, but I was hooked on my mini-meal of Bloody Mary toppings. As we enjoyed catching up and people watching, we decided on another round. Would the next be as good as the first? Yuppers, it didn't disappoint. The atmosphere of the place made it easy to talk and relax. We took our time and enjoyed our drinks.

Neither of us could stay all day (as tempting as it was...they have a whole bunch of mules to try) so I picked up a sample of the Limoncello and the Apple Pie Moonshine and cashed out.

We were expecting a hefty bill, but it was very reasonable ($9 / drink) for the size of the drink, that fact it was an artisan vodka and all the toppings that came with it. Was it worth getting out of my PJs for the day? Absolutely! If you're looking for a good Bloody Mary, an establishment with high quality drinks and exceptional service get over to Luminary Distilling. Their Bloody Mary Sunday Funday is on the first of every month, but you don't have to wait until then to enjoy the establishment, check them out any time. I can't want to go back!