Three Rock Brothers Brewing cocktails: Stairway to Heaven, 8th Avenue Boulevardier and Intermission. Credit: Rock Brothers Brewing

As CL Music Editor Ray Roa wrote earlier this week, it's almost time for a toast.

In soft-opening mode with limited hours since Dec. 29, Ybor City's Rock Brothers Brewing — part craft brewery, tasting room and live music venue — will celebrate its grand opening weekend Friday to Saturday. And you can add "part cocktail bar" to its identity at 1901 N. 15th St., too.

Yep, founders Tony Casoria and Kevin Lilly are set to serve up more than beer behind their handsome bar.

Alongside band-themed Rock Brothers signatures like Have Gun, Will Travel's High Road Ale, Umphrey's Mcgee Nothing Too Fancy Ale and JJ Grey Nare Sugar Brown, the tasting room's opening menu will feature specialty cocktails starting at $9 — Stairway to Heaven (vodka, lemongrass, lemon juice, egg white, grenadine); 8th Avenue Boulevardier (bourbon, Campari, Antica, orange and chocolate Bitters); and Intermission (vodka, espresso, lavender, coconut water) among them.

A lineup of craft beertails is planned as well. The brewery's beer, made in collaboration with the bands they're named after, is highlighted in everything from Almost Home (vodka, rosemary, lavender, Hootie's Homegrown Ale) to All Mixed Up (aged rum, tobacco syrup, lime, 311 Amber Ale reduction, absinthe rinse).

Downtown St. Pete's Mandarin Hide, which Casoria also co-owns, even gets a shout out.

"There are a couple nods to Mandarin in the menu like Dr. Mandarin and Mr. Hide, which pulls off conflicting ingredients in a creamy orange cocktail. But the tasting room will stand on its own," Casoria told CL on Monday. "The talent we've attracted are Tampa/Ybor-based with their own background and experience that is reflected in the final product. Joseph Randazzo and Scooby Oliver, who are our directors of spirits and education respectively, are local superstars. We've spent a lot of hours playing with recipes that incorporate themes and back stories that fans of the bands can relate to."

Inside the Ybor City craft brewery’s tasting room. Credit: Ray Roa

One of those back stories is represented in the Marley's IPA beertail that calls for Don Julio, Rebelution bassist Marley D. Williams's favorite booze. With colors of the Jamaican flag — dirty cherry juice for red, Rebelution IPA and lemon for yellow, and house-made pineapple-basil foam for green — the drink looks similar to a Bob Marley shot, which is fitting, considering Williams was named after the international music legend.

According to Casoria, ingredients are what set their cocktail bar apart from others. They'll play with rare hops from New Zealand in their boundary-pushing creations, in addition to pressing juices and making bitters and syrups on-site.

Though the three-day grand opening's festivities mainly revolve around free and ticketed concerts upstairs in the Rock Brothers listening room, known as The Attic, the tasting room doors will open to the public at 6 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. Plug into the Facebook event to stay updated as the celebration nears.

"My input from day one was that I believed Ybor was ready for a full-scale cocktail bar… Why in a brewery? Because we're also a venue," Lilly said. "Blending a concert venue and brewery called for a new idea when it came to a tasting room at a normal brewery. We don't want any customers saying, 'We don't want to go to RBB tonight. They only have beer there.' We want to create an overall larger experience beyond craft beer. Tasting rooms are designed to expand your beer horizons. The tasting room at Rock Brothers is designed to expand your horizons on beer, craft cocktails and music."