Ohio’s distillery culture explodes: Cleveland.com’s Spirited Women take you on NEO distillery trail

Ohio’s distilling scene is exploding with more than 75 spirits makers in the state. Kathy and Fred Wisen (left) of Lake Erie Distillery in Willoughby and Kevin Suttman (right) of 7 Brothers Distilling in Harpersfield.

CLEVELAND, Ohio —Ohio’s distillery business has dramatically increased over the past 20 years as the passage of new state laws led to increased availability of liquor licenses and allowed on-premises spirits sales and on-premises restaurants.

The number of distilleries in Ohio has grown from less than a handful 15 years ago to more than 75 in 2024, according to Joe Bidinger, owner/founder of Echo Spirits Distilling in Columbus. Bidinger is secretary of the Ohio Distiller’s Guild, a trade and marketing association for the Ohio distilling industry.

“Pre-prohibition every town had its own distilleries,” says Bidinger. “They were not the massive corporations that we have now. The recent creation of the craft distillery license in Ohio made it possible for so many to start up.”

And so, they have.

To show consumers the depth and breadth of craft spirits, the Ohio Distiller’s Guild is launching the Ohio Distillery Trail in late May. The state trail has 30 participating distilleries but may have more by launch time. Details are still being determined.

The state already has two other trails Northern Ohio Distillery Passport and the Columbus Distillery Trail.

Reporters Paris Wolfe and Alex Darus are going to hit the road to explore Northern Ohio’s distilleries. They will report back every few weeks with a new report on a distillery via an ongoing Spirited Women series. Bookmark cleveland.com/topic/spirited-women-ohio to follow along.

Among the many things the duo will try are vodka and whiskey, the most common products of Ohio distillers. Every distillery has a vodka, says Bidinger. Vodka is the number one selling spirit in Ohio by volume.

Like neighboring Kentucky, whiskey culture is big in Ohio where ingredients like corn, wheat, rye are easy to grow.

After these staples, production branches into other spirits. Some distillers make rum, others make gin. Every distillery seems to have a specialty, be it historical or botanical spirits.

Echo Spirits for example has Genever, a malt whiskey enhanced with botanicals. It’s a precursor of gin, which is vodka infused with botanicals. Another difference is that gin is juniper heavy, while botanicals are balanced in Genever. Popular pre-prohibition, Genever has since been replaced by gin in hearts and cocktails.

Other distilleries offer blood orange gin (The Still House at Gervasi in Canton), pickled vodka (Lake Erie Distilling in Willoughby), nocino (Water Shed Distilling in Columbus) and more.

While most spirits come from the same grains, they vary by grain terroir, recipe, water source, distiller and more. For the record, many distilleries use locally grown grains.

“People are doing all sorts of different stuff with different barrel finishes or blending or doing things different ways,” notes Bidinger. “They have their core things then are flexing their creative muscles or pursuing a passion project.”

Whatever the twist, the consumer benefits from a broad variety of Ohio-made products. There’s bound to be something for everyone.

All three trails are game-ified. That means participants use an app to check in and record their visits. Visits earn points that can be redeemed for prizes like t-shirts, sunglasses, events and more.

Sign up now at ohiodistillersguild.org to get an email and text message when the Ohio Distillery Trail begins.

At Cleveland.com, Spirited Women Alex Darus and Paris Wolfe are on the job exploring Northeast Ohio distilleries. These diligent reporters will visit distilleries throughout the region and share histories, vibes, spirits, prices, menus and entertainment. Follow their adventures on the Spirited Women page on cleveland.com, on Instagram at DineDrinkCLE. You can also hear them talk spirits on the DineDrinkCLE podcast.

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