Mancini bourbon is an award winner

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini is rapidly making a name for himself in another ring.

The former boxing champion and Youngstown native is putting his face on Boom Boom Bourbon, and it’s already a contender.

Boom Boom Bourbon, which hit the market just five months ago, has taken home its first award. The liquor won a bronze medal for bourbon at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition earlier this month.

Mancini was surprised – and pleased – at the quick success.

“It validates what we thought,” Mancini said. “We knew we had a hell of a product. People who have tried it have told me how much they enjoy it.”

The bottle’s front label has an aged look and includes an illustration of Mancini from his fighting days, fists raised in exultation after a victory.

But the champ is particularly proud of the bottle’s back label, which includes a photo of his father, who was also a boxer with the nickname “Boom Boom.”

More than 3,000 entries competed in the San Francisco competition, an annual event that uses a panel of experts to select the best in several categories. Vodka, tequila, rum, bourbon, whiskey, gin and other spirits are entered, although it is not known how many are in each category.

Mancini and his Ringside Whiskey group teamed up with Tom Lix, founder and CEO of Cleveland Whiskey, in creating Boom Boom Bourbon.

Lix and his Cleveland Whiskey team came up with the recipe and then distilled the bourbon, which gets its unique flavor from being finished in maple syrup barrels.

He explained the process.

“It starts with a good quality bourbon, but the maple syrup adds something to it,” Lix said. “It starts with our bourbon barrels, which we then loan to a maple syrup company, which they then use to age syrup in. Then we get it back, and now it’s considered a maple syrup barrel. We let [our bourbon] sit for 90 to 120 days, and it picks up all of that maple flavor.”

The San Francisco competition is one of the most reputable, Lix added. But when asked if he was surprised at the success of Boom Boom Bourbon, he gave an emphatic no.

“I knew it was a good, solid entry,” he said. “I don’t enter these competitions unless I think we have a good shot at winning.”

Boom Boom Bourbon is available only in about 30 stores, including Giant Eagle supermarkets, all in the Youngstown area. But Lix and Mancini said they are seeking distribution deals that would put their product in California, Nevada, Massachusetts and other states.

Though Mancini is a newcomer to the bourbon game, he has had his own wine label for a few years. His Southpaw Wines, which are unrelated to the Boom Boom Bourbon team, will release a new pinot later this year.