CHANDLER, AZ — SanTan Brewing Company is known in the Valley for its beers -- Mr. Pineapple, HefeWeizen, and HopShock IPA -- and last year, they added a line of spirits to the menu, like the Sacred Stave single-malt whiskey and kaffir lime vodka.
Next week, the team will debut their latest project: Spirit House, an intimate 49-seat tasting room and cocktail bar located directly behind SanTan's brewpub in downtown Chandler.
It will open at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 28.
"Spirit House is first and foremost a tasting room. So you’re going to be tasting SanTan spirits, all the different liquors and liqueurs that we’ve been working on for almost five years, and now presenting to the public for the first time," said SanTan's founder Anthony Canecchia, in an interview with ABC15.
Canecchia wants to "uncomplicate" cocktails and make them approachable to everyone.
"What we’re trying to do here at Spirit House is to demystify what spirits are, what spirits can be, and we’re trying to uncomplicate them," he said. "A lot of people are intimidated when they walk into different cocktail lounges or cocktail bars or very cocktail-oriented themed menus. We want to uncomplicate that. We want people to not be afraid to ask what a spirit is, or why it's paired with a certain flavor."
At the same time, he also wants to use Spirit House to experiment with different spirit flavors and infusions.
Surrounding the bar are jars of house-made mixtures, vegetables, botanicals and other edibles that Canecchia and his team intentionally combined and fully intend to use in future cocktails when the flavors are ready. This reporter considered it to be a mixologists' laboratory, if you will.
On the tasting menu, people will be able to try one-ounce servings of SanTan's Sacred Stave whiskeys, vodka, and botanical spirits or try multiple as a flight. They also have more than 15 classic cocktails on the menu, including the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Moscow Mule, and Bees Knees.
Canecchia has also paired his cocktails with light snacks and sandwiches. The food menu features cornbread served with whipped cashew agave butter, make-your-own meat, cheese and bread boards, and a fig and apple bruschetta. There are two salads on the menu and three tartines, which are open-faced sandwiches.
The tasting room will be open Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 p.m. - 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, 4 p.m. - 1 a.m., and Sundays, 12 p.m. - 8 p.m., according to hours posted to the bar's website, http://spirithouseaz.com.
IF YOU GO:
Spirit House
8 S. San Marcos Pl. Suite 106, Chandler, AZ 85225
http://spirithouseaz.com.
