Twisted Path’s Uncompromising Quality

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Danged if reading about the beginnings of Twisted Path (2018 S. First St.) hasn’t made me glad I moved to Milwaukee in 1963. Founder and distiller Brian Sammons’ motto “Made from Scratch in Milwaukee” makes me proud of my adopted city and that’s coming from a guy born in Brooklyn at the time the Brooklyn Dodgers ruled. Sammons, who worked in counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations, has gone the whole nine yards (an appropriate way to acknowledge his service to our country) perfecting recipes for organic rum, vodka, gin and whiskey.

A native of Whitefish Bay and a graduate of UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison Law School, he opened Twisted Path in Bay View in December 2014 deciding he’d prefer to be his own boss and carry forward the skills he developed as a small-batch craft distiller. He continues that passion tweaking recipes using only the finest organic ingredients with only one goal for both the basic distilled product and all of their custom cocktails: make it taste great.

Here’s a quick look into the “back room.”

The rum mash is made from sweet organic Paraguayan molasses. The search for the perfect whiskey goes on. Sammons told me that he’s constantly tweaking the recipe. “I don’t make enough to distribute, it’s just for sale at the distillery—so I make it like whiskey nerds like me like it, constantly changing. So, each batch is different.”

Their rye is more than half rye, the remainder is from corn. He has “played with” a couple of different types and sometimes mixes in wheat or a little barley malt. Thus, every whiskey release is different. Their vodka is made from a sweet organic yellow corn from the Dolan family organic farm in Dodgeville, WI. 

Sammons was kind enough to explain how his products are gluten-free when wheat, rye, or barley are used in the mash. (Corn is gluten-free right off the cob!) It’s simple: distillation removes all gluten; 100%; distillation leaves behind any protein including the gluten which is non-volatile. Sammons has celiacs and he “can drink it just fine.”

Mashes need to be fermented so I asked about the yeasts that are used. Here’s the big picture: “The yeast is different for each product. We have a different one for vodka, rum, and for whiskies, changing up yeasts on various batches is one of the variables we play with in making each batch of whiskey unique.”

All of their spirits are certified organic by the USDA.

Currently there are limited snacks available, but you can bring in your own food and there’s often a great taco truck across the street.

Sammons leads tours on Saturday. He suggests that you “grab a cocktail and bring it along as we go through the distilling process, then a guided taste through our main line of spirits. Tours typically last about an hour, but it depends how many questions you have along the way!” Reservations can be made online on their website where you will find additional information at twistedpathdistillery.com.