If you were among the thousands of Illinoisans who ran for the Wisconsin border for a Thanksgiving feast last week, you may have encountered something new — The state now has an official cocktail.
Relatives in “America’s Dairyland” like brandy old fashioneds, spurning bourbon whiskey for the sweeter and smoother taste of brandy as their adult beverage of choice. Or so I am told.
To quench that old-fashioned thirst, the Wisconsin legislature made it official earlier this month, just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Lawmakers in the Badger State adopted a resolution christening the brandy old fashioned the state’s official cocktail, although the bourbon old fashioned dates to the 19th century.
Illinoisans should be jealous. We don’t have a state beverage.
The Land of Lincoln boasts a state food (corn), snack (popcorn), fruit (goldrush apple) and pie (pumpkin). Alas, no beverage, either with booze or a nonalcoholic variety.
That being said, Gov. J.B. Pritzker the other day seemed to endorse Jeppson’s Malort — that liquor distilled from the bitter woodworm plant and described as tasting like jet fuel — for our state beverage. The governor easily downed a shot of Chicago-made Malort in a video posted on social media. For taking that swig, he’s a better man or woman than most of us.
He should challenge Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to a drinking contest. After watching him effortlessly handle that shot of Malort like it was aged and expensive scotch or bourbon, my money would be on J.B.
Yet, according to Spoon University, a food-focused website, Jameson Irish whiskey is the most-consumed alcohol in Illinois, something which is doubtful. The site also says Jameson, ginger beer and lime — a Jameson & ginger — is the state’s unofficial signature cocktail. That claim also remains doubtful, and perhaps is a marketing ploy.
“Hollywood Cocktails,” a 2020 book of drink recipes celebrating films produced by Paramount Pictures, offers us the “Chicago cocktail” inspired by the classic John Hughes holiday movie from 1987, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” starring Steve Martin and John Candy.
Like a Wisconsin old fashioned, it starts with two ounces of brandy and dash of bitters. Then it takes a definite twist, adding a drop of orange-flavored triple sec Cointreau liqueur, topped off with sparkling wine and a lemon slice.
Not sure that cocktail has enough moxie for the city of big shoulders. Or to stand up to a beer chaser.
Wisconsin residents don’t have to search for their state’s cocktail, even though action by Wisconsin lawmakers was not a legally binding bill, only a resolution. That means milk remains the state’s true official beverage. A couple of the state’s other official symbols include kringle (official pastry) and corn (official grain).
Legend has it Wisconsinites became englamoured with the brandy old fashioned during World War II when U.S. liquor producers were forced to forego distilling whiskey because grain was needed for the war effort. During that time, someone discovered a cache of some 30,000 cases of Christian Brothers brandy — a likely story — in the state, which led to swapping bourbon for brandy, which is made from distilled grapes.
During debate on the resolution, supporters of the action contended Wisconsin accounts for more than half of the U.S. brandy sales from California-based Korbel Champagne Cellars. Wisconsin old-fashioned aficionados and tourists downed more than 150,000 cases of Korbel brandy in 2019, according to The Associated Press. Alabama and Virginia are the only two states to have an official spirit, which is whiskey.
“There’s a thousand things in the state of Wisconsin that make us special, and this is just one of them,” one state senator proudly said of naming the brandy old fashioned the state’s beloved cocktail, the AP reported. Not known for their bipartisanship, Wisconsin lawmakers on both sides of the aisle heartily agreed with the resolution.
The resolution’s supporters strictly maintain Wisconsin’s newly crowned adult beverage must be made as sweet. Some have called it a heavenly mixture of brandy, sugar, bitters, sour mix or lemon-lime soda. It is then poured into, surprisingly, a whiskey glass over usually muddled maraschino cherries, sometimes dark Italian-style Luxardos, with an orange slice garnish.
Those daring to imbibe also may request a green Spanish olive or two as an additional garnish to cut that cherry sweetness. Unless one orders their old fashioned mixed with club soda. Other up-north garnishes might include pickled mushrooms and pickled Brussels sprouts. Purists scoff at those additions.
Indeed, the AP quoted Democratic lawmaker Ryan Clancy, with his tongue firmly planted in cheek, that adding savory ingredients to an old fashioned, like pickled vegetables, is an “abomination” that should be a felony offense.
“I felt stirred to speak today as a father, as a bartender, as an American,” Clancy added during the debate. “I need to be on record as saying there is only one acceptable style of drink — the brandy sweet old fashioned.”
While not exactly elixir of the gods, next time you happen to be in a watering hole north of the Illinois line, toast the trip — responsibly — with a brandy old fashioned.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com.
X @sellenews
