A pair of new drinking experiences are prepared to hit Tampa Bay this month and the next — one of them being the Il Ritorno Spirit Series.
Thanks to the modern Italian restaurant’s recently acquired liquor license and event room, the monthly dinners begin Feb. 27 and run through most of the spring season. A five-course tasting menu will take center stage during every installment in downtown St. Pete, as will one category of complementary liquor.
The February dinner has Lunazul Tequila on deck, followed by rum (March 20), bourbon (April 11) and Cognac (May 22). Filling guests in on the pairings — a double-barreled reposado finished on Rittenhouse Rye barrels among them — Lunazul’s master distiller, Francisco Quijano, plans to join chef-owner David Benstock for the curated evening.
Priced at $95, tickets for the first limited-seating edition of Spirit Series are up online.
But, before all that, regionites can get in on Friday Night Heights. The shuttle service — which kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday and is the latest addition to Brew Bus’s weekly lineup of public tours — is similar to the popular Local Loop, a ride-all-day shuttle offered on Sundays.
“When considering new tour lineups, we wanted to offer the perfect mix between beer, wine, liquor, food and fun to provide the perfect start to any weekend,” said the Seminole Heights brewery and tour company in a release.
Friday Night Heights will take cruisers on a continuous route between seven destinations in SH and nearby neighborhoods: Brew Bus, Red Star Rock Bar, Seminole Heights City Wine Bar, Lowry Parcade, Rock Brothers Brewing, The Hall on Franklin, and Armature Works, where the forthcoming Heights Public Market is taking shape.
To take advantage of each location’s boozy offerings — and, OK, the food, too — participants are welcome to hop on or off the shuttle as they please. Admission is available for $15 in advance online and $20 the day of.
