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OVERVIEW:
Woodstone Creek began operations in a barn, 45 minutes north of Cincinnati, in January of 1999. After two years, Woodstone had produced enough inventory to open it's tasting room. The seasonality of being a farm winery didn't appeal to the winemaker. So, inspired after a visit to the urban wineries on the West Coast, he moved Woodstone into an old factory building 10 minutes from downtown Cincinnati. Although lacking the ambiance of the estate wineries, Woodstone's new location offered the necessary zoning to house his distilling equipment. Woodstone Creek is ten minutes from downtown Cincinnati at the intersection of interstates I-71, I-75 and the Norwood Lateral - just a few blocks from Xavier University along Dana Avenue in Evanston. This former factory-warehouse-turned-winery is also a meadery, port house and the first licensed microdistillery in Ohio.
The tasting room, once the factory president's wood-paneled office, is open to the public on the weekends. It features a spectacular curved, 1930's maple and mahogany bar, art gallery, a selection of wine racks and handcrafted jewelry. Customers can sample current releases for a small charge and purchase wine to go by the bottle or case. The atmosphere is friendly and informal - sitting at the curved tasting bar invites conversation as strangers become friends over wine.
As a true artisan winery and boutique distillery, Woodstone Creek produces limited case lots of wine, mead and distilled spirit. The offerings change seasonally - Ohio grape varietals from dry to sweet, honeywine from local honey, port with our own potstilled brandy and fruit wine from area farms. Woodstone offers an unusual range of mead (7-10) from dry to sweet and fortified dessert wines. Woodstone's potstill produces brandy, honey liqueur, five grain bourbon, single malt whisky (peated and unpeated), rum, gin, bierschnaaps and vodka. Truly unique - all the fermentation arts come together at Woodstone Creek. Our winemaker is a certified brewmaster, mead mazer and master distiller all in one!
THE DISTILLERY:
Woodstone Creek makes the world's rarest spirits in Cincinnati Ohio. One of our microdistiller counterparts has said about microdistilleries, in general,"we make less than the big guys spill on the floor". Woodstone Creek makes three barrels a year - give or take. We have no production lines - no automated equipment, no computers, no bottling line and no employees. Woodstone Creek is true single barrel spirit - produced on a 238 gallon, direct fired potstill designed by the distiller. For the most part, Woodstone Creek spirits are made much the same way they were made prior to the Industrial Revolution. One exception would be our high-tech water filters which turn Cincinnati water into the ideal starting point. The other would be that farming techniques and grains grown today cannot duplicate heritage varietals grown in the past. With knowledge gained from his microbrewing days, distiller Don Outterson, chooses his grains for flavor, not yield.
Starting with a sweet mash, Don uses only malted grains for his signature bourbon - rye, white wheat, 2-row barley - as well as 51% mix of white and yellow varietal corn. True to his Scottish heritage, the distiller doesn't add enzymes, color or chill filter. The distillate is barreled at a lower proof to minimize dilution prior to bottling. He distills only in cold weather because he uses ground water temperature to cool the coils. A weekend may only yield 15 gallons. A barrel can take 2 months to fill. Aging time varies. The bourbon reveals when it's ready - only then, the barrel is emptied, the proof is adjusted and each bottle is filled, sealed and labeled by hand.
2010 is the ten year mark for many of our first barrels. A major milestone for Woodstone Creek - we've been waiting- what seems like forever - to bottle our whiskey, rum and bierschnaaps. So, as 2010 plays out, we'll be choosing barrels and bottling much more of our product line.
CINCINNATI TRIVIA:
Long known for it's brewing history, Cincinnati's distilling past has gone virtually unnoticed. However, Cincinnati's small distilleries eclipsed breweries prior to Prohibition. As a port on the Ohio River, it played a major role on the Bourbon Trail. Just prior to Prohibition, when taxes were closing down many distilling operations, clandestine shipments easily made their way to the river's banks for waiting barges. In 1865, Cincinnati's many small distilleries churned out a total of 1100 barrels of whiskey a week - a major force in the local economy. A local historian has said Nicholas Longworth started the American wine industry in Cincinnati partly to encourage whiskey drinkers reduce their alcohol intake. When the infamous George Remus came to Cincinnati to set up his bootleg operation during Prohibition (and avoid competition from Al Capone), he brought a list of 80 closed distilleries to choose from!
ACCOLADES:
Our Ohio Bourbon and Cincinnati Vodka are rated "Recommended" by the prestigious Beverage Testing Institute's international panel of judges.
Our single cask, peated, single malt whisky was sampled at the American Distiller Institute's competition in 2008. Judge Jim Murray, author of "The Whisky Bible", gave it a glowing review in his 2009 edition. Read the review.
In a blind taste test reported by CityBeat, Woodstone's vodka wins over 10 nationally known brands! Read about it : VODKA SCHMODKA
HOURS:
SATURDAY 1 TO 6PM and SUNDAY 1 TO 5PM.
Sunday hours will end September 1st. Starting October 1st we will be open Saturdays 1 to 5PM. The winery is closed July 4th, the weekend after Thanksgiving and Christmas thru New Year's day.
BUY OUR BOURBON AND VODKA ON THE INTERNET FROM BINNYS BEVERAGE DEPOT, CHICAGO. BINNYS SHIPS TO MOST STATES AND INTERNATIONALLY. Search Woodstone Creek at Binnys.com
Our Bourbon and Vodka now available for sale at DELI DELICIOUS, state liquor agency, in Columbus OH.
2173-77 East Livingston Avenue.
614-237-4282
OHIO LIQUOR LAW NOW ALLOWS US TO SELL OUR VODKA AND BOURBON DIRECT TO THE PUBLIC! A new permit allows "to go" purchases only. PRESS RELEASE
Cincinnati area liquor stores where you are most likely to find our spirits.
OHIO BOURBON
CINCINNATI VODKA
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WOODSTONE CREEK SPIRITS served here:
CINCINNATI VODKA:
MOLLY MALONE, (Pleasant Ridge) Cincinnati
BELOW ZERO LOUNGE, Cincinnati
CHALK, Covington, KY
OHIO BOURBON:
MOLLY MALONE, (Pleasant Ridge) Cincinnati
HUGO, Cincinnati
NICHOLSON'S, Cincinnati
DETAILS LOUNGE, Columbus
BOURBON'S BISTRO, Louisville, KY
CHALK, Covington, KY
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SHOP LOCAL CINCINNATI:
BuyCincy
Cincinnati Locavore
Woodstone Creek Winery and Distillery is listed at CincinnatiUSA as UNIQUELY CINCINNATI
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