Tasting room at Tampa's Gamblers Bay Distillery is a welcome addition to the local distillery scene

There’s something special happening at Gamblers Bay Distillery. The award-winning Tampa based distillery, located near the International Airport just off of the Veterans Expressway, was founded by Mark and Kerri Paun in 2019 and has since gained both national and global recognition. And it’s a welcome addition to Tampa Bay’s emergent distillery scene.

The husband and wife team prides itself on using local ingredients and giving special attention to details that many large distillers eschew in the name of profitability. For example, the Pauns never use pre-blends to start any of their small batch liquors, opting instead to create the entire product themselves from beginning to end on-site. Gamblers Bay Distillery—located at 6101 Johns Rd. in Tampa—also uses only around the best 50% of what it collects from the still, leaving behind the extra 30% that major distillers often use to once again increase profitability and lessen quality.

Mark’s family has been distilling for over a century, starting in its native Romania before eventually moving to Canada and then setting roots down in Tampa. A practicing emergency room physician, he decided to put his degree in chemistry to use in his passion for distilling, first as a hobby and eventually as a full-fledged business with the support of Kerri. There’s no doubt his scientific nature plays a major role in the fine-tuning and unique smoothness of every spirit that Gamblers Bay produces.
The Paun’s commitment to supporting Florida’s agriculture cannot be overlooked, either, and permeates the founding principles that the distillery was established on. The Florapina Rum products are all made using Sunshine State molasses, and the strawberry rum derives its flavor from local strawberries. The coffee rum, which tastes like a craft espresso martini straight from the bottle, is made with local Cuban style coffee. The Citrus Tree Floridian Gin uses Florida citrus and has an extremely smooth flavor with just the right amount of juniper presence.

The award-winning Florida Farm Vodka uses corn from Florida farmers and beat out competitors to win Double Gold at 2023’s World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, which is largely considered to be the most respected and influential spirits competition in the world. The vodka is distilled 22 times, a number arrived at by no coincidence, as Mark felt the product he tried after distilling 21 times simply didn’t hit his mark of liquid perfection.

The Navy One Navy Strength Spiced Rum belongs in a category of its own. This high proof rum drinks more like a bourbon and is incredibly smooth. The Pauns craft this spirit from one of Mark’s family recipes that dates back 80 years, another nod to their commitment to time-tested quality and tradition. For drinkers not into straight spirits, Navy One works great in a rum old-fashioned, which you can order alongside other housemade craft cocktails in the tasting room on weekends.

While there are no set plans for a grand opening, the tasting room is open to the public for limited hours on Friday and Saturday evenings, starting at 4 p.m. on Friday and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and wrapping up around 8:30 p.m. both nights. Most of Gamblers Bay Distillery’s spirits retail between $20-$30, with the exception of the boozy Navy One Spiced Rum, which retails for closer to $50.

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