How Lake Erie Distillery accidentally became one of Northeast Ohio’s favorite new distilleries - Cleveland.com
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Distilling typically isn’t an easy hobby for the average Joe. Aside from the process being a complicated skill to learn, there’s a huge overhead cost.
It’s federally illegal to make alcohol without a permit. To apply for a federal permit, a person needs to purchase the necessary equipment and get it installed. Approval is required from state and local officials, fire marshals and the FDA before any of the equipment can be turned on. Because of this, many distilleries release vodka as their first product as it’s unaged and allows them to quickly generate cash flow.
Fred and Cathy Wisen of Lake Erie Distillery stumbled into the distilling business a bit differently.
“I didn’t need to go that route,” Fred explained.
Fred has owned North American EDM Supplies, an international industrial supply company, for 40 years in Willoughby. After 40 years of working in outside sales, his company was consistent in its success, which led Fred to feel a bit complacent.
“I’m not one to just sit around and pull weeds out of my shrubs, it doesn’t fit,” Fred said.
Eventually, a road-trip-turned-distillery-tour attracted Fred’s interest in the spirits business. It wasn’t long before he decided to try out distilling himself. And considering he had financial stability from his business, he opted to wait for his first product to age to perfection.
Despite starting in 2016, Lake Erie Distillery didn’t sell its first bottle of bourbon until 2021, as it took more than four years to age.
He had long been aware of the idea that to get good bourbon, you have to go to Kentucky. However, after learning a bit more about distilling, he realized that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“If you want good bourbon, you need a good distiller,” he said of his mindset.When he decided to start distilling in 2016, he converted a small room in the back of his sales office into his facility. Initially, Fred saw it as more of a passion project than a new career, as he grew up having a natural inclination toward science.
“To me, this is a giant chemistry set,” Fred said of distilling.
During the time between the start of Fred’s distilling process and his first sale, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Fred’s sales employees started to work from home, and he was left with a space full of empty cubicles. As a result, he decided to turn the space into a bottle shop and tasting lounge, which opened in 2022 and 2023, respectively.“This started out, it was going to be a hobby. It is well past a hobby now,” Fred said of his journey.