Wisconsin is home to a growing community that's embracing and producing local hand-crafted spirits, several of which are made directly from grains grown right here in America's Dairyland. Newly-thriving Wisconsin-born Bourbon is providing spirit enthusiasts with distinct flavors and bucket-list destinations across the state.
In this episode of Discover Wisconsin, host Andrea Boehlke visits four Wisconsin Bourbon producers to discuss how they started, their specialty in the distilling and blending process, and their vision for the future of spirits in Wisconsin. Andrea's tour of the Wisconsin Bourbon Trail starts in downtown Milwaukee as Central Standard Craft Distillery opens their doors to discuss how they started in the industry and provide our viewers with an education in mixology of a Wisconsin staple, the Old Fashioned. Andrea heads north to Fond du Lac to meet with the Retzer family on their family farm, home to Ledgerock Distillery. Jay and Heidi Retzer invite us to share in their history of taking a chance to turn the grains grown on the family farm into spirits shared across the region.
Discover Wisconsin's introduction into Wisconsin Bourbon would not be complete without a visit to J. Henry & Sons in Dane, Wisconsin. Andrea tours the Henry family farm and takes on the challenge to blend her own Bourbon with Joe Jr. She is then introduced to owners Joe and Liz Henry, and discusses what makes their tasting room and Bourbon tours so special for Bourbon enthusiasts. Closing our episode is a visit to Cambridge, Wisconsin the home to Dancing Goat Distillery. Nick Maas visits with Andrea to talk about the rich history in spirits, and Bourbon, in the Maas family and the creation of Dancing Goat Distillery. Nick explores the senses with Andrea while they taste Bourbon. Discover Wisconsin was also granted private access to visit the inside of Dancing Goat Distillery's rickhouse.
Catch these four amazing distilleries and explore every stop along The Wisconsin Bourbon Trail at discoverwisconsin.com/bourbon....
Featured moments in this episode:
00:00 Central Standard in Milwaukee thecentralstandard.com
01:45 Evan Hughes & Pat McQuillan share their perspective on the evolution of their bourbon
02:57 Touring the production facility, and chatting on newest innovations with Jim Kanter
04:03 Making a good ‘ole Wisconsin Old Fashioned with Jake Helling
05:19 Ledgerock Distillery in Fond du Lac ledgerockdistillery.com
05:45 Jay & Heidi Retzer share the emotional family impact the distillery has had on their journey
08:22 The science behind the scenes of the bourbon process
09:38 J. Henry & Sons in Dane jhenryandsons.com
09:49 Joe Z Henry shares the history behind the bourbon derived from the 3rd-generation seed farm
10:58 Blending bourbon in the rickhouse
11:43 Joe & Liz Henry reminisce on being the first bourbon-specific tours and the unique collaborations they’ve been a part of
12:32 Exclusive tasting of their award-winning favorites
14:09 Dancing Goat in Cambridge www.dancinggoat.com
14:21 Nick-Brady Maas shares his passion for consumer education and how that’s an integral part of their mission
15:29 Inside tips on how to taste bourbons like a pro
17:07 Key aspects of rickhouse designs that help to age bourbon and turn it into the gold that it is
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