Shankar Distillers

You can spot Shankar Distillers from I-75 — look for the 45-foot copper distillation column glinting through a glass tower north of 14 Mile. Inside a Troy industrial park, founder Varchasvi Shankar has built something genuinely novel: reportedly the first American whiskey distillery opened by an Indian immigrant, with a lineup of Varchas bourbons and ryes that became the first American craft bourbon exported to India. The tasting room is posh but relaxed — lounge seating, a menu that runs from a barrel-aged sazerac to a house G&T built on Indian tonic, plus a merch counter and bottles to take home.

Weekend tours walk you from grain to rickhouse and finish with a guided tasting, and the whole space can be rented for a party. It’s a fusion-of-cultures pitch that could feel gimmicky and instead feels considered, right down to the cocktails. We have it on our list as one of the metro’s most ambitious newer distilleries, and an easy add-on to a Somerset or Oakland Mall afternoon if you’re already up that way.