The Monthly Mash: October 2019

Dear Friends in Our Craft Spirits Industry:

Typically, I’m elated this time of year, particularly on Halloween. Opening the door to creative costumes, seeing gleeful children so thankful for a piece of candy, and viewing my local parade complete with marching bands and floats, makes me happy. Oh, those simple pleasures in life.

One “simple” pleasure was witnessing our annual judging of craft spirits which will end today. I was amazed at the number of quality products entered (could you be the Best of Show medalist?) to the ease at which Maggie Campbell from Privateer Rum ran the event, to the unparalleled professional staff at Cardinal Spirits, our host distillery in Bloomington, Indiana, under the management of Jeff Wuslich. I hope the passion comes through in the photos below.

Thanks to all of your feedback, our legislative affairs committee, led by Mark Shilling, drafted and ACSA submitted comments to the TTB’s Proposed Elimination of Standards of Fill, included near the end of this email for your review.

Another pleasurable moment was curling up with a smooth brandy (cannot pick favorites here so you’ll have to guess what I enjoyed) to read the second issue of  Craft Spirits  magazine. If you haven’t yet indulged in our ACSA publication, take some time now.

And, one hallmark of ACSA is the stellar education we offer. It isn’t too late to attend next week’s OSHA program, customized for the craft spirits producer, at Garrison Bros. Distillery in Texas. Plus, have you checked out the upcoming convention offerings, tailored to meet your needs from the novice to experienced distiller?

Learning about our fellow distillers is also fun. This month we have a conversation with Abby Titcomb, the head distiller at 3 Floyds Distilling Co. in Munster, Indiana.

What’s your guilty pleasure? For some more fun, please complete the poll below. We’ll share results next month.

Cheers,

On Fridays the Wollersheim Winery & Distillery runs a special in its tasting room. For $5, you can get an Old Fashioned, made the Wisconsin way: with brandy. The long-time family-owned winery in Prairie du Sac added a distillery several years ago and started off making brandy, the preferred spirit in these parts. While out-of-state visitors might be confused on the fruit-derived spirit getting prominent billing in a cocktail better known for whiskey, Tom Lenerz, the distiller, says it’s Wollersheim’s bestseller by a mile and quickly creates converts.

“It’s our premium brandy and artisan bitters, that’s a custom blend from Bittercube in Milwaukee, with a splash of 7 Up on top,” says Lenerz. “It isn’t the same one you get for $4 at the corner bar in some parts of the state, but in the same spirit and we get to showcase what we’re doing here.”

The Badger State has a thriving craft distillery scene and continues to grow, and in an increasingly competitive marketplace, the state’s distillers say they have a big advantage when it comes to their products and it all centers on local, from the ingredients to the sense of pride.

From the grains, to the water, and even local sugar sources, Wisconsin distillers are finding ways to bring as much of the local flavor of their diverse state into each bottle.

“I think our state is set apart because of the sense of place and that we’re honoring the agricultural heritage we have here, as well,” says Chris Roedl, the proprietor of Hatch Distilling Co. in Egg Harbor. “Right now, the dairy industry is struggling so it’s a good time for farmers to consider another avenue to sell their grain, and distillers are stepping up with orders. I think farmers are, by definition, problem-solving thinkers, and when the two industries are combined, we’re getting interesting entrepreneurial-minded folks with unbelievable talents creating great products.”