Adam Roelle wants you to put your money where your mouth is and drink well. Current spirits manager at Cavalier Distributing, he’s been steadily working with the state to bring a better craft liquor selection to Ohio since early 2010.
Roelle, a Columbus native, cut his teeth bartending at punk-rock campus dive favorite Bernie’s. When his then-girlfriend and current wife Andrea got accepted to the Art Institute of Chicago, he moved with her. After working a slew of restaurant industry jobs, he ultimately followed the money to bartending, working in fine dining establishments, cocktail lounges, and craft beer bars. After a decade in the windy city, they moved back to Columbus with cat, dog, and child in tow.
He took a job managing the spirits department at Weiland’s Gourmet Market in Clintonville, where he first started tackling the challenge of working with Ohio’s outdated liquor laws; Ohio is a “control” state, where state agents oversee and control all wholesale and retail for alcohol above 21.5% ABV. Roelle was used to Illinois’ “open” state laws, where every possible ingredient was available at whim. He began working with the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control to bring in more craft liquors to Ohio, like low-proof apertif Cardamaro Vino Amaro and Rothman & Winter Creme de Violette liqueur. Diplomatico rum and St. George absinth are also on his list of accomplishments.
“In my time at Weiland’s I would hear from restaurant owners, managers, bartenders and the general public every day how much they disliked the laws regarding spirits in Ohio,” said Roelle. “I would regularly suggest they make placards that read ‘Liberate our Libations!’ and walk the state house lawns. Now, I know we need to stop bitching about it and work with the system.”
His passion for spirits moved him further up the career ladder, securing him a job as spirits manager at Cavalier Distributing in mid-2014, where he now works to bring an influx of quality liquors to bartenders across the buckeye state. He recognized that bartenders and customers genuinely care about he quality of their spirits, which pushed him to work even harder to give them legal access to new products. He now forwards on product requests to Ohio’s superintendent of liquor control, Bruce Stevenson. The process is slow, but rewarding.
Though he’s an obvious advocate for craft liquors, Roelle isn’t one to knock bigger brand names, as long as the quality exists to back them up. He’s rightfully skeptical of the term ‘locally-made’ entering the nation’s vernacular as a catch-all for good product.
“There are amazing products being made all over the damn world, people working hard at what they do,” he said. “These products should be awarded your attention as much as any ‘nano’ industry. A flashy tap handle and a ‘made locally’ sticker does not make a drink better than others. Quality is quality.”
Roelle is thrilled that the state of spirits is slowly improving. He urges consumers to keep drinking well, and spending money on the good stuff in order to keep it in rotation. If the state doesn’t see the products sell well, they will (like any smart business) discontinue them. Hopefully better liquor laws are in sight for Ohio – in the meantime, drink well, and the system will adapt accordingly.
