Hollywood's first legal distillery is now open, serving up California-minded flavors (and history) in a former morgue. At Hollywood Distillery, the owners source grains from Southern California farmers and use dates from the Coachella Valley to sweeten and ferment their award-winning vodka.
“You can feel that it's not the typical vodka that you get from other brands around the world,” said co-owner Jeff Zarrinnam. “It's very unique and unusual.”
The copper from their stills can be seen from Santa Monica Boulevard, with large windows overlooking the distillery across from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The space itself was originally the Pierce brothers' morgue, but is now home to spirits of another nature.
Hollywood Distillery's gin, Nopalera, derives its name from the early topography of Los Angeles' cactus and prickly pear fields; the latter is used in the distilled spirit, as are native herbs and spices such as sage. Their Zanja-Madre rye and bourbon were named after one of the first aqueducts that fed Los Angeles. Lebanese-born co-founder Ferris Wehbe wondered if vodka could be made with dates, another regional inspiration and an ingredient intrinsic to his upbringing.
Hollywood Distillery opened its facility and taproom in late 2025 with gin, vodka, bourbon and rye, with more spirits to come.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
“In Lebanon, at the end of September and October, it is time to celebrate,” he said. “They distill ouzo [arak] there, and it's about creating bonds, it's about music, and different people exude different things.”
Wehbe, owner Hollywood speakeasy lounge next doorasked a distiller if they could make vodka with dates in a nod to the fermented date palm sap often found in arak. What became Hollywood Distillery's first product, called Oasis Vodka, won double gold medals in a 2019 competition. The owners knew they were onto something.
The project began much earlier, when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Craft Distillers Act of 2015 into law, which allows local distilleries to sell a limited number of bottles of their spirits on-site and offer distilled spirits neat and in cocktails. Seeing this as a now viable business model, old friends Wehbe and Jeff Zarrinnam decided to build their own distillery.
Through an independent business venture, Zarrinam met Larry Neuberg, owner of the building where the Hollywood Distillery now resides. The trio, who call themselves “the Liquor Partners,” come from diverse backgrounds including hospitality operations, imports and exports, and early childhood education.
“We all have other things to do, that's why we call it a passion project,” Neuberg said. “Wow, we didn't know what we were getting into?”
After a decade of planning, research and extensive construction involving custom equipment, Hollywood Distillery is now open. The approximately 5,500-square-foot operation offers tasting flights, cocktails, a “private draft club,” food pop-ups and experiential programming such as murder mystery nights. The owners plan to eventually expand their offerings with rum and an agave-based liqueur, as well as future collaborations with local businesses, including the cemetery. The Hollywood Distillery taproom is open Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
5975 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, hollywooddistillery.com
Spanish restaurant Casa Leo in Los Feliz serves wine, tapas and cocas, or Iberian breads, topped with lard, cheese, caramelized onions, passion fruit, corn and more.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Leon House
A former student of José Andrés recently debuted Casa Leo in Los Feliz after years cooking at the Spanish chef's restaurants in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., including Minibar, Bazaar, Café Atlántico and Zaytinya.
Rabo de toro, or slow-cooked oxtail with potato chips, at Casa Leo.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
At his new Spanish restaurant, chef and owner Joshua Whigham serves a variety of tapas and other classics, including gambas al ajillo, seasonal gazpacho, anchovies with fries, and pan con manchego. But their signature item, cocas made with love, required years of study and work to perfect.
Casa Leo's take on Catalan flatbread comes topped with local and Los Angeles-inspired ingredients, as well as Iberian add-ins, for combinations like summer corn with katsuobushi, mint, and Fresno chiles; butters with caramelized onion and fresh passion fruit; and preserved tuna with manzanilla olives and tomatoes.
At brunch, find the full cocas menu, as well as a variety of bagels and smoked salmon, plus pastries, Spanish omelettes, and more. Casa Leo is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
4500-C Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 284-8990, casaleola.com
See yourself named one of the best bars in the world
One of Los Angeles' favorite bars for agave-based spirits has recently been named one of the world's best cocktail destinations. Look at you, in Los Feliz, recently placed on the latest list of the World's 50 Best 100 best bars.
The atrium dining room at Mírate, an agave-focused cocktail bar and restaurant.
(Joel Barhamand / For The Times)
The bar features specialty liquors, wines and beers sourced entirely from Mexico, and debuted at the end of 2022. It's the 7,500-square-foot sibling of Sherman Oaks' Daisy Margarita Bar and has one of the The best restaurant patios in Los Angeles.
“Ancestral and artisanal spirits sourced personally by their bar team are the heart of their cocktails,” the guide reads.
No Los Angeles bars were named among the 50 best bars in the world top 50 list this year.
The same publication also recently published a guide to the The 50 Best Bars in North America.. Mírate was ranked 12th on that list, while the Historic Filipinotown bar Ray came in at number 24. On the list of the top 100 bars in North America, The bar next door in West Hollywood placed in position 100.
In September, the same publication published its inaugural list of the 50 best restaurants in North America, three of them in the Los Angeles area: Kato, Providence and Holbox.
Mírte opens from Sunday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 12 p.m.
1712 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 649-7937, look at you
