Hearts 'n Tales Stories from the Stillhouse
July 22, 2026 • podcast
Big Cypress Distillery
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Fernando Plata built Miami's first gin out of a warehouse bay next to Kendall's airport, a leap that started over a Christmas dinner and years of self-taught fermentation science. He talks about why every recipe is public, why he won't call himself a master distiller, and what it takes to age whiskey in a state with no winter.

A tall glass bottle of dark bourbon with a white label reading "Big Cypress Distillery — Distillery Only Release — Bourbon — Cask Strength" (750 mL, 120 proof, 60% alc./vol.) stands on a metal bar counter in front of another similar bottle, with a wooden countertop to the left and shelves of bottles and barrels blurred in the background. Three clear glass bottles of Big Cypress Distillery Bourbon with cork stoppers and white labels reading "Bourbon Cask Strength" stand side by side on a metal counter, each filled with amber liquid.
A clear glass bottle of Big Cypress Distillery American Gin with a floral label and cork stopper sits on a wooden shelf, containing a pale yellow liquid, next to a black bottle labeled "Anchored Spirits American Gin." A rounded glass bottle of amber rum centered on a wooden shelf with a cream label reading "BIG CYPRESS" and "HELL'S BAY RUM" in metallic red and gold, featuring a stylized tree silhouette.
Two squat glass bottles of Big Cypress Distillery "Hell's Bay Rum" sit side by side on a wooden shelf, each with a cork stopper and cream label featuring a copper-toned tree silhouette. Two clear glass bottles of "Voli 305 Vodka" with white labels and globe logos sit side by side on a wooden shelf; one label reads "MADE IN MIAMI" and the other "HECHO EN MIAMI."
A clear glass bottle of Big Cypress Distillery gin with a cork stopper and a large white label reading "GIN" (batch "Orange Blossom") sits centered on a wooden shelf. A bar display showing multiple rows of labeled bottles arranged on a countertop and wooden wall shelves, with glassware, tiki mugs, and branded signs on a dark wall behind.
A dark-walled shelving display holds two wooden shelves and a countertop lined with clear-glass liquor bottles with cork stoppers and white labels reading "Big Cypress," with a copper distilling pot at the right. A hammered copper pot still with a domed lid, pressure gauge and connected copper tubing sits on a shelf against a black wall decorated with a cocktail-glass-shaped sign reading "SOUR AF HELL'S BAY RUM."
Two wooden barrels stacked in a dark wooden rack, each stamped "BIG CYPRESS" with a tree silhouette; the top barrel has a taped handwritten label reading "EL PRESIDENTE." Two wooden barrels stacked in a dark wooden rack, the top barrel bearing a blue tape label reading "WHISKEY 2/19/24"; a small skeleton figurine dressed in a hat and suit sits on the edge of the lower barrel.
A tall dark wooden rack holds four small labeled oak barrels, flanked by shelves and countertops filled with bottles of liquor, a copper still, and a painted skull. A wooden shelf displays seven clear glass bottles of Big Cypress Distillery spirits, including vodka, Magic City gin, Hell's Bay rum, American gin, and orange spiced rum, arranged side by side.
Two shelves filled with rows of tall glass bottles holding variously colored liqueurs and spirits, with cocktail books including "Cocktail Codex" on the lower shelf.