By TR Robertson
117° West Spirits has opened a second location in Vista, now part of the CoLab Public House along with Propaganda Wine, Breakwater Brewery, Barrel & Stave Brewing Company and Baby’s Burgers. CoLab Public House is located at 2129 Industrial Court, visible as you drive east on Highway 78, on the right just before you reach Sycamore Drive. This new tasting site offers a larger location than the intimate 2332 La Mirada Drive, #800, location. The Head Distiller, Justin McCabe, said they are excited about the new location which offers not only tastings of their whiskey but also tastings of their bourbon, rye, rum and gin as well as a variety of specially designed cocktails, which can be purchased. The distillery also sells a number of different whiskey, rye, bourbon, gin and rum selections in 750 ml bottles and other specialty drinks from Westberg Farms. Rye and Cherya are also available in bottles (Cherya is cherrywood smoked rye). They offer traditional cocktails such as Margaritas, Old Fashioned and Mai Tai and uniquely designed drinks like Bee’s Knees, Gold Rush and Surfliner to name a few.
117° West offers a Cocktail Club with a number of options that include tastings and discounts on purchases. The extensive specialty cocktail selections are posted both online, in menus at the distillery and on a large board above the bar. Flights are available for drinks excluding whiskey and as whiskey flights. Bartender Marivy Pazos said she loves making specialty cocktails and telling customers about all the distillery offers. Justin also likes discussing the history of whiskey, the process and differences between whiskey, bourdon and other spirits. While visiting the distillery he spoke at length with a customer about the wooden casks used and the variety of differences in the casks. One policy they have to follow is customers are only allowed one drink, but they can purchase up to three bottles to take home. This is because 117° West is not a bar but is a distillery tasting room and under a different set of guidelines and rules.
Some upcoming events the distillery will offer include a Special Whiskey Tasting on the CoLab Patio on August 18th from 1:30 until 3:30. Six tastings will be offered along with explanations about each of the tastings and the importance of grains in the distilling process and a 20% discount will be offered on purchases of bottles. Later in the day CoLab will offer a Sushi Making Cooking Lesson participants can sign-up for (a fee is charged). On September 12th the distillery will offer a special Cigar and Whiskey Tasting from 6 pm until 9 pm.
Justin said they have slowly started to develop a following at the new location and hopes more and more people find out about all of the different options offered at CoLab. CoLab also sponsors a number of special nights people can join in with other visitors to the location. A monthly listing of special nights is listed online as well as bands that perform. Some of the special nights include karaoke, painting classes, trivia nights, bingo nights, cooking nights, and performing groups. The new patio area that was added will be used by the breweries, the distillery and the winery. The popular Baby’s Burgers has also added flat bread pizza to their menu. CoLab has a large upstairs area and other rooms that are available for group use.
The other 117° West location is at 2332 La Mirada Dr., #800, Ph. 760-597-8985. It is temporarily closed but set to reopen on August 22nd. The distilleries products are available for purchase at Total Wine, as well as at the distillery locations. For more information and to see the different products and specialty drinks available go to www.117westspirits.com and for CoLab information go to www.colabpublichouse.com.
