Genius Gin & Liquids

We had a Groupon for a tour. Made the reservation via their web site. They sent text messages to remind me of my reservation time. Mark called me about 30 minutes before our reservation time as everyone before us had been no shows. We were the last tour of the day at 7pm. The place is off Ben White behind the La Quinta motel in an industrial strip center. The tour was my husband & I only. Mark made us a drink to start it was good. Mark provided a ton of information on the process they are using. My husband loves this stuff. Most goes over my head but my husband was impress how efficient they are. We had tastings of three different products. Then you have the option to buy bottles. There for about an hour. Happy to learn about this place and will do my best to support them. Mark is the only full time employee. That tells you how small they are. Note they always takes the Groupon, never expire. I didn’t get any glasses as the Groupon stated but I didn’t make a big deal about it. Beware they maybe out or your need to actively ask for them. Also note there is no AC or heat so come dress properly!

Groupon deal is awesome. Dude working is super nice and made the session enjoyable. The alcohol itself pays for the voucher cost, in my opinion. Able to buy bottles after the tour if interested.

My family and I were visiting from California and took the tour. It was one of the best alcohol tours I have ever done.
I cant remember his name but he was super nice and hilarious. The cocktail he made us was delicious. It was just enjoyable, pretty laid back tour.
We all end up buying a bottle or two each.
I would suggest maybe doing an earlier tour so you can experience everything. He was nice enough to stay open for us to do a later tour but we missed a few things that would have been nice to experience.
But definitely well worth it.

We went on a tour tonight of their gin establishment. Made a few cocktails, had some great conversation and tasted some good gin. I like this place and the gentleman doing the tours was super nice and interactive with all the myriad of questions we had. It’s good to see businesses like thins around Austin. I look forward to making cocktails with the gin and possibly buying more as we work our way through the bottle. Thanks. Go here.

One of the best tours I’ve been to and it doesn’t cost and arm and a leg. It is a private tour, with just my husband and me. The small facility, unmarked, is located in a very industrial area of S. Austin, with just enough room for crafting small batches of gin. I love being around people who are knowledgeable and passionate about their craft and Charles, our guide and one of the owners, exudes it. Maybe it’s the gin he’s pumping into me, but I found Charles to be the kind of person you want to be friends with, smart and charismatic.
Although the location does not have central air, they do have a portable air conditioning unit in the tasting area so it was quite pleasant, even on a hot summer afternoon. The tour is about 1 hour, and in that 1 hour, we got educated in the process, quizzed on our ability to identify some of the aromatics used to make the gin, asked questions, had a cocktail and three tastings, while never feeling rushed.
Their gin is different, less heavy on juniper. I’m in love with the complexity of the Navy gin and look forward to creating a few cocktails with it. They are also doing an oaked sipping gin.
While you are there, pick up a couple of bottles for below retail.

You are able to purchase small and private tour tickets to the Genius tour facility. I got mine on Facebook while I had family in town and we were able to have a totally private tasting and gin education which was a fantastic and different idea to do with guests visiting Austin.
What I did not realize, since I am not a gin drinker, was how much I would love it as well! And become one.
Learning how gin is made is fascinating, even from a culinary level, with the flavors and botanical components that go into the process. Tasting the different gins and discovering the outcome of the process was great too.
Their gin is so much smoother than what I was used to it gin that it made me a new fan of gin.
Learning about the alcohol industry in general also made me appreciate the small craft businesses who make their own alcohol and are able to regulate taste to a higher level because of it. It will carry over to knowledge of other spirits as well.
Great for a first date or any date night as it’s highly interactive (guess the botanical – was that juniper? lemon pepper? You figure it out!) and involves alcohol in a totally different way.
Great for those visiting Austin to visit a small gin manufacturer and have some time both learning and having fun doing something away from the crowds and out of the norm that highlights the greatness of Austin in the craft manufacturing industry – we embrace the small business greatness of food and spirits in learning to do things better from the ground up here.
Very personable and friendly business owner did the event, he was very well prepared, with great energy, humor, and an obvious love of the craft which made all the difference.
Because we purchased the tour on Groupon it also came with a special of commemorative gin glasses as well, also making it a memory-​maker.
Only suggestion I’d make is perhaps them ending the educational event with noting that each item is for sale at local liquor sellers or you can purchase bottles there – on the one hand I appreciated no sales pitch but on the other I wanted to buy a few bottles and didn’t feel like that was the place to do it there so I am going to pick some up tomorrow at Specs. So maybe it’s best that they don’t do it since there is no sales push discomfort whatsoever but I really did love it enough to want to add it to my bar for good now at home; it would have taken out the extra step in getting it stocked.
Good stuff. Good fun and the best part is it is great for all ages over 21 – my parents loved it and gin is a staple of their older generation yet it’s making a comeback too so it’s great on down to the hipster crowd as well with the new craft small batch quality and new flavors.