Tom's Foolery first bourbon release

[ohiobourbon]

Thanks guys. Your encouragement, well, really encourages us. And, since this stuff can be hard work, it means a lot to know that you appreciate the product and the information.

The website (and database) has tons of data on our products and inventory. But, we are better whiskey-makers than proof-readers, so please excuse the spelling errors that you will find. It's not that we don't pay attention to details, but rather the details we focused on over the past few years have been product-quality, which distracted us from getting the website properly edited.

Overall, you will get a good feel of what we are trying to do.

Cheers, Tom (and Lianne, my wife, who is the real engine behind all of this).

[shoshani]

Our bourbon is as old-school as it can get, I think. By old-school, I mean: fairly traditional mash bill, sour mash, grain-in, starch conversion entirely by enzymes naturally present in the barley, fermented in small open-cypress vats, double pot distilled, and aged in classic 53-gallon whiskey barrels.

Good to see you here, Tom. You didn't mention it, but I'm presuming you also propagate jug yeast with hops in dona tubs? (Guessing since there are Beams involved that they brought their famous family yeast, as Beams tend to do wherever they're involved...)

As for your last question, in this forum there's no such thing as too much detail. I'd be surprised if one or two of us wouldn't fuss over the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity on the day the mash was cooked.

[Harry in WashDC]

I only have one request - Can you guys in Ohio stop buying it so some bottles can make it out of state?

[greatgoo]

If any of you non-ohio people want a bottle PM me.

[Lost Pollito]

I love all the information you have on the site Tom. Really refreshing to see.

[ramblinman]

We have some older barrels (not much older, admittedly), which we have decided to hold back. In about a year, we plan to release our bonded bourbon.

This makes me almost irrationally happy to see.

Also really intrigued by the low (~99) proof ryes that you're maturing. Those should take on barrel character at a nice young age, right?

And nitpick, you're got a % sign following your proof number on that maturing barrels page. Time to beat your web guy

Edited October 6, 2014 by ramblinman

[5cents]

I only have one request - Can you guys in Ohio stop buying it so some bottles can make it out of state?

I am curious how much was distributed outside of Ohio.

If any of you non-ohio people want a bottle PM me.

I can do the same.

[zillah]

All of this information is incredible! Really, just the dedication to transparency is a breath of fresh air. I have not bought a craft spirit yet, but I think I know what my first one will be...

[zillah]

One thing I am not sure of - does the Barrel Entry Proof = Off-the still proof? I could be missing it, but I don't see any off-the still proof.

[squire]

Yes, still exit and barrel entry proofs please, if they have been standardized and the information isn't proprietary.

[ohiobourbon]

This makes me almost irrationally happy to see.

[ramblinman]

I can see that showing proof like this could be confusing: "108%p". It's the way we express it internally here in our forms, and it is technically correct (since a whiskey that is 108 proof is actually 108% of proof).

And its the way that the TTB shows it on their proofing tables (degrees proof is expressed as "percent proof" or "percents of proof"): http://www.ttb.gov/foia/Gauging_Manual_Tables/Table_1.pdf

"108 proof" is really the shortened version of "108% of proof," since proof is 100, but it probably makes sense for me to use the same language that everybody else does ...

[ohiobourbon]

Yes, still exit and barrel entry proofs please, if they have been standardized and the information isn't proprietary.

Good points. Thanks.

For some of the earlier barrels, we might not have included this information.

For the later barrels, this information is included in the data. But, it might be hard to find.

Check out: http://www.tomsfoolery.com//barrel-358

After the second distillation, it shows the "still exit" figures like this:

What came out:

35 gallons whiskey @ 157.15% proof

40 gallons feints @ 96.7% proof

And then under the barrel section, it shows entry proofs like this:

Barrel entry proof:

108.70%

[squire]

Ah, I see, thanks.

[greatgoo]

Hi Tom!

Any chance you release a barrel proof in the future?

[mbroo5880i]

Just a quick question Tom, what is your current distribution? For example, is your product available elsewhere in Ohio? What are your distribution plans? For example, do you expect distribution to Indiana in the future?

[SmoothAmbler]

hi everybody. This is tom. Thanks for writing about the first release of our bourbon. Lianne and i are happy to answer specific questions about the product, process, equipment, distillery, etc.

Yes, we have been fortunate to have david and baker beam (and their extended clan) involved in helping set-up the distillery and in fine-tuning our process. Also, dick stoll (the last master distiller at michter’s in schafferstown) was here with us from the beginning and even present for our first bourbon distillation. Dick is one of the country’s most experienced distillers of pot-distilled bourbon. And, since dick ran our equipment for over a decade while it was set-up in the jug house at michter’s, we could not have asked for a better mentor.

Our bourbon is as old-school as it can get, i think. By old-school, i mean: Fairly traditional mash bill, sour mash, grain-in, starch conversion entirely by enzymes naturally present in the barley, fermented in small open-cypress vats, double pot distilled, and aged in classic 53-gallon whiskey barrels.

We decided to do it this way because: It’s the way david beam taught us to do it, it’s the way lou forman at michter’s wanted it done in 1976 when he commissioned these stills, it’s the way dick stoll did it at michter’s, and as far as i can tell it’s basically the way it was done back in time when bourbon was invented (i’ll let the historians correct me on this last point).

This first release of our bourbon tastes notably different than the products made by the majors. In part, that’s because this bourbon is just barely two years old. Most notably, this 2-year-old has tons of grain character to it, and i expect that that particular characteristic to decrease as it gets older. Personally, i like the taste of a well made young bourbon (maybe i have been sampling too much new make over the past 3 years)! But it’s more than just the age that makes our bourbon taste different. In another thread, we can go through those points, but i have no doubt that mashing, fermentation and distillation techniques will affect the product taste, and on these three items we are doing it differently than the majors (mashing, fermentation, and distillation). So, i think we will produce a bourbon that, at a minimum, will taste different from what's on the market today. And, maybe closer to what would have been around in the 1700's and up until about 1850.

We have some older barrels (not much older, admittedly), which we have decided to hold back. In about a year, we plan to release our bonded bourbon.

Three years ago, when we started making classic sour mash bourbon, i was not aware of any other distillery doing it this way. That’s a big statement, and since this is a big country there’s a decent chance that somebody was already making a 1700’s style double pot distilled bourbon. It’s fine if tom’s foolery does not get to claim that we were “the first†at this or at anything because, really, we aren't making that claim, and we have not invented anything new (yet).

We are attempting to do something different with technology. At this point, i am not sure if it is worth the trouble, so i am hoping some folks can chime in regarding our website and our inventory database. If you click on it, you will know what it’s all about. We are still inputting data (and we need to enter about 100 more barrels). What do you think? Does anybody want this level of detail?

released barrels:

http://www.tomsfoolery.com/whiskey-finder

maturing barrels:

http://www.tomsfoolery.com/inventory

this is awesome.

[ohiobourbon]

this is awesome.

thanks Smooth Ambler. I know that we share the obsession.

[bourbonv]

I tell people that the Tom foolery Distillery is one to watch for great Bourbon in the future. I expect in 10 years they will be making some excellent Bourbon that people will drive hundreds of miles to get.

Mike Veach

[squire]

Or fly even further.

[garbanzobean]

I don't typically go for young bourbon, but if I found this in Maryland I would probably risk it. I am absolutely a huge fan of the way these folks are operating and would love to support them with my business.

[LCWoody]

Looking forward to this. Patience, time and care will deliver a great bourbon. It's great to see all the support from the bourbon community behind you and your idea.

[ohiobourbon]

is your product available elsewhere in Ohio? What are your distribution plans? For example, do you expect distribution to Indiana in the future?

Currently our distribution is limited to Ohio. We shipped about 3,800 bottles to the state, which represents 3-batches from 15 barrels. Over the next few weeks our bourbon should become fairly available in the larger state stores as the inventory makes it through our clunky state distribution system.

Over Christmas, while the distillery is shut-down, we will be bottling batch 4 (we were going to do that this fall, but we ran out of bottles!). Between these 4 batches (20 barrels), we should have enough product on the shelves in Ohio to last until April or May of 2015.

I expect our bourbon could be hard to find in some stores by late spring.

When the weather breaks, we will start bottling again, but because our rackhouse is unheated it is really not an option for us to bottle in Jan, Feb or March (we are in the snow belt of Ohio).

We will start shipping out of state as soon as we have satisfied all the Ohio drinkers with a consistently available product. While we love all bourbon drinkers, and we are eager to send product to other states, we want to make sure that folks in our home state know that we made serving local customers a priority ...

Tom

[mbroo5880i]

Thank you for your reply and, while disappointed near term, I think your distribution strategy well matches your overall philosophy. So, I guess I will just need to hop in the car and make a trip over to Ohio. It's not like Indiana is all that far away. My best option is Cincy since I can get my wife over to Jungle Jim's.

[The Black Tot]

Hi Tom!

Any chance you release a barrel proof in the future?