Columbus will soon be home to not one, but two local bourbons, which is great news for connoisseurs of the spirit. Last week we wrote about Watershed Distillery adding Bourbon to their product lineup and this week we’ve got news that Middle West Spirits has been working on something similar — creating a bourbon by blending their locally-made whiskey with a Kentucky straight bourbon.
Middle West launched in the Spring of 2010 with an initial focus on vodkas, but the development of dark spirits has always been a part of their business plan.
“The Michelone Reserve, our first Master’s Blend project, was kicked off in 2011 and is now just seeing the light of day,” said Brady Konya, Partner & Founder at Middle West Spirits. “That’s largely because our flagship wheat whiskey had to reach maturation to provide both the necessary flavor profile and balance in the final bottled product.”
Michelone Reserve gets its name from Ronald Julius Michelone, grandfather of Middle West Co-Owner Ryan Lang, who is being honored for his influence and inspiration in building of the distillery and the whiskey production traditions he passed along.
“As a memory to my grandfather, we’ve created a bourbon in his honor, but added our own signature twist — the distinctive and recognizable flavor profile of Ohio’s soft red winter wheat,” said Lang. “It’s the best blending of two worlds, and I know it made him proud.”
Konya describes the new 90-proof bourbon as as a classic wheated bourbon whiskey with a sweet and smokey corn dominated front end and a caramel wheat finish with notes of coconut and cinnamon spice.
“We’ve worked very hard to pair two spirits that compliment each other in such way to produce a unique complexity that is greater than the sum of its two parts,” he says. “It’s an extraordinary combination of Kentucky and Ohio whiskey traditions that produce a very unique entrant in the craft market.”
Prior to the statewide launch of the Bourbon Whiskey, Middle West will be releasing a limited edition “Distiller’s Release” of the product on Monday, October 29th. The event is invite-only, and details will be announced on their Facebook page sometime this week.
“We rarely slow down long enough to put on events for ourselves, but when we do, we want the night to feel intimate as if it were all friends and family,” said Konya. “Along with some killer local music and late night carbs, we’re also kicking-off the distillery’s second annual Movember fundraiser, in order to raise awareness of important health issues that effect men.”
OYO Bourbon Whiskey will be available for retail purchase throughout Ohio beginning November 15th.
More information can be found online at www.middlewestspirits.com.