Woodstone Whiskey Has Arrived

I met Don and Linda Outterson last year when I was researching a piece about urban wineries and distilleries for Ohio Magazine. They run Woodstone Creek, Ohio's first licensed microdistillery, in Cincinnati. Don is CFO — Chief Fermenting Officer — tending barrels of whiskey, wine, gin, mead, rum, and port. It’s labor-intensive, time-consuming and exacting work. But all that is mere child’s play in comparison to dealing with the state’s tortuous liquor control laws.

Linda just emailed to let me know they finally got their 10-year-old Murray Cask Single Peated Malt Whiskey into the Ohio system. Although it's been bottled since November 2009, it’s only now available for distribution. This is big news for people who take their spirits seriously.

Whiskey expert Jim Murray sampled this when it was still in the barrel. He was impressed, giving it 92 out of 100 points and the designation Brilliant! in his 2009 "Whiskey Bible."

Here are some of his comments:

Nose: Earthy, salty peat much more redolent of Islay than of Cincinnati just beautifully constructed with excellent layering of gentle smoke, grapey fruit and toasted oak: Glorious!

Taste: The silkiness on the palate stuns. All is understated yet the clarity of the riches never fades. Lots of fruit, but the even sweeter peat circles in clouds and dovetails with drier, oak-led incursions. A tantalizing saltiness gives this a coastal dimension which belies the distillery’s location some 1,000 miles inland.

Overall balance and complexity: What a wonderful whisky! A massive well-done for a first bottling from this new distillery! "

(It’s not the first time Murray’s given this boutique distiller raves — he loves Outterson’s bourbon too. I have tasted that and know first hand what an exceptionally fine sip it is.)

The whiskey will be sold locally at Zagara's, Minotti's Bay Village, Minotti's Westlake, Shaker Wine & Spirits and World Wine & Liquor. Supplies are limited: this is a single barrel bottling and there are only 192 numbered bottles. Just five cases will be made available to the Cleveland market. All this means that those who want to experience this rare hand-crafted spirit will have to pay dearly for the privilege (or know someone who can afford the price and is willing to share). Retail is $118.