4 minute read

NO FOOLIN’

from 42+ Magazine Winter 2022

by greatlakespublishing

from 42+ Magazine Winter 2022, page 34

DID YOU FIND THE GOLDEN BARREL?

Foolin’NO

Tom’s Foolery Distillery has a whimsical name, but it’s serious about spirits

STORY BY MICHAEL PRAMIK PHOTOGRAPHY BY WENDY PRAMIK

You won’t find a fancy tasting room at Tom’s Foolery Distillery in Burton, about 40 miles east of Cleveland. There are no regularly scheduled tours, upscale eats, or gift shop. In fact, the small production facility, located off a dirt road beside a corn field, is open to the public only by appointment.

What the craft distillery with the lighthearted name does offer is wellmade spirits, mainly in the form of apple brandy, bourbon, and rye. After starting the business “almost as a hobby” a decade ago, Tom Herbruck and his wife, Lianne, are doing things their way — growing and preparing their own grains that they produce in antique pot stills at their farm in Burton, then patiently aging the liquor about 20 miles to the west in Bainbridge.

There’s something else you won’t find with the Herbrucks’ business: liquor purchased from a third-party distillery. Tom Herbruck said he never wanted to buy already-made spirits from a larger distiller, put it in the bottle, “and tell a story about our grandpa.”

Pick up a bottle when you visit Tom’s Foolery Distillery.

Tom and Lianne Herbruck, along with their dog, Loki, inside the distillery.

Tom Herbruck gives a sample pour.

“We’ve been constantly told to grow, grow, grow,” Tom Herbruck said. “And many people expect us to grow. But we’d probably have to source bourbon. Instead, we wanted it to be our own. Although we’re still small by many standards, it certainly has grown beyond the hobby scale.”

If it was a hobby that got the couple into the business, it was partially by design. Tom, a financial investment adviser, grew up nearby in Gates Mills, where his dad had a small winery. Learning how to turn grapes into wine piqued his curiosity about what he could produce on his own.

The couple was one of the early participants in the Ohio craft distilling craze, applying for a permit in 2008. Tom Herbruck said they got into the business to make applejack — brandy produced from apples — but soon noticed “the world is more interested in bourbon.”

That’s when the couple’s story took a notable turn. An industry journalist introduced the couple to David Beam, a descendant of the Beam bourbon family. The Herbrucks were able to purchase from Beam some original pot stills and other equipment once used at the abandoned Michter’s Distillery in Pennsylvania.

Tom Herbruck checks if their product is ready.

CRAFTED CAREFULLY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

“David and his three sons sold us the equipment and taught us how to make bourbon using their pre-1850s techniques using pot stills,” Tom Herbruck said.

While they’ve sold that equipment — one pot still currently resides on display in the new Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery in downtown Louisville — they have since purchased two other pot stills. One is a real antique, dating to the 1850s when it was used to make cognac in France.

All of their bourbon is at least six years old. Also at the company rackhouse is more apple brandy, rye, and some specialty spirits yet to be released, including pear and peach brandy, and bourbon aging in a maple syrup barrel.

Tom’s Foolery produces bottled-in-bond versions of its products, which isn’t difficult to do thanks to the production process and the close watch paid by the owners.

“We don’t have anything 20 years old, but you can find that in a lot of startup distilleries,” Tom Herbruck said. “We have never bought any alcohol. Everything we sell, we make.”

Lianne Herbruck gives the barrels some flair.

GOLDEN APPLE RUSH

1 oz. Tom’s Foolery bourbon 1 oz. Tom’s Foolery applejack 1 oz. lemon juice 3/4 oz. honey syrup Lemon for twist Combine bourbon, applejack, lemon juice, and honey syrup. Make honey syrup by simmering 1 cup of honey and 1/3 cup water for five minutes. Shake over ice, serve up in a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. Crafted by Michael Pramik