Two James Spirits

This bar is a block further west than the rest of the bars in corktown. I didn’t feel comfortable walking that far of a distance from the secure parking lots. Michigan Ave was however crawling with many suburbanites. Luckily I found a spot right in front to park my Cadillac. The service was friendly and fast and we were able to sit up at the bar. There is an air of natural herbs and essential oils in this bar. Probably from all the hipsters. The drink menu was extensive and ALL craft cocktails. There is nothing other than their own brands of vodka, whiskey, gin and something they serve with what looks like tequila worms. Literally a plate with salt and like 6 worms. They don’t even have pop or other basic mixers. So if u come here and u don’t like craft cocktails you’re out of luck, there is no other choice. I thought the drinks were good but they weren’t very strong. I’m sure that is the concept so u keep buying more. I had a drink that tasted like whiskey mixed with root beer and burnt coffee. Can’t remember the name. It was so bad it was GOOD. The other drink I had was a Moscow mule that tasted like raspberry. Something in it burned my throat a bit. Drinks are from $ 8 to $ 14. This place is very cool and you’d be in heaven if you like guys with gross beards and facial hair. I’m glad I checked this place out but, I’m not someone that wants to drink craft drinks all night. One or two is fine then after that I need my vodka martinis and captains and Coke.

Moscow Mule. That’s all there is to say.

I adore this place. Beautifully crafted drinks, great staff, interesting interior. Whenever we have friends or family in town we stop here for a drink or two. Now that it is winter, the White Russian is back in action! Hands down the best White Russian I have ever had and all summer while I drank the quite pleasing Rosemary’s baby, I still wished that someone would decide the White Russian would be a year-​round presence on the menu. The tasting flight is a great price for very generous pours and paired with Faygo chasers. Yum-​o! The only downside is apparently everyone knows how great it is here now, so it’s always quite busy on the weekends and the whole job thing gets in the way of my day drinking on weekdays.

I love the space and the atmosphere here, and I love that Katoi is in serving a little food out of their tiny kitchen! Their spirits are pretty good but not all of them are for me. I like their Absinthe and the Mezcal is pretty solid too. Johnny Smoking Gun… amazingly smooth and perfect with the Shoyu broth at Johnny Noodle. The gin is not my cup of tea and Grass Widow is a little expensive for a bottle at the corner store but flights in-​house are very reasonable. One note though, if you know what you think you might like, order the flight around that and don’t ask for what’s popular or for what the bartender recommends… go with your own instinct. My girl let our server pick our flight and it was hard to muscle some of it down.

Never had a bad drink here! Service is always amazing, drink menu changes monthly. The space is clean and simple with changing local artist work on the walls

This place is great! Great little atmosphere, delicious white russians… We came here on New Years Eve — no reservations or lines or party fees, had a great time, and they were just bringing around snacks for everyone. Felt like a great little neighborhood place (albeit one with a wraparound bar and locally distilled spirits). Anyway, love this place and will make it a regular stop when we’re in Detroit.

this is a great local distillery with lots of tasty cocktail options. I always like to take friends visiting from out of town here, everyone loves it. there’s a round bar in the center and changing seasonal cocktails with their house made spirits. I’d love to go on a tour here in the future too.

So this is one of my new favorite spots. Came here with friends Saturday and so much fun. I wish I had pictures to add to this review.
We all ordered a cocktail and a flight, we came to have a good time as you can tell:-). I had a moscow mule for my cocktail, which was awesome. A perfect moscow mule, the flavor was on point. In my flight I had, the Absinthe, Rye Dog White Whiskey, 28 Island vodka and some fourth one that Im not sure what it was because I only asked for three lol. It took me too long to notice though so I didnt say anything and just kept the fourth.
The service was really good. It was crowded and they only had two bartenders making craft cocktails so you had to wait a little, but it was ok because the bartenders made sure to acknowledge you so you knew you were gonna be helped. The ambiance is nice. I like the bar, the artwork, the overall look of the place.

All I can say is good liquor but poor service. Second time here but won’t be back. Such a cool environment, but the staff doesn’t care about serving the customers.

Very cool place to enjoy a drink. You won’t go wrong picking this little gem before hitting the downtown nightlife. We sat down only planning to have one and move on to the next stop, well 3 drinks later we still were drinking there. If we didn’t have dinner planes we probably would have stayed longer. My husband and I both said we would for sure return there very soon!
The do offer tours daily as well, for those of you interested.

The tasting room was built around a circular bar with a view of the distillery. On a Saturday night it was crowded, but the noise level want too bad.
They had a whisky, bourbon, two gins, a vodka, absinthe, mezcal, and more. We tried a couple of their spirits. You can get a sampler or mixed drinks.
Everything we tried was good. The bourbon in particular had a nice flavor, but it burned going down more than most. The whiskey was a little smokey, but seemed a little thin on the texture. The vodka was fairly smooth, with a pleasant taste.
They serve the absinthe the traditional way by dripping water onto a sugar cube over the glass.
They sell bottles of everything, although it is a little pricy. Definitely worth a visit. Well go back for sure.

Really enjoyed the atmosphere. Fun place to hang out with friends before going to dinner or out. Their gin and bourbon were great.

If you’re looking for a spot to have a drink and talk with your friends, you’ve definitely found it here. It’s the next level to craft beer, it’s craft liquor. Another hard stomping addition to the amazing corktown experience.
They distill their own liquor here, which means they are serving up real detroit in a glass. If you’re looking for top shelf commercial items like grey goose, please don’t. They only serve what they distill here. So think up a cocktail in your mind, and please don’t say vodka cranberry, It’s very childish. Something in the vicinity of old fashioned, gimlet, and dry martinis. Drinks for real drinkers, not kids.
If you want the juvenile experience, where a kid can be a kid. You might rather wander to some of the loud and obnoxious bars in Burndale, Jerkley, and Royal Choke area. Real Detroiters do real detroit things. They eat real detroit food and drink real detroit drinks.
Here is just a 360 bar with stools around it, a few tables and a staff of 2 barkeeps and maybe a runner. It’s bright inside so you can see who you’re talking to. The music isn’t loud, so you can hear who you’re talking to. There’s not a massive crowd, so you can order a drink without competing with a snoot ball kids for the bartenders attention. It’s a real bar for real people that make real friends.
I love you Two James Spirits, i can’t wait to have another Absinthe service from you guys. GO DETROIT!
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On n’a pas visité la distillerie, mais simplement bu attablés au bar. Le fait qu’il soit circulaire est original et favorise la discussion avec le staff et les autres clients. Les cocktails sont vraiment pas mal, notamment le old fashion. Le staff est super sympa, et entre les shooters offerts, ils nous ont donnés pleins de (bons) conseils pour la suite de notre soirée

Cocktails!
Cocktails!
Cool space with enough tables that you can usually get a spot. Wasn’t super loud so we could actually talk.
Cocktail service was quite prompt and everything seem to be be made well.

This place, this cocktail bar has probably the best cocktails I had for a long time, the place is lovely and the music was really good ! nice staff very helpful.
The place is very clean !
I had a cucomber gin and vodka, very refreshing and super nice !

Took the wife here on date night for some pre-​dinner cocktails. The wife and I timed it just right because we snagged the last two stools at the bar. Shortly thereafter, the place just went into overdrive and became crazy crowded.
It’s a simple in design, round tasting room. You’re here for one thing and one thing only: booze. No food is served here except for bowls of peanuts. So, either fill the gut before or stick it out and eat after.
I like the creativity of the cocktail menu but I’m not The Great Gatzby. Instead, I opted for the Grass Widow Bourbon on a rock. Very good. Not great but pleasantly palatable. You’ll note a hint of raisin which to me is unique in bourbon flavors. My wife ordered something similar to a whiskey sour that had honey in it. It too was quite tasty and I’d order it again.
It’s a little pricey but worth the price. It’s a Made in Michigan and Made in America product so I gladly support the efforts of the American worker because that’s what I am too.
My next visit will explore the whiskeys and the vodka. Gin is still for foreign sailors and old drunks. Kidding aside, gin just disagrees with me. Also, if you’re wondering what to get me for my birthday – don”t hesitate to buy me a bottle of that bourbon.

I don’t know what happened here… They used to have such amazing drinks, and after talking this place up I took a friend there and all three of the drinks we tried were so bad that we couldn’t drink them. The negroni I ordered was the worst drink I’ve had in a long time. It tasted like I was drinking liquid orange pith and was so bitter it took a while to get the taste out of my mouth. The Oh snap was barely palatable, and while I understand what they were going for, it wasn’t well balanced and was also bitter. Lastly, the winter drink that I can’t remember the full name of was sickeningly sweet. The bar tender was nice enough to give me something else after I send back the negroni, but after the other 2 were also bad we gave up.
I’m hoping I just had a bad bartender and their cocktails aren’t this bad on the usual, because I remember when it used to be one of my favorites.

Because of my hip friend Carolyn we ended up here. I would have never thought to come in here from looking at the exterior. There is a private lot in the back with a security guy.
The place itself is very modern and hip with the barrels on the side. The bar is the centerpiece of the entire place with bar stools surround the bartenders doing their business. There is some group seating off to the side but barely enough if this place picks up. The décor is so fancy. They have these really cool lights that we were contemplating getting for our own apartments. Brightly lit place.
The menu is so fancy too. Something for everyone and they fill our drink to the brim. Bathrooms in the back. Fancy too. One stall and a giant fancy sink that looks like it belongs in a spa. Prob could have cut back on the fancy and fit another stall in there.
I definitely want to come back.

I was blown away at the craftsmanship displayed. Every drink I tried was absolutely amazing. I like how innovative they are. I had The Devereaux, and I can’t wait to go back for another one! There appeared to be a wide range of people there, from young to old, to professional to «hipster». I really enjoyed the atmosphere a lot.
Seating can be sparse and it was really crowded, but the short wait is well worth it.

What an incredibly cool place to get a drink!
Poured concrete, circular bar, stark tables, and a massive distillery in the back that you can get free tours of and maybe even a few samples if the guys like you, it’s probably the coolest bar in Corktown.
They have a cocktail menu that focuses on their own Two James distilled spirits – vodka, brandy, whiskey, bourbon, rye, gin – no rum or tequila (yet.) The drinks we tried were never cloyingly sweet, potent, but expertly mixed. Not too frilly, most of the drinks are relatively simple – the vodka grapefruit was a revelation.
I would definitely try this place out. The apple brandy they have stewing in the back is worth trying if you’re savvy enough to get a sample during the tour. The aged bourbon will set you on fire in the best possible way. Don’t miss it.