Bourbon, Sweets and Eats

Cleveland Whiskey, a locally bottled spirit that get's age on it in a super fast, ultra-secret process that I wrote about last February, has its fans and its critics. Fortune came in on the enthusiastic side including the distillery's Christmas Bourbon in the magazine's list of 11gifts for alcohol drinkers for 2014. If you don't have an opinion yet, try it for yourself Saturday, December 6 at Cleveland Whiskey's Holiday Open House, from noon to 6 PM.

 It's an opportunity to sample (and buy) all three versions of their product and cocktails made with them, and indulge in bourbon infused goodies: chocolates from Fear's Confections; ice cream from Mason's Creamery; cupcakes made by A Cupcake a Day; and brownies from Wasted! Bakery. The Nosh Box Food Truck will be stationed outside from 1-4 PM, offering sandwiches and tater tots with an optional splash of Bent Bourbon Sauce made with Cleveland Whiskey.

 There will be a free-to-enter raffle, gifts for purchases of $100 and $120 (while supplies last ), and a complimentary pulled pork slider from the truck for those who pony up for a bottle of Cleveland Christmas Bourbon or Black Reserve Bourbon.

The party's inside the Magnet Building (1768 East 25th Street) with parking available at no charge in Lot #56 on East 24th. Cheers!

Local Eating Connections

   Conversations about local food typically focus on fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs and cheese from nearby farms. But there's more to building a local, sustainable, integrated food system. One important idea is to create a supportive economic community that keeps dollars circulating close to home. To do that we need to utilize and consume more of what's produced in the region where we live and work. And these days Cleveland is blessed with a wealth of amazing culinary and beverage entrepreneurs. I have blogged about two of them — Cleveland Whiskey  last February and Luna Bakery Cafe in September, 2011 — and this past weekend they came together in an unexpected and delicious way.

photo by Barney Taxel

   We're fans of the whiskey and try our best — demand is intense — to have a bottle of it in the house at all times. And, truth be told, we like to indulge in a bit of after dinner sweetness, especially on the weekends. Bridget Thibeault, pastry chef and Luna's co-owner,  decided to make a special batch of her signature macarons spiked with the brown spirit distilled downtown (and aged at warp speed in a patented process) for Father's Day. When I saw an announcement about this on Facebook, I immediately emailed the husband suggesting he might want to pick some up on the way home from the studio.

   As the still life arranged on our kitchen counter reveals, he did. One bite of the light, crisp, airy cookie sandwiches-two rounds of meringue united by the alcohol-spiked butter cream filling- confirmed this was an inspired synergy. Tom Lix, Cleveland Whiskey founder and CEO, take note. This is a whole other delivery system for your product. Planned as a limited edition treat through the end of June, I hope we don't have to wait a year for more. Perhaps, if customer demand is strong,  Thibeault will consider baking them with some regularity.

  Meanwhile, Thibeault has been busy authoring a new book. Cupcake Decorating Lab: 52 Techniques, Recipes, and Inspiring Designs for Your Favorite Sweet Treats is now available on Amazon.

   In another expression of local and successful symbiosis, startup ice cream makers Jesse Mason and Helen Qin of Mason's Creamery, have a Cleveland Whiskey version. It's one of their many unique and unusual flavors. Spoonable spirits, great concept that totally worked for me.  Try some for yourself- they're scooping this week at the Downtown Farmers Market in Public Square Friday and the Kamm's Corners  Farmers Market Sunday.

 Also, Accent, Scott Kim's University Circle restaurant (my rave review appeared in the magazine last month) is hosting a blind taste test between Cleveland Whiskey’s Black Bourbon and a competitor's. Take the Cleveland Challenge at 6:30 p.m. July11. Stay for dinner; there are lots of exciting dishes on the summer menu.

A Timeless Dram

Photo by Barney Taxel, Taxel Image Group

Age is the defining characteristic of quality scotch and bourbon. At least it has been until serial entrepreneur and marketing genius Tom Lix came up with a patent pending process that transforms the making of brown spirits. It truly creates the taste and smoothness of age without the time. He can produce a bottle in under a week that can compare to a 10 or 12 year old version.  I wouldn't have believed it was possible if I hadn't visited his downtown distillery and tried his Cleveland Whiskey for myself.

Photo by Barney Taxel

It's dark in the bottle, a gorgeous honey-amber hue in a glass. The aroma was rich and complex. It had none of the bite or harsh alcoholic "heat" - though it is 100 proof- that usually comes with young  (and therefore inexpensive) whiskey. The mouthfeel is round and silky. An added splash of water smooths it out even more. This is comparable to a very fine high end bourbon. And it will sell for a fraction of the price.

This hometown product is a kind of miracle. Certainly something revolutionary and new. Lix calls it "a disruptive technology and a game changer." I call it amazing. And the timing couldn't be better. Whiskey is trendy. The demand for brown spirits is high and growing, and manufacturers can't keep up.

 The production facility is housed in a start-up incubator run by MAGNET (Manufacturing and Advocacy Growth Network) on East 25th Street, near Cleveland State University. I can smell his space before I see it- there's a yeasty smell from the grain fermenting in the mash cooker. Lix makes some of his base spirit, essentially "white lightening" or legal "moonshine" himself.  The still is a polished gleaming copper column and network of pipes. The liquid that comes out of it normally goes into a barrel. But not here and exactly what next is secret. Lix is willing to tell me, and other reporters he's talked to, about it but nobody is allowed to see the actual machinery. I can hear it humming behind a curtained wall. It reminds me of that scene in the movie when Dorothy and friends get their first audience with the Wizard of Oz. 

Photo by Barney Taxel

Lix holds up a used and charred barrel stave and explains how his trademarked pressure aging technology aggressively pushes the alcohol in and out of pores of the wood, speeding up what normally occurs during years in a cask. Since his focus is aging, and his ability to produce base spirit limited, Lix is also buying rough six month old bourbon and running it through his system to produce Cleveland Whiskey. The day I visited he had  6000 bottles are waiting to be filled.

After a long wait, he got final approval of his labels and is official listed with the State of Ohio Liquor Commission. Cleveland Whiskey should be in local bars and restaurants and in retail stores before St. Patrick's Day. Look on the website for more info on where to find it. It's adds another and most welcome way to buy local.