Very few things I write inspire me to scream via text but, TOLEDO SPIRITS CO. DISTILLERY IS FINALLY OPENING! If you’ve read a single thing I’ve ever written for this paper then you know, I’m a rotten boozebag and even typing the word whiskey in the header of this article triggered a weird, alcoholic, Pavlovian response, that has me itching to text ex-girlfriends. In fact, I’d probably have a single tear rolling down my cheek right now if I wasn’t so dehydrated from sloshing Jameson down my gullet last night.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF)

It’s been a long time coming, considering prohibition ended 82 years ago and we’re just now getting a distillery in Toledo, but it’s felt even longer for Andrew Newby and Lukas Kummer of AVATAR (a local web development company) who founded the company back in June of 2013. “From business planning, to formulating recipes, actually distilling the whiskey, state and federal approval being this close to a release feels amazing,” said Kummer.

The whiskey itself is the first edition of a lineup affectionately named Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, or more succinctly WTF, which Kummer assured me was fun to run by federal approval agencies. Unlike traditional whiskey bases, WTF is actually distilled from a local brewer’s craft beer— Great Black Swamp’s Wild Duck IPA. “The hops show through really nicely almost like a rye spice, it has a beautiful bourbon sweetness,” said Kummer. “It’s coming along fantastically.”

The planned release date is currently set for mid-July when 375ml bottles, priced at $60, will be limited to one per customer as the total batch is only 100 bottles. After the initial release, Toledo Spirits Co.’s downtown tasting room will be open on Saturdays from 10am-5pm for sales and tasting. The labels even don a cute mascot Wordsworth T. Fox who was designed by Toledo’s own Dustin Hostetler.

On a bender

It’s not all going to be limited craft releases from the distillery, the next plan is to launch a strawberry vodka called Heart of Glass which will be widely available at bars and liquor stores around the area (unless Debbie Harry is feeling litigious). But if you can’t wait to get your hands on some locally crafted spirits, the distillery’s run of uniquely flavored bitters (Orange Tiger, Lemons in the Attic, Black Kite Coffee and Hopped Up On) have been available at venues around town, like The Local (7723 Airport Hwy.), The Attic on Adams (1701 Adams St.) and Veritas Cork & Craft (505 Jefferson Ave.), to add a little local flair to your favorite cocktails. The distilling duo have also partnered with other local bars to produce barrel-aged cocktails by selling emptied barrels of bitters for aging. Next time you’re at Veritas ask for a barrel-aged margarita. You can thank me later.

Visit their Facebook page for updates on the bottle release in the coming weeks at

Toledo Spirits Co. 1301 N. Summit St.

facebook.com/toledospirits