Islamorada Brewery & Distillery (Islamorada) — Attraction in Islamorada

As much as we love this place..... today was absolutely horrible. Christina in the distillery, was so insanely awful and rude, not sure I'll go back. It started with her all but rolling her eyes at me before even going in with my party, as she was going about personal business.... then proceeded to tell us, after we did go in, just tip her and we'd all leave happy. No, there was no welcome in. No invitation, greeting or assistance. Wewere told to go get our own water, she had nothing and that was her recommendation, then later, "that's why I told you, go get water". After seating ourselves, she said she was new and really didn't know anything about the spirits, she was "cut at 4 and couldn't believe anyone walked in" (odd considering people were there and attempting tastings). We were given one cup, then told she had no water to even rinse, so she was just going to keep using the same one. (No rinse in between but we could rinse it if we had water) The bottles on the counter, "she knew nothing about", were not in the "order" she had them in behind the bar. I suggested possibly reorganization of bottles in order of her serving, then was told, no. They always move around. So really never knew what we were trying. I asked her, was that the normal protocol of a tasting or how it worked...... She again, I said she didn't you know because she was new. . But that she "slinged drinks for 14 years", but she didn't know about tastings and was no "drink conosuer ". Unfortunately, her absolute poor behavior, distasteful comments, rudeness and lack of any absolute effort of customer service, we will never go back. She even had the audacity to comment on her tip amount lol (we tipped 2 times and 2 jars and she deserved NONE). Baffled how this person is ever able to be in any form of a customer service role. Thank God for Andrea and Olo. They were amazing and tried to offer condolences. Ugggghhhh awful. Do better. This is a Pic of Andrea doing an actual real tasting and being...

My husband and I had not been out to eat since March 2020 and we visited Islamorada the week of Christmas 2020. We’ve been very conservative with COVID & social distancing and were apprehensive about outdoor dining, so we were scoping places out for takeout. We wandered into the Islamorada Brewery & Distillery, saw the very spacious outdoor dining (and conscientious staff and other patrons who had their masks on while walking through the tables) and decided to dine there rather than getting takeout since we felt comfortable.

We are so glad we made that decision. If you are looking for a socially distanced dining experience with quality food, drink and atmosphere in the keys, this is it. The staff was so friendly and helpful and answered all of our questions. We got drinks to start (he had a beer, I tried the mermaid magic which was a fun color changing drink that tasted great - not too sweet at all) and then ordered fish and shrimp tacos for lunch. They tasted fresh and flavorful. For dessert we had the frozen eggnog, which was also delicious without being overly sweet tasting. I got the gingerbread floater and my husband got the peppermint. I stole his bc it was better, don’t know if that’s a Christmas only drink, but if it’s available, I’d definitely recommend. Best alcoholic holiday drink I’ve ever had.

That was the most fun meal we had not only in the Keys but in the past 10 months overall. We had a great time relaxing in the garden area with plenty of room to ourselves.

I really want to thank Islamorada Brewery for doing such a good job with their outdoor dining space (and food and drink and service) because it allowed us to be comfortable enough to finally enjoy a meal out again. It honestly was the most normal we both felt since pre-COVID times. Our honeymoon had to be cancelled, but this experience gave us a mini escape and we both honestly had so much fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thank you, thank you, thank you, we...

I’m not gonna lie. I had a great time until a particular entitled customer came to the bar. Sitting next to me which she didn’t have to do but she chose to. She came with her dog, which she had just wondering around. Walking in between my legs on a very hot day. No consideration given to me who was sitting at the bar, not wanting a dog to be on me on such a hot day.

I was being bombarded by bees the entire time I was sitting at the bars so I started capturing them in cups with the intention of releasing them when I left. The bartender and other patrons noticed and some voiced that they were impressed by the amount I caught (about 8 of them).

The lady with the dog aggressively grabbed the cups, letting them go. Exclaiming that I shouldn’t be imprisoning them since they “make the food that I eat”. She never said hi, never expressed her feelings on the bees in cups like a normal adult. To be honest, it was such an innocent, nontrivial thing that took a 180 shift real quick for absolutely no reason. It made me regret spending my money there, especially after speaking to the manager.

The manager explained to me that if the bees were such a problem than I should have moved from the bar. He also adding that the brewery was dog friendly and I shouldn’t complain about the dog which, by the way, wasn’t even the main issue.

The issue had more to do with the lady reacting to something that “offended” her, touching items that were not hers and feeling justified in it. She was clearly someone that the workers knew which made it even worse. People knew her, some saw the situation happen and didn’t think to correct when she was clearly in the wrong. And that is what I’m not a fan of. When someone that people know does something that is not right but no one corrects them to avoid “confrontation” and an “awkward situation” sets a bad precedent.

While I definitely enjoyed the drinks and the company, that very rude customer left a bad taste...