Death’s Door Spirits
220W. Lakeside St.
Madison, WI 53715
608-441-1083
Brian Ellison of Death’sDoor Spirits is weary of the comparisons made between the Madison micro-distillery’s White Whisky andmoonshine. Whereas moonshine may overwhelm and sting, the artisan-crafted WhiteWhisky is a “nice sipping spirit,” Ellison says.
Death’s Door WhiteWhisky (80 proof) is made with organically grown hard red winter wheat fromWashington Island and Wisconsinmalted barley. It is distilled twice and aged for less than 72 hours in new oakbarrels, which is not enough time for the whiskey to gain color, according tothe Death’s Door Spirits website.
Each of the company’sspirits has acquired quite a bit of praise. TheNew York Times gave thumbs-up to the White Whisky, Wine & Spirits Magazine named Death’s Door Gin one of the bestspirits of the year in 2009, and Maxim.com ranked Death’s Door Vodka among thenation’s best micro-spirits.
Established in 2006,Death’s Door Spirits has worked with Washington Islandfarmers to grow and create its ingredients as part of its quest to remaininvolved and invested in the land and the community. Death’s Door Spirits alsohosts the Juniper Festival to celebrate the harvest of the wild juniper berriesfound on the island and used in Death’s Door Gin.
Great Lakes Distillery
616 W. Virginia St.
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-431-8683
Great Lakes Distilleryis recognized as Wisconsin’s first distillerysince Prohibition and celebrated as Milwaukee’ssole micro-distillery, proving that along with good beer, Milwaukee is capable of crafting good spiritsand even great whiskey. In May, Great Lakes Distillery Test Batch bourbon wasawarded a gold medal for best bourbon at the American Distilling InstituteConference in Louisville, Ky. Great Lakes Distillery owner Guy Rehorstsays that he was “surprised and delighted” by the recognition.
The 92-proof bourbon wasdistilled with corn, wheat, barley and rye, and aged for almost three years.The entire batch sold out at a release party in March, and Rehorst estimatesthat the next batch, which has been aging for two years, will not be ready foranother three years.
There is, however, goodnews for local whiskey connoisseurs. Great Lakeshopes to debut its rye whiskey sometime this fall. A malt whiskey is also apossibility in the next year, though aging good whiskey requires patience andtime, and sometimes “it’s ready when it’s ready,” Rehorst says.
Great Lakes Distilleryoffers free tours Monday through Saturday. If you are in a sampling mood, a $3fee will get you a flight of three different spirits to sample.
Yahara Bay Distillers
3118 Kingsley Way
Madison, WI 53713
608-275-1050
YaharaBay Distillers opened in 2007, but the Madisoncraft distillery has already developed an impressive array of spirits, in partby utilizing and embracing Wisconsin-grown ingredients. The Apple Brandy ismade with Wisconsin Honeycrisp apples, the Premium White Rum incorporatesWisconsin-grown sorghum, and the Yahara Bay Whiskey is made with Washington Island wheat.
YaharaBay Whiskey (80 proof) is the first aged whiskey to be legally produced in Dane Countysince Prohibition, says owner and distiller Nick Quint. The bourbon whiskey ismade from wheat, corn, barley and rye, and has been in the barrel for more thantwo years. Quint is pleased with the flavor of Yahara Bay’sfirst whiskeyhe describes the bourbon as smooth and possessing an excellentfinish.
Additionally,the distillery plans to release a clear whiskey, which is basically whiskey thathas not entered the barrel, Quint says. Bottles of the bourbon are stillavailable, and Yahara Bay spirits can bepurchased by the bottle and by the drink at a number of Madison-areaestablishments.
For more information, visitwww.deathsdoorspirits.com; www.greatlakesdistillery.com; and www.yaharabay.com.
