Ypsi Cocktail Club opened at 102 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti, on Sept. 22.
Ypsilanti welcomes yet another new establishment this year called the Ypsi Cocktail Club, who opened their doors to the community on Sept. 22.
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The Ypsi Cocktail Club, at 102 W. Michigan Ave., is a tasting room associated with the Ann Arbor Distilling Company. They feature handcrafted spirits that use ingredients that are sourced locally within eight miles of their location.
"We source as locally as possible, with an emphasis on Michigan products, to celebrate the variety and quality found here within our state and to support our local agriculture,“ Christine Doran, manager of Ypsi Cocktail Club and Ann Arbor Distilling Company, said in an email. "Many locations around the world make spirits, we’re uniquely Michigan."
The cocktail club features vodka, whiskey, bourbon, as well as four seasonal gins, Doran said. A very floral spring, an earthy fruity summer, barrel aged and warm spiced fall, and a traditional winter.
Customers can also enjoy fruit liqueurs, aperitivo, absinthe and coffee liqueur sourced from Ypsilanti’s Cultivate Coffee and Tap House at 307 N. River St.
When visiting the tasting room, customers can purchase any spirits they taste in-house, Doran said. If customers end up loving a cocktail, they can ask them how they made it, then take home their favorite spirit.
Those who work at The Ypsi Cocktail Club are all Ypsilanti residents who are either Eastern Michigan University alumni or current EMU students, Doran said. So far, the community’s response to the cocktail club has been very positive, she said.
“We’ve had a pretty busy opening week with new guests and familiar faces,“ Doran said.
With the opening of Ypsi Cocktail Club, the owners have also initiated a canned cocktail program, Doran said. The program raises proceeds for a nonprofit who designs a featured cocktail to be sold at the cocktail club, she said.
"We’re excited that the first canned cocktail at the Ypsi Cocktail Club is with Growing Hope,“ Doran said. “An organization that works to provide a more equitable and sustainable food system here in Ypsilanti.”
The canned cocktail, known as The Garden Buzz, is a bright cocktail featuring their spring gin, honey, fresh lemon juice and rhubarb, Doran said. It should be available the second week of October and run for a couple months, she said.
More information about the Ypsi Cocktail Club can be found on their Facebook and Instagram.
