Steel Hands Vista Distillery Review

Steel Hands Vista Distilling and Brewing

That full name is a bit of a mouthful, so I’ll probably just stick to calling this Steel Hands Vista or the Steel Hands Distillery in this review.

The site opened in late 2024 in a historic building along Gervais Street in the heart of Downtown Columbia’s Vista.

It’s a bit tucked away, located at 705A Gervais Street, just up from Gadsen Street, at the site of what used to be Twisted Spur Brewery, further towards the bridge and river than where most of the Vista’s bars and restaurants are located.

According to the about page on their website, they opened this site to distill small batch craft spirits and do some experimental small batch beer brewing. That makes it one of the rare sites where beer and liquor are produced under the same roof.

They serve their spirits and a selection of beers on tap as well as a food menu.

I remember driving and walking by here a few times (we live close by) and being curious. I finally moseyed over and tried a few drinks and some food one night in March 2025.

I’ve actually been back at least one more time for just drinks between then and and when I’m finally moseying around to writing this in July 2025.

Review of Steel Hands Distillery in the Vista

I was overall pretty impressed.

It’s a neat space.

I’ve enjoyed both the cocktails and the straight spirits I’ve tried so far, and I also thought the food was pretty good.

I do think it’s a bit on the pricey side, but it is the Vista. Also, well, it’s 2025, and everything feels overpriced, especially cocktails made with anything but bottom shelf, well liquors. Actually these seem pretty overpriced at most places too, to be honest.

So, it is what it is in that regards I guess.

Let’s talk a bit more about what I thought.

Neat Space

Set in an historic brick building, there’s a cool historic charm here.

I like their choice of black and white photos of old timey distilling and bottling scenes, befitting a distillery.

I’ll be honest, I’m not crazy about their choice of country music and think some blues or jazz would fit the space better, but that’s ok.

I also think it’s odd they don’t have a seating area at the bar.

I mean, it seems like sitting at a bar at a place devoted to liquor would make sense to me. But, also not a big deal, just weird sitting at big community sized tables when you’re flying solo.

The bar itself is pretty nice. There are a number of TVs as well, and there is a nice looking little patio with a number of outdoor tables too.

Service has been good every time I’ve been there too.

I haven’t ever seen much of a crowd here though. So, hopefully they are able to stick around a while.

Maybe they do a better afternoon business as I’ve mostly been here in the evening.

They also regularly host events, so maybe that’s a big part of their business. You can check their Instagram for upcoming events.

Good Cocktails and Spirits

They have a pretty decent cocktail menu at Steel Hands Vista. It includes some regular cocktails, and there are some rotating special and seasonal cocktails too.

The first time I went by, I had an Elevated G&T, their take on a gin and tonic, to start.

It was good, pretty much your standard, good gin and tonic. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, but it wasn’t not bad either, which is kind of what you want in a classic, straightforward cocktail.

I feel like it would hit the spot on a sweltering SC summer afternoon.

Next, I tried their Old Steel Fashioned, which you can order with either their Rye or Bourbon and has a coffee lager syrup in place of your standard simple syrup.

I guess they must either use that or derive it from the coffee lager beer.

You also have the option to order it smoked, for an additional charge, of course.

I decided to splurge and try the smoked, and I got it with the Rye (more on it below), and thought it was really good.

The coffee syrup is a great touch and definitely more fits my personal tastes than the sweeter taste of a standard old fashioned.

Afterwards, I tried the Rye neat as well.

It’s a Pecan Rye Whiskey. I ordered it neat on a return visit as well, and I’ve really liked it both times.

The pecan taste is definitely from some kind of syrup they put in, so it’s both a touch sweeter and has less of a bite than your standard neat glass of whiskey.

I’m not normally crazy about added flavors like this, but I think it is subtle enough and the pecan flavor is a taste that goes pretty well with rye and that you don’t see everyday.

I actually think it almost tastes like an Old Fashioned when served neat, albeit perhaps a pretty strong one.

I haven’t also tried their Texas Bourbon neat on my second visit.

I thought it was good but probably not good enough for me to want to sip it neat regularly, especially since the Rye is both better and a bit more unique, in my opinion.

I’ll have to try the bourbon in the Old Fashioned sometime though.

In addition to their Handcrafted Gin, the Pecan Rye Whiskey, and the Texas Bourbon, they also do have a Handcrafted Vodka listed on their website, and their cocktail menu suggests they have a house made tequila called SteelQuila and a white rum too.

I haven’t tried any of the other cocktails, although thinking about that coffee taste in the Old Fashioned makes me pretty curious how their Espresso Martini might be.

I do believe they sell bottles to take home of all of the spirts too.

You can learn more about their spirits on this page.

They do always have a handful of beers from the main brewery on tap on the Steel Hands Vista menu too, as well as some can options. Some are seasonal and rotate.

They also serve mimosas, most common styles of wine, and mocktails too.

You can see their drink menu here.

Good Food

On my first visit, I did get some food too.

They don’t have a huge menu, but some good looking stuff.

Most of the menu items are more appetizer/tapa style food. To be honest, eating here would probably work better in a group or at least as a couple instead of solo, and more for snacking than for dinner.

I opted for an order of wings in their Carolina BBQ sauce along with an order of parmesean truffle fries.

I thought the wings were very good.

They were big, plump wings, which was kind of nice.

To be honest, I kind of like smaller ones better, but given how overpriced wings seem to be everywhere, I appreciated these were big since there were only 6 with no side included.

I also kind of liked how they came with some bell pepper slices alongside the celery, and I liked the sauce a lot.

In fact, I’d like to try the pulled pork sliders at some point since the sauce was so good.. The fried chicken sliders also sound good. I’ve got a tough decision next time I go, I guess.

The fries were good, not amazing. It’s a good sized portion, definitely bigger than a side, but not worth what they cost, in my opinion. It would be nice if they just did a side order of fries, at least to go with items like wings.

Again, though, this is one of the reasons why coming here more for snacking or with a group is probably a better fit than coming for a proper meal.

They do have a small but pretty nice looking brunch menu that they do only on Sundays too.

You can see their full food menu here.

Final Verdict on the Vista Steel Hands Distillery

In conclusion, I have enjoyed the Vista Steel Hands both times I’ve been, and I’m sure I’ll be back.

I do think it works better as a group spot than a place to go in and have a drink or two solo, and it definitely isn’t a cheap date place, but if you want to have a few cocktails or drinks with some food to share, it’s a good spot.

Steel Hands in the Vista is closed Mondays, is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 3-10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 12-11 pm, and Sunday from 11 am-8 pm.

If you’ve been to Steel Hands in the Vista, I’d love to know what you thought in the comments below.

Cheers and Happy Exploring!