The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Doc Howard’s Distillery products now available in local businesses
“No hobby should be this hard,” Kenneth “Doc” Howard said, smiling, while cleaning grain off the floor his Perry-based distillery.
And Howard, a retired nuclear engineer who once worked in Perry, certainly knows how “hard” the challenge has been. Throughout his endeavor of launching his Doc Howard’s Distillery, which opened in December, Howard has faced hurdle after maddening hurdle, including location, licensing, zoning and tenant issues, all the while adhering to federal and shifting state mandates regarding liquor manufacturing and distribution.
“By law, the production plant has to be separate from the front of the store, complete with a wall, which serves as an Ohio State Liquor Control Board. Back here is what’s called the distilled spirit plant,” he said. “The trade and tax bureau permit allows the distilling. The state allows me to sell it up front on premises.”
Now, Howard and his family, who all help in running the operation at 3645 Lane Road, Suite 203, have finally achieved their objective of having the spirits stocked in various businesses throughout the region.
“Getting into stores, restaurants and bars was always our ultimate goal,” he said. “We enjoy giving tours and tastings but we knew these alone would not fund the business long term. We knew sales from the distillery were mostly marketing tools. We knew the process from production to retail sales would be complex and different from anything we have done before, so we were prepared to not be deterred by setbacks and to just keep going.
“The state officials were very helpful but we hurt ourselves by not asking for more of their help,” he said. “We also should have gone to the retailers sooner and asked them how to proceed. When we finally did this we received a lot of good advice.
“The hardest part of the process to get our products into retail sales was getting our products into the state warehouse,” he said. “Every store and business we asked to sell our products has been very supportive of selling locally made products and eager to sell ours. Doc’s is modeled after the numerous small distilleries that were around before Prohibition. We strive every day to maintain the high quality standards we have set for our products taste and appearance. We will do this while using local materials and services as much as possible.”
Giant Eagle Supermarkets in Geneva, Madison, Painesville and Willoughby now sell the distillery’s products, which include Tribute Whiskey-Bourbon Style, Corn Whiskey, Doc’s Favorite (Rye) Whiskey, Hot Poker Cinnamon Whiskey, Maple Whiskey, Golden Rum and Spiced Rum. The spirits are also served in the Lakehouse Inn’s Crosswinds Grille in Geneva-On-The-Lake and The Village Pub in Perry. On May 5 and May 12. World Wine & Liquors in Mentor will host tasting events.
Howard said it will take time to develop a demand outside of the local area, adding the process can be helped by asking local stores, restaurants and bars to carry the spirits.
“The only limitation is that the state agency in any area is willing to sell our products. Soon we’ll be in the Washington Street Beverage Store in Painesville and Bone Daddy’s (Saloon) and The Thirsty Cactus in Perry. We will slowly market our products to more local restaurants and bars, working our way out from our distillery location. We want to make our products as available as possible to our customers. We plan to visit as many local bars and restaurants to promote our products.”
With an overall slow transition to steady sales, Howard is optimistically looking forward to the future.
“We are hoping our distillery sales will pick up during the summer due to activities at the Lake Erie Bluffs State Park and more sunlight hours,” he said. “My entire family wishes to thank the hundreds of kind and supportive people that have come in to taste our products and learn how we make our rums and whiskeys. Their constant appreciation for what we do and words of encouragement have really kept us going through this difficult startup phase of our business.”