Founded by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski in 2020, Lost Lantern is one of America's earliest proper independent bottlers. As whiskey nerds themselves with a keen eye towards transparency, they're uniquely positioned to resonate with the latest class of whiskey nerds—those of us who have lived and sipped through the latest whiskey boom cycle with intention and purpose. We're a unique bunch that are here to stick around through thick and thin despite shifting tides in global whiskey demand. I obviously count myself amongst the ranks of such nerds.
For better or for worse, gone is the era of the big 10 goliath distilleries ruling over the whiskey industry. Whiskey enthusiasts have more options than ever before to explore whiskey that is potentially being produced right in their backyard. An unfortunately commonplace notion in the uneducated masses, those on the fringes of whiskey fandom, is that bourbon has to be made in Kentucky. The front label of this bottling from Lost Lantern obviously immediately disproves this misguided conversational platitude.
So, what attention or care should we give to a little distillery that you've probably never heard about in Ohio? Are they capable of making better bourbon than the old shelf staple Jim Beam, clogging up shelf space with countless new SKUs containing all the same whiskey? You'll find my definitive answer to that question in the review that follows, but for now, let's let the dynamic duo from Lost Lantern tell their half of the story:
Lost Lantern hand-selected this cask from Tom’s Foolery in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The family-owned distillery uses traditional, labor-intensive methods, including wooden fermenters and pot still distillation, to make whiskey the way it used to be made. Their whiskies embody the cold, snowy climate of Ohio’s snowbelt.
Aged for 10 years in a 53-gallon barrel, this straight bourbon whiskey was made from 63% corn from their family farm, 10% winter rye, and 27% malted barley. It has notes of maple-drizzled cornbread, French vanilla, and warming oak spice on the nose, with hints of maple candies, chocolate syrup, and fresh-cut hay on the palate. Like a warm autumn day in a glass.
Tom’s Foolery is a small distillery, but it’s one of the few that has always planned on aging its whiskey for a longer period of time. They have released several single barrels on their own that are 10+ years old, and every single Tom’s Foolery release Lost Lantern has done has been the oldest single cask of that style of whiskey we’ve ever released (at least up until the launch of this Collection). This cask, our first-ever 10-year-old bourbon, is no exception.
What we're seeing in the modern era of whiskey making is an incredible return to regionalization, a move that should be welcomed and celebrated by whiskey enthusiasts everywhere. Before prohibition, this type of thing was commonplace. Find a pre-prohibition distilled bottle of whiskey on auction today and you'll often see distillery labels from the likes of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and beyond. Regional styles had unique tastes. We're getting the same celebrated variation in whiskey today, and for that, I am grateful. Brands like Lost Lantern are helping to spread this message.
Despite this exciting development, another unfortunate truth is that the modern whiskey industry is now in demand decline. These shifting winds mean that we don't have the luxury of waiting around to find out if the little guys are capable of producing great whiskey. Now is the time to seek out the best distilleries across the United States and vote with your wallet, a mission that I seem to share with Adam and Nora from Lost Lantern. When you find one of these great distilleries, tell your friends. Buy them a bottle too. The likes of Jim Beam will likely always exist given their volume plays toward less-discerning palates. I'm not knocking you, dear Beam-loving reader, if that's a proper description for you—I celebrate anyone who has a go to whiskey that they enjoy that is inexpensive and regularly available. For those of us who are seeking a deeper understanding of the broader whiskey landscape, however, I urge you to resist to go out and buy the goliath distiller's limited time offering, or the shiny new bottle that all the influencers are being sent. Skip that bottle of Booker's and shop local instead. Celebrating this noble mission should be much more commonplace than it is. At the end of the day, quality needs to be paramount, and it seems that Lost Lantern is going about their barrel selection process with this simple shortlisting methodology in mind. Let's taste through the fruits of their labor and learn a little something about a unique Ohio whiskey distillery at the same time.
Company on Label: Distilled by Tom's Foolery, Chagrin Falls, OH (selected and bottled by Lost Lantern Spirits, Vergennes, VT)
Whiskey Type: Ohio straight bourbon whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages: 63% corn, 10% winter rye, and 27% malted barley
Proof: 119.4°
Age: 10 years
MSRP: $150
Further identification: This is 2024 single cask #17, matured in a 53 gallon ISC cooper's select char 4 barrel which yielded 82 bottles after maturation; bottled at cask strength, with no chill filtration, and no color added, it was first available in late 2024 for select CA and MA retail markets, the latter of which is where I scored my bottle thanks to Burlington Wine & Spirits
Nose: Browned butter and chocolate mousse lead the way on first introductions which immediately capture my attention. A thick, oily feeling in the air is suggestive of a creamy delight ahead; aromas of chocolate layering over rich, buttery toffee are warming, comfortable, and enticing. After a long rest, maple pecan pie and whipped cream notes can be found with relative ease on this powerhouse of whiskey elegance. The age is truly prominent here, reminding me of some of the aromas of 2020 George T. Stagg: funky oak, leather, linen, and dark walnut are complex and thoroughly enjoyable. My goodness, this just gets better with time, a reward for the rare patient observer. Maple sugar and resinous wood aromas are perfectly integrated from fermentation all the way to my glass. After a few sips, the pour remains nearly perfect, with no sharp edges to be found and copious volume remaining readily available behind the maple and cream tones. The empty glass offers black forest cake, pistachio, and a lingering feeling that typically comes along with a warm summer day.
Palate: My first taste is thick, oily, resinous, and silky in the mouth, offering crème fraîche and maple candy. The linger is undulating and long with buttered walnut bread and candied pecan. Another sip spreads funky pot still oils all across the tongue alongside cinnamon streusel coffee cake and Pirouline chocolate wafers. The flavor knob, I discover, is capable of being turned up to 11 by my third sip, as vanilla bean ice cream and churro flavors continue to impress. While the nose does present a bit more complexity than the palate, I can't say I'm disappointed in the least with this pour. The slight grain funk remaining in the flavor profile is evidence of its originality, an ode to the Ohio terroir. My last taste late in the glass is the creamiest of all sips, with an undercurrent of dried boysenberries, before chocolate raspberry cake shows up on the long linger.
TL;DR: Oily, rich pot still greatness is exuded from every corner of this glass
Rating: 4.5/5
This is a perfect example of what careful pot distillation is capable of. Unhurried and beaming with character, Tom's Foolery has produced a truly lovely bourbon here. Kudos to all involved!
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