- December 4, 2025
Ken and Kelly Tarsitano, owners of the Flagler Beachfront Winery have added a new distilling operation to their 13-year-old business.
Their new Old A1A Distillery is operated out of the Winery at 611 N. Ocean Shore Blvd. in Flagler Beach. The two have been making their own wines for years, but for the last five months have added a variety of spirits to their listings.
The goal, Ken Tarsitano said, is not to create as many different products as they can, but to make new and exciting products.
“Let's use modern technology to craft really unique, very interesting products,” he said, “and then from there, see what people like.”
Tarsitano has been operating his own vineyards and wineries up north since 2000. The two have been operating the Winery since 2012, creating their own wines and slushies, as well as managing vineyards in Crescent City.
They’ve been considering adding a distillery for a long time, he said. As of April 2025, the two have also added spirit distilling to their repertoire. The community response has been “overwhelming,” Tarsitano said.
It was a long road to get there, though. Tarsitano said he and his wife have been working since 2023 to get all the approvals in order, and the machinery shipped.
The three still machines – which can be seen inside the Winery behind large glass walls – were shipped from the Netherlands, and allow the Tarsitanos to control almost every stage of the process, from the boiling and condensing temperatures to the atmospheric pressure.
They started with straight vodka, rum and tequila, which each have a different distilling process. Their tequila, though, is actually labelled as “agave spirits” – only Tequila made in Tequila, Mexico can be called Tequila, Kelly Tarsitano said, though their product also uses agave sugar.
The most popular so far, she said, has been their Ultra Vodka, which has a smooth taste, perfect for sipping. Their Stingray Vodka, on the other hand, has the kick of flavor at the end.
“The stingray is beautiful, but if you want just a buttery, clean vodka as a sipper, the Ultra is the way to go,” she said.
The tequila-side of production is Ken Tarsitano’s favorite. “It really is an art form.”
Since they began selling their spirits, she said, the bottles have been quick to sell.
“We’ve been out of everything at least once,” Kelly Tarsitano said.
The two have tried out several recipes with different infusions, including their hibiscus-rose rum and the habanero-manjo agave spirits. Most of their ingredients come from Florida sources, as well, Ken Tarsitano said. There are also more plans to expand their list into gins and whiskeys in the fall and winter with a variety of flavors.
I’ve always had a love of making things, especially from scratch.”
– KEN TARSITANO, owner Flagler Beachfront Winery, Old A1A Distillery
And it is not just the bottles they sell. The Tarsitanos also, alongside their slush beverages, have begun infusing them into the slushes as well, creating a myriad of recipes to choose from, and also can and sell their own cocktails. Even Winery staff are creating their own cocktails to add, Ken Tarsitano said.
“Then we’ll be able to make it to order for people, too,” he said.
Tarsitano’s family has a history of making things from scratch the stems from his grandparents living through the Great Depression.
“I’ve always had a love of making things, especially from scratch,” he said.
Tarsitano said his wife, a teacher by art and education, is a natural distiller. She pays attention to all the details, he said, and has a lot of technical skill to fine-tune her approach. For himself, he said he has a more “mad scientist” and artistic approach to refining his recipes.
It gives them an advantage to have two different distilling styles, he said.
Though she said she never used to like drinking spirits herself, Kelly Tarsitano has found a joy in distilling spirits that surprised her.
“We’re just having fun, making good drinks at the beach,” she said. “We’re doing something we love. It all comes from the heart.”
