Small distillery opens in Los Osos — selling corn whiskey, gin and rum

When Todd Adams first began making whiskey, he figured it would just be for family and friends. Doing it commercially, he said, was “a millionaire’s game” once you added up the license, the equipment and the space.

The Craft Distillers Act passed in 2015 changed everything, providing affordable licenses for small operations and making it possible for Adams to start Foggy Bottom Distillery, a tiny space in Los Osos where he started selling his hooch last month.

Foggy Bottom is the first of the county’s burgeoning distilling scene to specialize in corn whiskey, while most others are making grape-based spirits and rye whiskey. Also unlike most, it’s not connected to the wine industry.

In fact, Adams had no distilling experience when he bought his first still. A self-proclaimed “prepper” who was stockpiling food, seeds and weapons, he just thought it would be a good skill to have.

“I bought a bunch of $100 bottles of whiskey and tried to emulate them,” Adams said. “This ain’t Kentucky, there’s no place to go work and learn so I just had to figure it out.”

All together, he’s invested about $80,000 to get started, excluding all his time and labor; he built the patio himself, for example.

The operation may be legit, but the space has a decidedly speakeasy feel, with corrugated tin siding, a swinging-door entrance around to the side and a small patio area to taste the goods just steps from the glorified closet where they are made.

For $20, patrons can taste several variations aged in different types of barrels, some with wood chips added for extra flavor, though only a few are currently available to purchase. The rest should be available soon, once Adams, a county building inspector, finds time to bottle them.

In addition to a half-dozen whiskeys, Foggy Bottom makes gin, rum and a few barrel-rested creations with inventive names such as Innocent Criminal and Uphill Fallout. White spirits sell for $60 for 750ml bottles while the whiskeys go for $80.

The tasting space, at 905 Los Osos Valley Road, Suite B, is open noon to dark Saturdays and Sundays.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Small distillery opens in Los Osos — selling corn whiskey, gin and rum."