A Visit to the Moonshine Distillery at The Mob Museum, Las Vegas

If you believe the billboards, Las Vegas’s The Mob Museum is the most-visited museum in the state of Nevada, and the attraction is justified: This is a museum packed with history and artifacts related to organized crime, something about which Las Vegas knows a thing or two.

In the basement of the museum you’ll find not just a speakeasy bar but a working moonshine distillery, which has been operating in a 400 square foot space for a whopping 8 years. Under the guidance of current distiller David Vondrasek, the operation provides booze to the bar next door, sells bottles to take home, and runs tastings for thirsty museumgoers. Oh, and he also brews beer in a corner of the space; it’s served at the bar, too.

I had the pleasure to meet Vondrasek and taste both some current offerings and a few experimental releases that may or may not someday make the cut. Everything here is distilled from 100% corn, with flavors running from peach to vanilla to — an experiment — lime-heavy margarita. Vondrasek was particularly excited about his most recent experiment, an aged moonshine that has now spent over 3 years in 3-gallon barrels. The 90 proof whiskey — technically bourbon based on TTB rules — is slated for limited release in the second quarter of the year, though it as of yet has no name and no price attached.

Distillery tours run every hour Monday to Thursday and every 45 minutes Friday to Sunday and are available for about $10 as an add-on to an exhibit admission fee. No matter what you think about moonshine, it’s worth it just to see exactly how much can be done in such a tiny space.

300 Stewart Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101
themobmuseum.org

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