The occasion is the official release party for Tom's Foolery Ohio Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It is co-sponsored by the Cleveland Bourbon Club. I'll be there to speak and sign copies of my new book, Bourbon, Strange.
Tom's Foolery is a real-deal craft distillery in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, outside of Cleveland. It is owned by Tom and Lianne Herbruck. They started out making apple brandy, later adding bourbon and rye.
Their stills and other equipment came from Michter's in Pennsylvania by way of the David Beam family. David is the grandson of Park Beam, Jim Beam's brother. He was a distiller at Jim Beam until his retirement in 1994. He and other family members assisted Tom and Lianne with their bourbon, as did Dick Stoll, former distiller at Michter's. Stoll is the only man alive who had made whiskey using this equipment until the Herbrucks got it a few years ago.
The stills were made by Louisville's Vendome in 1976 and were installed at Michter's as part of the American Bicentennial celebration. The system is capable of producing one 53 gallon barrel of whiskey per day.
If you can't attend the Cleveland event, you can still get a signed copy of Bourbon, Strange by clicking here. It's the perfect gift!
2 comments:
Tom & Eric also should be credited with teaching David's grandson Benjamin the art of making pot stilled whiskey. Benjamin Beam interned at Tom's Foolery for a spell. Herbruck's teaching a Beam to make whiskey, that's a cool turn of events!
Well, Ben's grandpa (David Beam) taught me a thing or two, that's for sure. From how to properly set the grinding burr on the mill, to slacking the fermenter, to keeping the slop from getting too ripe. Skills I didn't even know that a distiller needed. Troy, John Ed, you and Baker all made contributions. Thanks for sending those still and your experience up north and across the river.
Ben is a good worker, and I hope he comes back for another stint some summer. Let him know that we are still using the grain bin that he build for us ...
Tom
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