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Cleveland Whiskey featured in the Wall Street Journal

This past weekend there was an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Why Wait? Whiskey is Aging Fast.” It was focused on rapid aging whiskey.

Why Wait? Whiskey is Aging Fast.

Distillers speed up the process, maturing it for months, weeks or seconds; cherry wood, Metallica

By Saabira Chaudhuri – Wall Street Journal

Whiskey makers tout the centuries-old craft of making their liquor: aging it in barrels for many years yields deep, smooth flavors. Patience is the key ingredient. Some distillers are out of it.

A new generation of whiskey makers is looking to quickly and cheaply capitalize on bourbon’s booming popularity by maturing it for just a few months, weeks or even seconds.

“We’re going against a very strong tide, which says the whole idea behind whiskey is time and patience and recipes produced by the great- great-grandfather of your great-great-grandfather,” says Tom Lix, chief executive of Cleveland Whiskey, an Ohio-based maker of rapid-aged whiskey.

Distillers have tried and failed to accelerate the aging process since at least the end of Prohibition, when stocks of aged whiskey dried up.

Rapid-aged whiskeys are now popping up in bars and liquor stores and have even started winning awards, fermenting divisions in this famously fusty industry. They’re using sound waves, computer-controlled cycles of pressure and heat, and a host of new technologies to mature whiskey more quickly.

Read the article at wsj.com

It is a wonderful story but, we want you to know there is more to it. While we started out with Pressure Aging® as a way to make Bourbon Whiskey faster, it evolved into a way to create entirely new flavor profiles in a agile way. The real magic is the unlocking of the flavors from woods like Black Cherry, Apple, Sugar Maple and more. More recently, with the release of Smok’n, a bourbon whiskey processed with smoked hickory wood. Robust flavor in a spirit that is totally natural and possible through innovation.

We have been hard at work innovating again! Watch for some new offerings in 2020! (Hint! Hint!)