Come for the Bourbon, Skip the Wine List
Downtown / Malvern Avenue Corridor · Hot Springs · Gastropub / Bar Food · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 21, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Crystal Ridge Distillery Kitchen & Bar’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
Walk into Crystal Ridge and everything signals distillery first, wine as an afterthought. The cocktail menu is front and center — polished, detailed, clearly the labor of love here — and the wine list is six lines at the bottom, like someone remembered they had to include it. That's not necessarily a crime, but it sets the tone immediately.
Six labels. That's the whole program. You get a Riesling, a Pinot Gris, a Pinot Noir, and two house blends named Black Rabbit Red and White Rabbit — no producers listed, no regions, no vintage. The house rabbit blends feel like they were selected from a distributor catalog with minimal deliberation. There's no regional through-line, no attempt at curation, and zero depth for anyone who wants to go even slightly off the beaten path.
Every wine on the list is available by the glass, which sounds generous until you realize the list is only six bottles deep anyway. At $8.75–$9.50 a pour, pricing is reasonable for the market, but when the selection is this thin, low prices only do so much work. Rotation appears nonexistent — this list looks like it hasn't changed since they opened.
Pinot Gris — $8.75
At the low end of the price range and the most food-flexible white on the list, the Pinot Gris is the least risky pour here — decent enough alongside a salad or a sandwich without asking too much of anyone.
Riesling
Most people at a distillery bar won't reach for a Riesling, which means you might just get the best glass on the list by accident. It's the one option that shows even faint signs of intentionality, and at these prices, the downside is limited.
Black Rabbit Red
An unnamed house red blend with no producer, no region, and no story is the wine equivalent of a mystery box — and not the fun kind. Order a cocktail instead; that's clearly where the talent lives.
Pinot Noir + Sandwich or handheld
The Pinot Noir is the only red with enough lightness not to bulldoze straightforward bar food. Pair it with one of the sandwiches and you've got a casual, low-stakes combo that makes the most of a limited list.
❌ The Bottom Line
Crystal Ridge is a genuinely fun distillery bar with solid craft spirits and a chill atmosphere — wine just isn't part of the identity here, and the six-label grocery-store list proves it. Order a cocktail, enjoy the vibe, and leave the wine night for somewhere else.
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