Refresher Course: Local Spirits for Your Holiday
Want Local Spirits Ideas for the 4th? Look Here
I have been attending the annual World of Whiskies tasting event at Binny’s Beverage Depot since before I moved to Chicago (no lie). I have learned a lot about spirits from these events, and since I transitioned to local food advocacy, I have spent most of my Binny’s time connecting (and in many cases reconnoitering) with our region’s craft distillers.
I had the pleasure of attending the media event for this year’s World of Whiskies on June 15. It took me a busy couple of weeks to pull together this guide to local, based on the producers I visited during the event, while reminding that this is just a good sampling of the region’s excellent and ever-growing craft spirits sector.
Blaum Bros. Distilling, Galena, Illinois
Blaum Brothers, created and run by twins Matt and Mike Blaum, opened their distillery 10 years ago in Galena, a bit more than a mile east of the Mississippi River in Illinois’ northwest corner. They have built a loyal following in our region, and while their Binny’s tasting focused on their flagship bourbon and rye, they produce a wide variety of spirits (see what kinds below).
An additional reason to add Blaum to your distillery field trips is that its hometown of Galena is a lovely, tourist-friendly city with easy access to beautiful natural vistas. Its attractions include sites identified with Ulysses S. Grant, who lived in Galena before leaving to serve with and ultimately lead Union Army troops to victory in the Civil War, then returned before leaving to serve two terms as the 18th president of the United States.
According to the company’s website, “Blaum Bros. Distilling Co. distills and produces fine spirits in the heart of Galena, Illinois — a town steeped in distilling history. Through the selection of the best grains in the local area and abroad, the brothers hand craft spirits by meticulously controlling the entire process — from the milling of the raw grains, to the mashing, fermentation, and distillation on their custom made copper still.”
Types of spirits: Bourbon, rye, vodka, spiced vodka, gin, barreled gin, aged and white rums, absinthe verte.
Tastings: 9380 US Hwy 20 W, Galena, Illinois… Hours: Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cedar Ridge, Swisher, Iowa
Iowa has lots and lots of corn. In 2005, Jeff Quint, whose family has a distilling background, decided it was time for Iowa to claim its stake in the corn whiskey business, and started Cedar Ridge to make bourbon from corn grown on his own family farm. According to Cedar Ridge, it was the first licensed distillery in Iowa since the Prohibition Era.
I met Murphy Quint, now the head distiller, at the Binny’s event, and was struck by the high proofs on a couple of their expressions: the Cedar Ridge Barrel Proof bourbon clocked in at 116 proof, the Quintessential single malt whiskey at about 113. These whiskeys underscored something I’ve experienced elsewhere: High-alcohol spirits tend to be smoother and more subtle these days.
It used to be when you sipped a high-alcohol whiskey, you knew it was high-alcohol, like you felt like maybe your hair was catching on fire. The Cedar Ridge versions were quite easy drinking (a few drops of water opened up the nose and took the proof down a few notches). That also makes barrel proofs a little dangerous, because if you don’t know what they are, they could pretty easily knock you on your keister. It’s always a good idea to ask the proof of the spirits before ordering.
Types of spirits: Bourbon, single malt whiskey, vodka, barrel-aged rum, fruit brandy
Tastings: 1441 Marak Rd., Swisher, Iowa… Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. tours
Journeyman Distillery, Three Oaks, Michigan
I first interviewed Bill Welter at Journeyman in 2012, a few months after he opened the distillery in the southwest Michigan city of Three Oaks. Bill might have followed in the footsteps of his banker father, but after attending college on a golf scholarship, he spent a summer caddying at Scotland’s famed St. Andrew’s course, and became engrossed with whiskey making, ultimately deciding to make it his life’s work.
After achieving success in a distillery built in an old corset and buggy whip factory, Bill expanded to a restaurant, and built an elaborate putting course on the site. And, in a rare step for a craft distillery, he is building out a second distillery in Valparaiso, Indiana, 40 miles to the southwest.
Types of spirits: Bourbon, rye, four grain whiskey, wheat whiskey, small batch bourbon, single malt whiskey, white whiskey
Tastings: 109 Generations Drive, Three Oaks, Michigan… Hours Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday| 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Koval Distillery, Chicago
The husband-and-wife team of Sonat Birnecker Hart and Robert Birnecker made some history in 2008 when they opened Koval, the first distillery in Chicago since before the Prohibition era. It was a second career for both, though Robert has an Austrian distilling heritage in his family.
They immediately made a mark by using only organic grain, most of it procured from farmers in the Chicago region. The couple has mentored a number of other craft distillers, and has a second business, Kothe Distilling Technologies, which consults with craft spirits startups to get them up and running.
Koval has a well-appointed tasting room attached to its distillery at 4241 N. Ravenswood Avenue, where it is a anchor of Malt Row, a promotional district that also includes several leading craft breweries and a winery.
Types of spirits: Bourbon, Four Grain, Millet, Oat, Bottled in Bond Rye, and White Rye whiskeys; dry, barreled, and cranberry gin; vodka; beer brandy; and rose hip, ginger, coffee, and chrysanthemum honey liqueurs.
Tastings: 4241 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago… Hours: Monday-Friday 3 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday 12 p.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.-8 p.m.
LaCrosse Distilling Co., LaCrosse, Wisconsin
I’ve enjoyed tasting LaCrosse Distilling’s spirits at Binny’s tasting events, but what moves them up my list of recommendations is their devotion to sustainable practices. When your website leads with “We’re a geothermal powered distillery sourced by area farmers,” you have my attention.
The website continues, “Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin, La Crosse is at the heart of the Driftless Region. During the last Ice Age, when the surrounding land was scraped flat by glaciers, this area remained untouched, creating a unique bioregion. La Crosse Distilling Co. was created to capture the heart and history of this region while producing handcrafted field-to-glass spirits. Driftless Pure is our promise to use organic ingredients, employ sustainable practices and focus on authentic quality. We partner with family farmers who share our values. Using this Farmer Forward approach, we source heirloom ingredients and rely on vital pollinators like hummingbirds, bees and butterflies; helping us produce the deep and rich flavor profiles in every bottle.”
Yeah, that’s speaking my language.
Types of spirits: Bourbon, rye, rock and rye, gin, coffee whiskey, vodka.
Tastings: 129 Vine St., La Crosse, Wisconsin… Hours: Sunday-Monday and Wednesday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Maplewood Brewery and Distillery, Chicago
Maplewood has produced excellent craft beers and spirits in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood since 2014. The folks there tout that they were the first to produce beer and spirits under one roof in Illinois, and there still are only a handful of beverage makers in the country who do both.
There is even some crossover in some of their spirits stylings. For example, their Sour Mash Pils single-barrel American malt whiskey is made with the same malts (Pilsner and Vienna) as their Pulaski Pils craft beer, and the whiskey is fermented using lactobacillus, a bacteria commonly used in sour beers, an increasingly popular category, as well as numerous food items.
Similarly, their Brewers’ Gin is finished with an infusion of Mosaic and Citra whole cone hops. Among the distillery’s other esoteric expressions are gins made with Colorado spruce tips.
Types of spirits: Gins, single malt whiskeys, ryes, white rum, liqueurs (chocolate, coffee, bitter orange, pistachio), canned cocktails.
Tastings: 2717 N. Maplewood Ave., Chicago… Hours: Monday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday-Wednesday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday 3 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Friday: 1 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Sunday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Mississippi River Distilling, Le Claire, Iowa (Cody Road label)
Mississippi River Distillery, which sells under the Cody Road label, was started in 2010 by brothers Ryan & Garrett Burchett (as you can tell, distilling is often a family affair). The name comes from the fact that William “Buffalo Bill” Cody of Wild West fame was born in the distillery’s home town of Le Claire, Iowa.
I was drawn to this distillery early on by the fact that they source their grain only from local farmers. I’ve stayed because I really like their product. I’ve become fond of their experimental series of bourbon finished in different wine and spirits barrels, and on my way out of Binny’s I bought a bottle of this year’s expression, finished in vermouth barrels.
One other thing that’s nice about these Binny’s pop-ups is that I get to chat with Mississippi River sales rep Sam Bergren, one of the nicest guys in the business.
Types of spirits: Bourbons, ryes, flavored bourbons (currently honey, maple and peach), vodka, gins, artisan spirit, liqueurs (cream, salted caramel, egg nog, amaretto), bottled Manhattan and Old Fashioned cocktails; Experimental Series; wide range of limited and seasonal offerings.
Tastings: 303 North Cody Road, Le Claire, Iowa… Hours: Sunday-Thursday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Thornton Distillery, Thornton, Illinois
Opened in 2019 in a south suburb of Chicago, Thornton is one of the newest craft distilleries in the area — and is located in one of the sector’s oldest buildings, a former brewery that opened in 1857.
Founder Andrew Howell and head distiller Ari Klafter produce an unconventional variety of spirits, all under the Dead Drop label (a Prohibition-era bootlegging reference). The three spirits sampled at Binny’s were a high-rye bourbon, an American Pecan bourbon (infused in barrel with roasted, Illinois-grown pecans); and a bottled Old Fashioned cocktail.
For the bold among you, Thornton also distills a 133-proof absinthe blanc called Louchifer.
Types of spirits: Bourbon, pecan bourbon, vodka, silver rum, dark rum, gin, bottled Old Fashioned, absinthe.
Tastings: 400 E. Margaret St., Thornton, Illinois…. Hours: Wednesday & Thursday 3 p.m.-10 p.m.; Friday & Saturday 3 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.-10 p.m.
Two Brothers Artisan Spirits, Aurora, Illinois
If you are a craft beer geek (like me), you almost certainly are aware of the founding role that Two Brothers Artisan Brewing played in establishing what became a thriving craft beer sector in the Chicago region. When Jim and Jason Ebel started the brewery in the Chicago suburb of Warrenville in 1996, Two Brothers and Chicago’s Goose Island were the biggest (if not the only) names in local craft brewing. Today, the Chicago region is one of the nation’s craft brewing epicenters.
Fewer people know about Two Brothers Artisan Spirits, but the care and craftsmanship that has always gone in the company’s beers is evident in its wide variety of hard liquors as well.
The company is also upfront in its dedication to sustainability, describing its approach as “Craft with a Conscience.” According to their website, Two Brothers uses local ingredients as much as possible, works to conserve water in its brewing process, uses renewable electricity, grows produce for its restaurants in an organic rooftop garden, and provides spent grain to local farms to feed their cattle.
Types of spirits: Small batch bourbon, white and single barrel rum, vodka and citrus vodka, modern and rose gin, liqueurs (amaro and barreled amaro, citruscello, cold brew coffee), variety of canned cocktails and vodka sodas.
Tastings: Zephyr Room, Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway, Aurora… Hours: Friday-Saturday 5 p.m. to close.
Whiskey Acres Distilling, DeKalb, Illinois
It is impossible to get more farm-to-glass than Whiskey Acres. That’s because the distillery, which opened in late 2014, is located right on the farm that grows the corn, wheat and rye that goes into Whiskey Acres’ stills, and their water comes from the limestone aquifer beneath the farm.
Growing their own enables Whiskey Acres to put more than the usual ingredients into its spirits. Over the years its limited release portfolio has included bourbons made with blue popcorn and green and red varieties of corn. And on July 7, Whiskey Acres is releasing an excellent Cask Finished bottling that was sampled at the Binny’s event and is creating a buzz; the distillery expects a long line to form well before the 4:30 p.m. release time at their onsite tasting room.
Whiskey Acres is located about 65 miles from downtown Chicago, making it a pretty easy excursion. You can take farm tours and you can take distillery tours, but it’s exceedingly rare that you can do both in the same place.
Types of spirits: Bourbons, ryes, vodka.
Tastings: 11504 Keslinger Rd., DeKalb, Illinois… Hours: Friday 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Saturday: 1:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Sunday 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.