Big Spring Spirits

This place is an absolute gem. My wife and I go regularly to enjoy the creative cocktail recipes made with locally distilled spirits. The food from the light menu is excellent, and the service is relaxed and friendly. We typically grab a game from the back wall and play backgammon or Trivial Pursuit. The décor is fantastic, outside and in. Finally, we take a bottle or three home and stock the home bar with gin, vodka, and sometimes a moonshine or shrub. Really a great place, and I’m so glad I can walk home…

Very good spirits! Nice tasting selection. Good menu of light food. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Nice lineup of evening music on weekends.

Came here when I visited a friend who was in the area. The food was pretty good, the cocktails were not what I’d hoped however the servers were great and the spirits by themselves were pretty good. I bought the creamed bourbon and the Gin which I found hard not to kill as soon as I got it.
Overall it’s worth checking out if you’re in the area.

Cute décor, relaxed vibe with good music & great drinks!

Stopped by on my way to dinner. A great place. The cocktails were phenomenal. The bartender went out of her way to explain everything. A great new find that I recommend. The draft cocktails are a welcome break from craft brews.

Very innovative and cutting edge for Centre County. Delicious crafted cocktails and hip atmosphere.

I was living in State College as a Pittsburgher for a few months this Spring. I was looking for a place that was original and not a chain and had a good atmosphere and Big Spring Spirits hit the spot!
We were skeptical driving from State College passing the prison (which was quite eerie) and entering this small town. There was plenty of parking in a nice well lit lot and we walked to the building and it was quite. Being quite skeptical and somewhat nervous thinking we were about to walk into some weird warehouse we found the front door and opened to door to a wonderful surprise. The interior has an industrial theme with exposed beams and brick. High ceilings and windows reflect the old Match Factory’s historical charm. There is a long bar and then a few seating areas with dinning tables and chairs but also lounge seating with coffee tables.
The menu was limited to small appetizers and deserts but it is a great spot to visit with friends. We ordered a sampler with a few of their spirits. I am not much of a whisky fan but my fiancé enjoyed it enough he bough a bottle to take home. The rum was very good and I was happy they had coconut since that is my favorite!
Next time I will make sure to go back hungry not just thirsty!

Very pricey but classy with great seating, entertainment, and assortment of TV programming. I think the drinks, already quite good, will only improve as the business grows up! The space is beautiful and wonderful to socialize in. I do wish more games were on the shelf, though.

This is EXACTLY what this area needs– more upscale yet chill places to go out. This place has a fantastic selection of drink– think extremely interesting and creative cocktails (of course utilizing their own selection of liquors), as well as delicious light fare. They also host various events, including dance parties and live music. It’s a really nice place to just chill on a Friday night (or a Sunday afternoon).
If you come in during the day you can still enjoy a tasting and an interesting conversation with the knowledgable, engaged staff. SO happy to see this addition to the local offerings. Do get over there and check it out.

Wow! What a cool place! I stopped in here this past Saturday with my husband and parents as part of the Central PA Tasting Trail. I’d never heard of Big Spring Spirits before and I’m so glad it was a part of the trail.
First of all, the building itself is so interesting. It’s in an old match factory, but the inside has been updated to feel kind of rustic but swanky at the same time. My favorite detail was the mismatched bar stools and fun décor on the walls. Gives you something fun too look at while you imbibe!
A free tasting of six different spirits was included with our trail ticket. I’m not a big whiskey drinker, but I had fun trying all three of their available whiskeys. I think my favorites though were the spiced rum and aged gin. I absolutely loved the little beakers they serve the sample in!
After finishing our samples we had a few cocktails. I had the «Our Tai» (their version of the Mai Tai) and a Tom Collins. Both were great. I really enjoy having some expertly made cocktails every now and then. Its a nice change-​up from your usual bar gin&tonic or rum&coke.
Another fun detail of Big Spring Spirits is the board games available to play at all tables. A few cocktails makes Chinese Checkers extremely entertaining!

My friends and I spent a delightful winter Sunday afternoon at Big Spirit. Lucy, the hostess/​server/​bartender was immensely helpful, informative, and enthusiastic about what they had available for food and drink and she custom-​made our snacks for our various tastes, plus made excellent recommendations for drinks to suit our various interests. And, their spirits are superb! Clean tasting, brilliant, and head and shoulders above the rest! Great!

Great setup, eclectic feel, Brandon the bartender is thoughtful, knowledgeable, and all around awesome! Oh and the house created alcohol is tasty.

Besides visiting family this was a highlight of our Christmas visit! We live on the border of Queens and Brooklyn… this is very much Brooklyn hipster. Loved the the décor and the bar. I tried the vodka, gin and whiskey. My husband had both the vodka and whiskey as well as the spiced rum. All very good for being local. The drinks were rather generous. It’s great knowing that this is a LEED certified building as well. Will definitely be back on our next visit home!

I’d come back. Cool location and great décor. Drinks are good and fair prices.
Nice to see Bellefonte has more to offer than than the typical «bar crowd scene»!
White corn whiskey is top notch!

Big Spring Spirits is a great addition to the Bellefonte area. We do not have many distilleries around the area, yet, and Big Springs adds an eccentric, modern, and cozy atmosphere to the town.
Right now they only have vodka, rum, and white whiskey available, but their menu is ever-​changing with amazing cocktails to choose from. Or, if you’re picky, which I can be known for, they are able to create almost anything you would like if they have the ingredients available.
It is owned by two locals and all their products within Big Springs is from other local places (Hogs Galore, Herlocher’s, Woodrich made their bar tops). They really love to incorporate everything local, down to their entertainment that plays every Friday for Happy Hour.
If you’re looking for a different place to visit when in the State College area, I highly recommend stopping by!

I swear you’d think you were sitting in a nice Brooklyn bar, not in the middle of central PA… and I mean that in a great way. Nice, classy bar with great service, cool space, really well-​crafted liquor and, when we were there, great music. It’s easily my new favorite place in the area.

The space is nice and the cocktails are unique. I’m sure they will improve their food selection in time. (Currently they only serve meat and cheese plates.) The biggest let-​down about this distillery is that their vodka is just bad. It tastes OK in a sweetened cocktail, but if you take a bottle home (as I did) and have it on the rocks — you will be very disappointed. It is quite harsh and has a cheap vodka flavor. I was really looking forward to this place, so hopefully their upcoming products are better.

Highly recommend this place and it’s 100% worth the 20 minute drive from State College. Not a big liquor drinker but all of the cocktails we tried tasted incredible. The charcuterie board was also really good and it was a perfect lunch for two people. Cool atmosphere with attention to detail everywhere… extremely nice staff who really care about what they do. Can’t wait to go back!

My fiancé and I stopped in at Big Spring while staying at the KOA in Bellefonte last week. We were initially confused by the sign for the tasting room (the sign is on a door at the front of the building, but the arrow is actually pointing you around the building to the back by the train tracks), but once we found our way inside we were blown away.
The location is both rustic and industrial. There are missing knotholes in the wood of the bar that have been filled in with acrylic that lets you see down to the floor which looked really neat. The walls are bare brick with merchandise prices written in chalk. A huge window lets you look into the factory and examine the distilling setup with a variety of kettles and fermentation tanks. The samples of their vodka (which is the only spirit available at the time of this review) were served in small chemistry beakers which fit perfectly with the industrial aesthetic.
The vodka was crystal clear with a smooth taste and had a very clean warmth afterward that I expect to find in a vodka. They have a selection of unique drinks made with the vodka. She had the Sangria (made with fruit juice as the tasting room can only serve spirits made on-​premises) and I had the Hawaiian Lion, which was made with an intriguing basil-​pineapple syrup. I highly recommend both drinks.
Our accompaniment was a local cheese plate with a rich and salty bleu cheese, a delicious cheddar, chorizo and smoked ham. Both cheeses paired with both meats in a way that made it very difficult to decide which combination was my favorite. I would highly recommend trying it.
We had some questions about the business and the bartender was very quick to flag down Kevin, the owner, as he was walking through the building. We had quite a long conversation with him about what he’s learned in the process of starting the distillery and how their offerings will expand from their current vodka. He was very friendly and easy to talk to and the conversation left both of us excited to visit and see how things have changed the next time we drive out to State College!
We felt so enthusiastic about sharing Big Spring Spirits with our friends back home that we each bought two bottles to take home!

The atmosphere is comfortable, modern, and friendly. Currently, the only spirit available is vodka and I must say it’s pretty good. I typically am not a vodka drinker, but I did enjoy it very much and will be back.