A Peek into Rhode Island’s Newest Gin Distillery

Siren Spirits is serving up 'gin for people who don't like gin' from a nautical-themed Olneyville tasting room.

April 16, 2026

Lauren Clem,

Three men stand in front of a bar with red brick walls and an industrial feel.

Christopher Musella, Tim Eagan and Erik Mikkelsen are the owners of Siren Spirits in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood. (Photos by Lauren Clem)

It all started when the whiskey ran out.

Erik Mikkelsen and Tim Eagan, longtime friends, were drinking and enjoying cigars in Mikkelsen’s garage when they ran out of whiskey. Mikkelsen brought out a bottle of gin, and they decided to sample the juniper-heavy spirit. To their surprise, the bottle caught their interest, and they began to experiment with other flavors to complement the pine-forward scent.

“We started to really explore what gin could be,” Eagan says. “We built up this library of little tiny Ball jars of all these different botanicals distilled to their essence.”

That experimentation would grow into Siren Spirits, Rhode Island’s newest distillery and its first to specialize almost exclusively in gin. Eagan and Mikkelsen opened it with their business partner, Christopher Musella, in Olneyville’s Harrison Steam Complex in March. The owners took a former boiler room in the complex and transformed it into a speakeasy-like tasting room for sampling gins and liqueurs.

Their first order of business, Eagan says, was coming up with a “gin for people who don’t like gin.” While the two friends were hooked on the spirit, they recognized the sharp flavor and reputation often scared off casual drinkers. They used their library of botanicals to bring out herbaceous flavors while toning down the juniper that so many people associate with Christmas trees.

“We really wanted to figure out what could be in the flavor wheel for gin,” Eagan says.

The result was Pieces of Eight, a signature botanical gin featuring cinnamon, star anise, citrus and grains of paradise — a West African plant in the ginger family. The owners recommend casual gin drinkers try it in a gin and tonic, or mixed with lime and grenadine in a Siren’s Kiss cocktail.

For visitors who are serious about their gin, their other offering, Blackships, is a class American dry style gin featuring lemongrass, lime and cardamom. This one is available in a Victory Pearl cocktail — a take on a French Pearl named for the building’s former owner — or in a seasonal Bee’s Knees with lemon and honey.

“I don’t think anyone’s putting cinnamon in their gin, but here we are,” Eagan says.

A pink-hued cocktail garnished with a lemon.

The Siren’s Kiss cocktail at Siren Spirits.

In addition to gin, the business also has two flagship liqueurs. The Naval Orange Curacao is an orange-infused brandy, while the St. Elmo Pastis is an herbal liqueur intended as a Chartreuse replacement that features fennel, cardamom, black pepper and lemongrass, among other flavors. Mikkelsen makes the spirits using a fifty-liter still named Calypso in the distillery’s back room.

In addition to classic cocktails, the menu features seasonal options like a Naval Orange hot toddy or a nonalcoholic champagne cocktail. The owners plan to switch out cocktails regularly, and add a seasonal liqueur and gin variety beginning in the summer. In addition to the dedicated N/A champagne cocktail, many of their other beverages are available in mocktail form.

“I just want to make people happy,” Mikkelsen says about the tasting room’s atmosphere. “Friday night this couple came in, they had a fantastic time, I did a little tour, they were off to eat dinner.”

Since opening in March, the distillery has seen a steady stream of visitors to its Troy Street location, which — despite its nautical theme — gives off a distinctly urban vibe. Lobster traps and a driftwood-carved mermaid are paired with exposed brick walls and concrete floors, blending Rhode Island’s ocean location with its industrial history. A skylight adds natural light, and for those who prefer a cozier alternative, a second room off the main space — nicknamed “The Grotto” — seemingly transports patrons to the 1920s with its vintage furniture and secretive feel.

“We’ve had a lot of people just really wowed with the space and want to do events here,” Eagan says.

In the summer, they’ll have outdoor seating on the patio, and local personality LuLu Locks stops by for guest bartending nights. They don’t plan to expand into whiskey — “There’s a glut of whiskey on the market,” Eagan says — but they do plan to distribute so that patrons can make their own cocktails at home.

“Our focus is we want really good gins,” Eagan says. “We want to be everybody’s bottles that you have at home.”

Siren Spirits is open Thursdays from 4 to 9 p.m., Fridays from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. sirenspirits.com