Tom's Foolery tour - April 20th

[callmeox]

Hey SB'ers, I have room for two more SB'ers for a tour at Tom's Foolery at 1:30 on Saturday April 20th. Due to the size of the facility, I was asked to keep the group small. This is limited to SB'ers (no spouses, children, etc). Sorry if that makes a spouse/friend/neighbor angry. :hot:

Let me know via PM if you're interested in attending.

The first two solid commitments get the spots.

[callmeox]

There is room for one more to join in this Saturday. Please let me know via PM.

[callmeox]

Last call, we have room for one more.

[Barrel_Proof]

Looking forward to the report on today's happenings. Several of us here are well familiar with the hardware shipped north for the holidays. Hope they continue to cook some great dog in that equipment. News at 11?

[callmeox]

Great tour, tons of information and pics. I'll update when I get to a full size keyboard.

Tom and Lianne are definitely doing it right. The entire operation is a whiskey geeks dream.

[DeanSheen]

Thanks Scott for putting this together. My second time up there and the applejack has gotten better. The whiskey is pretty tasty as well despite being young and that's quite the change of pace for my palette.

The hardware is being put to good use and they are very happy with it. I think it found a good and deserving home.

[Barrel_Proof]

This is great news. I really enjoyed the young bourbon that John Ed brought to the gazebo last year.

Thanks Scott for putting this together. My second time up there and the applejack has gotten better. The whiskey is pretty tasty as well despite being young and that's quite the change of pace for my palette.

The hardware is being put to good use and they are very happy with it. I think it found a good and deserving home.

[cbus]

Thanks for getting this together, Scott. Had a great time! Really looking forward to what they will be bottling in the coming years.

[callmeox]

This is great news. I really enjoyed the young bourbon that John Ed brought to the gazebo last year.

There will be a bourbon sample on the table this weekend.

Pics should be up later today.

[Barrel_Proof]

Most excellent! :cool:

There will be a bourbon sample on the table this weekend.

Pics should be up later today.

[rndenks]

Thank you for putting Saturday together Scott. A special thanks to Tom , Lianne and Eric for the very informative tour.

As newbie to “tasting” I learned a ton of knowledge about whiskey and the process of making whiskey. I would be surprised if you could ever find a more personal tour of distillery than was provided Saturday.

I agree that while young, the whiskey was very tasty. I cannot wait until it is old enough to hit the shelves!

[callmeox]

Boy did we get the grand tour at Tom's Foolery. I said before that the place was a whiskey geek's dream and I wasn't kidding. On the whiskey side, they've laid down bourbon, rye and wheat so far with a dizzying array of mashbills and Tom mentioned a corn whiskey was in the planning stages. They have produced 100% wheat and 100% rye whiskeys with certified organic varieties of both and there must be a dozen or more bourbon mashbills aging already. There are different percentages of grain and multiple varieties of malt and it's all listed on the barrelhead for easy reference.

In the distillery we sampled wheat and rye new make and Tom and Eric let us assist with the tail cut on a wheat run (hint: they do it by taste). In the rack house, we sampled bourbon and rye and two different applejack barrels. One of the applejack barrels had such a buttery/butterscotch nose that I swore it was an ND Old Taylor barrel instead. I think the depth of flavor in that barrel surprised everyone.

I've been critical of many of the micro distilled bourbons that I've tried as I felt that they have been bottled way too early. We sampled a 73/15/12 bourbon that had been in a 53 gallon barrel for 14 months and it was damn good already. It had a hint of youth and some nice barrel character. If the spirit in the barrel is that good 14 months into the process, I can't wait to get my hands on some when it is released.

I'm hoping that I wasn't suffering from palate fatigue or gazebo syndrome while tasting, but I think that they are well on their way to putting out some great products.

It was a pleasure to meet fellow Ohio SB'ers Ryan (rndenks) and Ross (cbus) and my non-bourbon drinking wife had a great time while we all geeked it out.

I took quite a few pics while we were there and clicking the photo below will take you to the gallery. Please forgive some of the artsy-fartsy shots. :grin:

Edited April 23, 2013 by callmeox

[squire]

Thanks Scott, for the comments and the pictures, that's about as close as I may ever get to touring the place.

[smokinjoe]

Great pics, O. How bout settin' me up for a tour when I get to Cleveland this Summer? But, ain't it ahtsy fahtsy Joel, instead of artsy fartsy?

[Barrel_Proof]

Great pics. Really enjoyed the barrel heads, especially. Looking forward to more news in a few days! Thanks!!! --Cliff

[T Comp]

In the distillery we sampled wheat and rye new make and Tom and Eric let us assist with the tail cut on a wheat run (hint: they do it by taste).

Now that is something :cool:. Who ever visiting a distillery gets to do that.

[WAINWRIGHT]

Great pics Scott and thanks for sharing,very cool you got to partake in the cut,that in itself would have made the trip for me.

[squire]

Fascinating mashbills and barrel entry proofs.

[Lost Pollito]

Thanks for sharing those pics Scott. What a treat.

[DeanSheen]

Great pics, O. How bout settin' me up for a tour when I get to Cleveland this Summer? But, ain't it ahtsy fahtsy Joel, instead of artsy fartsy?

Is that a threat or a promise?

Edited April 23, 2013 by DeanSheen