A haven for connoisseurs of amber and golden spirits recently debuted in an historic Dallas entertainment district: The Private Rickhouse (TPR) has clandestinely been welcoming the public all month and will host its grand opening celebration on Friday, November 20, kicking off a two-day grand opening celebration at 2880 Clover St. in Deep Ellum.

Promoting the new facility on Instagram, the owners emphasize: "We are not a distillery." Rather, TPR functions as a craft cocktail lounge, guided tasting room, and active barrel storage house where the over-21 set can taste, learn, and shop for both bottles and, outstandingly, barrels, according to a release.

A speakeasy-style entrance on Clover Street opens to a lounge featuring leather seating, tawny lights, and fine woodwork by Texas brands such as Standard Cooperage. At an outdoor patio, patrons are permitted and encouraged to enjoy their preferred cigar; only certain types of establishments in Dallas city limits, those with designated patios and without food service, allow smoking.

Despite the name, The Private Rickhouse is open to the over-21 public, no membership required. Photos courtesy of TPR

Where many bars pour bourbon and whiskey, TPR curates it, according to the release. With more than 200 aged barrels from Kentucky and Indiana in inventory, and more on the way, TPR uses handpicked whiskey to craft cocktails and guided tastings while building a community around the whole thing, the release says. In other words, "Great whiskey doesn't just happen. Somebody has to go find it."

“We built TPR so people can taste, learn and choose what ends up in their glass, and in their own bottles," Alfie Pino, CEO and co-founder of TPR says. "Dallas has great bars and great whiskey drinkers, but almost nowhere for them to get close to the barrel itself,”

Pino, who founded TPR with Tucker McCormack, describes four kinds of guests for whom TPR is designed:

• Seekers of an upscale night out: The tasting room is built for people who want more than a typical bar. The lounge serves seasonal craft cocktails made with TPR's own whiskey, vodka and gin, in a warm, well-appointed space made for lingering.
• Students of whiskey: For guests who want to go deeper, guided tastings and tours walk through how whiskey is made and aged, and why one barrel tastes different from the next. The approach is straightforward and hands-on, the kind of education today's whiskey drinker increasingly wants.
• Collectors: Finding that next barrel pick feels good at a place like TPR, where expert staff members create educated shoppers, who can immediately choose a bottle to take home. One collector posted a review of his bottle on the social media page.
• Companies, especially around the holidays, aiming to give distinctive gifts: TPR offers something rarely found in Dallas — a barrel of one's own. The single-barrel ownership program is TPR's crown jewel. Designed for serious collectors, local whiskey clubs, and corporate gifting, participants can sample from inventory aged four to 12 years. Once selected, TPR bottles the liquid with bespoke labels featuring the owner's name — turning a standard purchase into a collaborative blending experiment.

Despite the name, The Private Rickhouse is open to the over-21 public, no membership required. Entrance is free and guided tours are $30 per person. The venue is open Thursdays 4-9 pm, Fridays 3-9 pm, and Saturdays 12-9 pm.