When it comes to having a love for a special drink, such as a fine bourbon, long-time friends and Harrison County residents Kevin Cunningham and Jeff Schlosser aren’t alone. Many individuals have taken a liking to the taste of bourbon and enjoyed it.

 

Where Cunningham, a Liberty High School graduate and city resident, and Schlosser differ from most is that they don’t necessarily have to enjoy some one else’s brand. Instead, they have their own.

 

Recently, after registering with the state to begin operations, the partners began operations in March of Mountain State Spirits. Mountain State Spirits is a distillery off Corbin Branch Road.

 

“We would have loved to have gotten started sooner, but this is a very regulated business,” said Schlosser. “It’s the second most regulated business next to pharmaceuticals. We decided to try it and the whole process from registering and applying for the permit took more than a year just to be able to start a business.”

 

Getting to the point of clearing the regulatory hurdles to open shop isn’t unusual. Getting to the point of how the pair decided to go into business together is.

 

Schlosser’s mother-in-law, Carol Ann Schweiker, is know by many throughout the area and state for her love of state history. Part of the history involves the making of beverages for holiday seasons, said Schlosser.

 

“She used to take the bounty of fruit and things collected throughout the year and turn it into potent potables. She’d gift them to us, and it gave me the bug to do it,” said Schlosser. “She inspired me to make an even better version of what she gave to us.”

The “better version” didn’t happen overnight. Schlosser has been playing around with perfecting a drink for the past six years. During that time, Cunningham joined the mix and, eventually, the two felt they had stumbled on to something more than what they liked. They decided they had stumbled on to something the buying public would like.

 

“We decided to give it a go,” said Schlosser.

 

The goal, according to their own information, was simple: “To create the finest craft cordials in North America by elevating Bourbon using traditional techniques.”

 

That’s what the pair are doing. And they now have new product on the market that is available at stores such as Rocco’s, the BFS at Charles Pointe and others in the area.

 

“What we have is as old-world style cordial with bourbon. We may be the only people in the world doing this,” said Schlosser.

 

The products coming from the distillery include Walnut Maple and Hazelnut Honey Bourbon Ratafias. They’re good enough that they won silver medals in the 2019 New York World Spirits competition.

 

“They are in ceramic bottles and they stand out. We believe they’re the finest products on earth,” said Schlosser. “We’re just pulling the sheet back on the product and letting people know it’s out there.

 

“We have a couple of more products in the hopper,” said Schlosser. “We’re coming out with a straight bourbon within the next year.”

 

The product is made by hand. Schlosser also said they source bourbon from the pros and buy superior products.

 

“We’re doing pretty good actually. We’re in about two dozen stores in West Virginia and doing our first trade show in Charleston,” he said. “We’re getting out there trying to get a wider distribution, including other states, to sell.”

 

To learn more about the product, visit them at their Web site, which is www.wvspirits.com. Individuals can also call 304-629-6168 for information.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured at the top, along with their product, are owners Jeff Schlosser, left, and Kevin Cunningham.