Story excerpt provided by Forbes
Written by Alex Knapp
The process of making bourbon whiskey hasn’t changed much in decades. A sour mash is fermented, then distilled into a clear spirit. After making the spirit, a distillery places it into charred, American oak barrels to age. Usually for several years, with premium bourbons often aging for nine years or more.
But in Cleveland, Ohio, Tom Lix aims to disrupt the traditional aging process of bourbon. He’s developed a process to accelerate the aging process of whiskey from years into about a week. After years of development, he believes he has it. His company, Cleveland Whiskey, started selling its bourbon on March 1. And they’ve been flying out the door – over 14,000 bottles so far. Given that they produce whiskey at the rate of about 1,000 bottles per week, that basically means they’re selling out. Which is why the company is already working to expand its production capacity.
Lix first became fascinated with distilling alcohol when he was in the Navy 40 years ago.
“I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of a CPO who was making hooch on the side,” Lix told me. “I like to say I was government trained.”
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