With a lock on most of the top 20 drunkest cities in America, Wisconsin might know a little something about alcohol. While many likely think this means beer, a book recently published by the University of Wisconsin Press focuses on the Badger State’s love of cocktails.
“Wisconsin Cocktails” is the latest work of state resident Jeanette Hurt, a well-known food and drink writer. While I often associate her with cheese, she’s also authored the well received “Drink Like a Woman: Shake. Stir. Conquer. Repeat.”
As Hurt writes in her preface, “We have cocktails that are so unique to Wisconsin that if we ask for them a certain way, whether we’re in Las Vegas or Orlando, Manhattan or Miami, the bartender will go, ‘Oh, are you from Wisconsin?’”
Chapter one is dedicated to the old fashioned. Though yet to be taken up by the state government, the “official” cocktail of Wisconsin is a brandy cocktail, causing out-of-state fans of the whiskey version to groan. While it’s not the only brand used, California-based Korbel can thank Wisconsin for consuming half of their total annual production.
Hurt covers the myriad variations on the recipe (a Milwaukee distillery owner offers a gin-based version), the techniques for making them, and the fascinating theories of the Badger State’s shunning of whiskey for brandy. A Korbel booth at the 1893 World’s Fair? An abundance of German immigrants? No spoilers; read and find out.
Besides the state cocktail, the bloody mary and the batter-rich Tom and Jerry merit their own chapters. Garnishing bloody marys is a competitive sport in Wisconsin: Each “comes with its own meal on top,” notes Hurt, and a beer chaser. The origin stories are as interesting as the recipes are delicious.
Other chapters cover ice-cream drinks to hot mixes: hot toddies and Tom and Jerrys for those long winters, and Wisconsin peculiarities from the brandy slush to the cherry bounce, a potent tradition of soaking Wisconsin Door County cherries in booze for a month or six to be drunk around the holidays. Each chapter offers a collection of great recipes from various Wisconsin-based mixologists, from “classic” representations of drinks to a number of modern creations, such as a coffee julep made with Japanese whiskey and garnished with coffee beans.
Non-alcoholic or “virgin” cocktails are not left out, including a no-booze old fashioned. But if you think some of the book’s cocktails indeed sound old-fashioned, try out the many new Wisconsin cocktails, which range from abundant variations on classics to a few dessert-leaning drinks from Kohler, namesake of the kitchen and bath fixture empire, and home of The American Club resort and some world-class golf courses.
The book ends with a section on cocktail and cheese pairings. What should you pair with a $200/pound, 20-year-old cheddar?
RECIPE: Tom and Jerry
From Dairy Farmers of WisconsinMakes 12 servings
- 1 cup Wisconsin Mascarpone cheese
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 6 eggs, separated (preferably pasteurized or from a local source you trust)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (use only if using pasteurized eggs)
In a large glass or metal bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until the egg whites form sharp peaks that hold their shape when lifted with the beater or whisk. Gently fold egg whites into mascarpone mixture, until well combined. Batter can be used immediately or stored in a tightly sealed container and frozen for up to two weeks.
- 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) milk
- 12 ounces rum
- 12 ounces brandy
- Glass: mug
- Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg
Cocktails of Our Nation
Writer Brian Bartels zooms out for a broader view of American cocktails in his all-encompassing volume “United States of Cocktails: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions from All 50 States.” (Needless to say, an old fashioned glass marks Wisconsin on the map.)Bartels is a Wisconsinite, naturally, and cut his teeth and limes as a bartender in Madison. But for a decade, he served as managing partner and bar director of a bar-training program in New York. A lot of time and travel went into this volume: Indeed, Bartels “traveled everywhere throughout the United States to corral the information you are about to read,” he writes in the intro, “seeing the bars, trying the cocktails, and talking to the locals about what makes each state unique.”
Bartels divides the country into four main sections: the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, and each state within gets a chapter, highlighting a particular spirit, the oldest establishment, a bucket-list bar, and several other cocktail bars you shouldn’t miss. Quotes and anecdotes from characters he’s met along the way stand out alongside the main text, and each chapter ends with 2 or 3 detailed recipes.
Consider New Hampshire’s pages and the Hulk Smash, a rye-based cocktail with chartreuse, mint bitters, and fresh mint and juices, a creation of Sarah Maillet of 815, a bar in Manchester. Georgia, famously home to Coca-Cola, includes the Uppercut, a mix made with bourbon, spiced rum, vermouth, and a Coca-Cola reduction by Miles Macquarrie of Kimball House in Decatur. Hawaii unsurprisingly includes the Blue Hawaii, but also Fool’s Gold, a recipe from Jen Ackrill at Top of Waikiki in Honolulu: a blend of gin, bourbon, and two specialty liqueurs bringing banana and bitter orange flavors.
The collection features more than 100 recipes, and an index lists the cocktails both geographically and by their primary liquor. The introduction includes the back story of cocktails and their history in the United States as well as some interesting trivia. Did you know that bars in Michigan and Kentucky cannot use producer-branded glassware or coasters? Or that Massachusetts doesn’t have happy hour? (Perish the thought!)
RECIPE: Fool’s Gold
From Jen Ackrill, Top of Waikiki, Honolulu- 1 ounce St. George Dry Rye gin
- 1 ounce Buffalo Trace bourbon
- 3/4 ounce Bittermens Amère Nouvelle
- 1/4 ounce Giffard Banane du Brésil
- Garnish: lime peel
