"First impression? In Philly ’s South Kensington neighborhood, a smidge west of Fishtown, New Liberty Distillery specializes in making highly-regarded craft whiskey. The distillery is housed in a restored brick building that was once a horse stable, and includes a tasting room with a bar and a seasonal outdoor cocktail garden. The bar is comfortable and unpretentious, with leather arm chairs and barrel tables, brick walls and a low, exposed beam ceiling, making it feel like the kind of place you could easily spend an entire winter afternoon. In the nicer weather, though, the cocktail garden, surrounded by wildflowers and thickets of herbs and trees, is a bit of a hidden gem in the city. How’s the crowd? The people here are the ones who care about the quality of booze they’re drinking, and also maybe the ones who have an abundance of hometown pride for the distillery that’s taken home a bajillion awards for expressions like Bloody Butcher Bourbon Kinsey Rye Whiskey, its ALCO ready-to-drink canned cocktails, and even craft liqueurs like its Liberty Belle Coffee Liqueur and Creme de Violette. On sunny weekends Cocktail Garden is a magnet for the day drinking crowd. How are the drinks? The cocktails here of course are built to showcase the whiskey they make, but also their gin, vodka, liqueurs, and more obscure bottles, like American Picon that owner and master distiller Robert Cassell made with smoke-tainted cast off grapes from Napa Valley. Cocktails range from well-made classics like the Manhattan to more inventive concoctions like the donut Old Fashioned, with American single malt, their own coffee liqueur, maple syrup and bitters, served with a cinnamon sugar donut from Philly’s Federal Donuts. There’s also a tight can menu with local beer and cider. If there’s food, is it worth ordering something to eat? The bar menu includes a handful of snacks, like a chocolate bar from local confectionery Shane’s. For a more robust meal, head to Suraya, Pizzeria Beddia, or Laser Wolf, all within walking distance. Did the staff do you right? The staff are pros—friendly and ready to recommend a great cocktail based on what you tell them you like. Besides the indoor and outdoor bars, New Liberty also offers tours of the distillery, and the guides have a chance to flex their knowledge of both distilling and Pennsylvania’s history as a distilling powerhouse. Wrap it up: what are we coming here for? The bars at New Liberty are both well worth a visit all on their own. But the distillery also honors Pennsylvania’s long, pre-Prohibition history of producing whiskey. Go for a tour to see the custom-made stills and sample the award-winning expressions, and stay for a leisurely cocktail in the warm and inviting tasting room or outdoor cocktail garden."
