Distiller Jonathan Carpenter and his wife, Ariette Armella, want to craft cocktails and stories in tandem for patrons who visit Rambling Spirits at the San Luis Obispo Public Market.
The open-plan bar is Carpenter’s stage. There, he performs by punching in food and drink orders, measuring out tequila, vodka, and gin, and squeezing brightly colored juices into a shaker. A Boston shaker gave him special trouble by refusing to budge after a dramatic round of cocktail swirling. But Carpenter embraced the act for comedy, and left his trio of customers delighted. Finally, the two-piece shaker split apart.
“My arms are always sore!” he told them with a laugh at the Oct. 7 bar and kitchen sneak peek.
Rambling Spirits is the latest addition to the growing SLO Public Market. It’ll open its doors to the public on Nov. 7. Originally from San Diego and Mexico City, respectively, Carpenter and Armella started the space as a love letter to California. The pair had been hiking the Central Coast while living and working in Los Angeles, and SLO County’s botanical bounty compelled them to explore distilling in the region.
“We’re really excited about using all this amazing flora that’s just around us,” Carpenter told New Times. “Seeing things like how does this wild fennel taste at different levels with our gin. We are just drowning in lavender in the most beautiful way.”
He hopes to incorporate these floral strains into a series of gins. Carpenter is creating them out of a tiny 150-square-foot room adjacent to the bar and outdoor patio. Rambling Spirits’ gins are redistilled, which means that Carpenter works with an Oregon-based provider of high quality neutral spirits and infuses them with their ever-evolving botanical blends. He added that Rambling Spirits is open about the fact that they don’t make the base spirit from scratch.
“People in the craft-side are fearful of telling that story,” he said. “We’re not at all. We’re really proud of the fact that we’re working with a provider in Oregon.”
Another element that sets Rambling Spirits apart from SLO County’s plethora of bars? They want people to challenge them.
“I want to put something out that people are intrigued by, has layers to it, and can tell a story,” he said. “If it doesn’t tell a story, I want someone to call me out.”
Each item on the menu tells a tale.
Don’t know how to prod Carpenter just yet while he slings drinks? Ask him about Rambling Spirits’ spicy garlic peanuts and he’ll take you back to Ensenada, Mexico, where he met Armella for the first time in a bar.
Thirsty for more? Drink the ruby-red mezcal and hibiscus tea concoction called Flora Rosa, and make sure Carpenter tells you how he pried the tea recipe from his mother-in-law.
My favorite chat is the electric orange Bad Conejo (Spanish for bunny). It’s a zingy house cocktail made with carrot juice, smoked paprika, turmeric, lime juice, Ojo De Tigre mezcal, and topped with a freshly smoked sprig of rosemary. Armella’s sister introduced them to the mezcal brand when they visited Mexico. Two of those bottles made it back to the United States after a hefty customs payment. The couple was excited to experiment with the imported liquor … until California began distributing it a month later.
Other items on the menu have roots beyond the United States. Armella’s grandmother taught her how to cook Lebanese food, which is reflected on the menu. Their tri-tip skewer, for example, is marinated in a creamy garlicky sauce called toum and is served with refreshing tzatziki yogurt sauce. While Carpenter mans the bar, Armella manages the kitchen with Giovanni, their sole chef at the moment.
With such a limited staff, supporting small businesses is vital to Rambling Spirits, especially as they’re surrounded by restaurants of this ilk in the SLO Public Market. Carpenter and Armella also pay homage to other spots through their venture. The Bad Conejo, for one, is a riff on a carrot juice cocktail found in a bar called The Semi-Tropic near their LA home.
Originally a consultant for breweries, Carpenter found himself facing a booming food and drink market during the thick of the pandemic. That good fortune made him want to help others.
“One of the things I said was as long as I’m working, we’re spending a minimum of $50 every day in the neighborhood on small businesses,” he recalled. “One of these places was [The Semi-Tropic] and they had a drink called 24 Carrot.”
The Semi-Tropic is still sort of in the picture for them. Carpenter and Armella shuttle between LA and SLO County to balance both the consulting business and Rambling Spirits. Now, the distilling duo is ready to set down some roots on the Central Coast.
“It’s a blending point in California for both people and environment,” he said.
Being constantly on the move and their penchant for conversation inspired the name for the craft distillery.
“What people who make consumables have is such a privilege. So few people get to actually share with someone in a purely tangible, truly ingestible way what they’ve spent time doing,” Carpenter said. “In my normal life, I’m pretty quiet. But when you get me talking about these things, I just ramble.” Δ
Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal is hopped up on Bad Conejo. Ask her to settle down at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 13-23, 2022.