New Tom’s Foolery Ohio Bourbon Is Done The Old School Way, One Barrel At A Time

Out in Ohio there’s a small craft distillery by the name of Tom’s Foolery that’s been known for sometime for quality applejack brandy created through so called “traditional methods,” one barrel at a time. Part of their unique story is that the small copper stills they use are said to have been the first pot stills built for an American whiskey distillery post Prohibition, having seen time previously at Mitcher’s Jug house starting in the mid-1970s. Now a new product has emerged from this down home spirits making affair called Tom’s Foolery Ohio Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

This Ohio distilled bourbon, currently out to market in that state, is a roughly two-year old whiskey bottled at 90 proof. It is a sour mash offering, making use of mostly local grains, including corn and rye. It also apparently draws on a malted barley sourced outside of the state. The spirit is fermented in open wood casks, double pot distilled and aged in new charred American oak barrels in an unheated rack house set in the sometimes snowy region of the northern part of Ohio.

There’s more to the process behind how Tom’s Foolery made this, which you can peruse at your leisure over at their web site, but suffice to say it is definitely old school and hands on.

The local newspaper the Cleveland Scene reports the initial release of this bourbon prices for around $40 in-state for a 750 ml bottle. As it stands there are several batches hitting store shelves, of which you can learn more details about each, once again, at the distillery’s website.

It is quite refreshing to see such an approach from a craft whiskey outfit in not only being so hands on, but also in disclosing how they do things, providing real transparency and authenticity in a time when so many whiskey brands don’t completely reveal where their alcohol comes from.