A night at The Obscure is one of those unique experiences that could only exist in a city as hungry for entertainment as Los Angeles. Even as I secured my tickets for the event, I was still unsure of what to expect: Is it a bar or a theater? I wondered. In reality, it was an intersection between an immersive theatrical stage production and an omakase, but with cocktails instead of sushi. If you feel like a night-out in the city is getting same-y, I cannot recommend this spot enough.
To enjoy this unparalleled experience, you will need a ticket that starts at $64 on a Thursday/Sunday or $74 for a Friday/Saturday ticket, an all-black attire, and — I strongly recommend — an Uber. As you enter the building in downtown’s Arts District, you are surrounded by an expertly-crafted steampunk setting with swing music playing in the background, floating candles, miniature moons hanging from the ceiling and clockwork motifs alluding to the central theme of this version of The Obscure: Time.
The creator of The Obscure, Théron Regnier, changes the experience in some way every year with each version being referred to as a “season.” The curated ambience is “part of what lets people know from the instant they walk in that they can leave the real world behind them,” said Regnier, who also serves as the head distiller.
Ten years ago, Regnier decided to leave his nine-to-five to pursue his passion for spirits. He worked as a bartender while distilling spirits at home, a hobby that isn’t particularly legal, Regnier admitted. The reason for this is because individuals are handling flammable and explosive vapors in their homes — not to mention running the risk of poisoning themselves.
But none of this seemed to faze Regnier, who was inspired by the craft cocktail movement in the early aughts that sought to bring Prohibition Era recipes and experimentation back into the market. He experimented with creating unique spirits and cocktails for his own pleasure until frequent slow nights at the bar allowed him to share these creations with customers. From there, he got the idea to create a guided cocktail experience.
Fast forward to The Obscure bar in 2025. Laid out before each guest are three different shots of spirit that will be accompanying the cocktails throughout the night. Regnier gives a quick history on each spirit and how the ingredients were sourced before explaining how the team decided what mixers to pair the spirit with. As you wait for the show to start, a metalworker creates custom jewelry on a workbench that is projected for guests to see the process.
“A lot of people just buy the jewelry, and you never see how it’s made. So here you get to watch me make it live, and it’s a good time,” said Silos Smith, owner of Meridian Metalworks and frequent collaborator with The Obscure.
For the first spirit, Regnier explores how the famous Dutch rum, Batavia Arrack, originated in Indonesia when the Dutch tried to colonize the archipelago, making way for their reparations-coined spirit, Harbinger’s Jakarta Rum. The rum is paired with citrus and garnishes that can be found locally in Indonesia for a refreshing cocktail called Philosopher’s Punch.
This cocktail feels like an elevated version of a classic rum punch; but, with Regnier’s passionate storytelling, it really helps bring out the different flavors, making it the perfect opener.
The next spirit, however, is the real star of the show. As the background music transitions from the jazz music of yesteryear to more tranquil and ambient music, you are introduced with Regnier’s eight-year history of incessantly attempting to make a cocktail from a functionally extinct species: the American chestnut tree.
The American chestnut tree once represented 25% of all forestry on the East Coast before a blight more than 80 years ago almost wiped out the species. Regnier talks about how his obsession with wanting to try a whiskey that has been distilled in a barrel made from American chestnut wood instead of the usual charred white oak — a process that greatly impacts the flavor, color, and aroma of the spirit — led him to seek antique furniture and disassemble their parts for distillation, proving to be a costly way to make whiskey.
To Regnier’s surprise, and guests’ delight, the second spirit in front of us was a result of those efforts… sort of.
After meeting Regnier in 2020, Hope Ewing, beverage director for The Obscure, went to her father who was a member of The American Chestnut Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on chestnut restoration. She asked if she and Regnier could source some of his 35 American chestnut trees in New York to make a whiskey that would eventually be called Rites of Fall Rye.
This whiskey, made exclusively from the fallen branches of Ewing’s father’s trees, has a smoky warmth, even when compared to other high-quality whiskeys, and leaves a lingering numbness to your mouth. It is paired with an orange zest and Sherry wine to help balance out the smokiness for what made, hands-down, the best drink of the night — Darling 58.
Before the third and final drink, guests are given sake as a palate cleanser. Regnier informs us that our next drink will be enjoyed in a separate room. Table-by-table, guests are asked to leave their seat and grab a drink from a large wall on the side of the room with multiple cubicles, each holding their own shot of Three Fates Génépi Liqueur.
By this point, the music has reached a crescendo, rising from ambient music to an electronic house beat that makes guests feel they are about to enter a different dimension. That’s when Regnier opens a hidden wall to reveal the final cocktail of the night: Serendipity.
Multiple cocktails filled with lemon and club soda line the bar as a Fibonacci spiral serving as the bar shelf illuminates the clear spirit in guests’ hands. This room is a culmination of The Obscure’s thesis to make a bar that feels like it’s “at the end of the universe,” Regnier said.
Guests are encouraged to babysit their cocktails in the upstairs lounge that resembles a time-traveler’s lived-in home. With asynchronous period portraits and an ironic candle fireplace on the end, season two’s theme of time gets wrapped up in a nice, tasty bow.
The first spirit brought us to the unknown origins of a long-time favored rum, the second gave us a glimpse of a whiskey that is a relic of America’s not-so-distant past and the last drink took us to the future by exploring how to experiment with traditional spirits. Each drink progressed the guests’ journey through time; following the history and future of the craft cocktail movement.
Before leaving, guests are given a voucher for a free beignet at The Rising Sun Café & Bistro next door. Although the cocktails were masterfully crafted and built with extreme love and attention to detail, the beignets had to be the best part of the night. They practically melt in your mouth and are paired perfectly with a tart raspberry jam. I fell so in love with the beignets that I thought it might have been a result of the night’s four shots and three cocktails I had on an empty stomach, but upon returning to The Rising Sun sober, I can confirm they are some of the best pastries in all of Los Angeles.
Born out of a passion project during the pandemic, the team of creatives behind The Obscure wanted to “build a sanctuary and a place of escapism,” Regnier said. I was left wondering what future seasons of the program would bring, and mourning having missed the first one.
I found myself searching for similar events in Los Angeles, but realized that a place that incorporates world-building, storytelling and fine dining to the level that The Obscure does is not easily found. This guided experience was the polar opposite of what it feels like to go to a bar on the weekend; guests are allowed to step back and let a distiller who has been perfecting his craft for more than a decade choose for them.
While guests can buy a bottle of any of the spirits from either season on The Obscure website, the joy comes from the collective craft of passionate creatives coming together to make a truly unique experience
If you are interested in attending The Obscure, you can check them out at 1356 Palmetto St. located in Los Angeles’ Arts District. They have showtimes starting from 6:00 PM on Thursday and Friday, 3:00 PM on Saturday and 5:00 PM on Sunday with tickets starting at $64 per person. You can purchase a ticket or find out more on their website: experience.TheObscure.com.