'Who doesn't love an old fashioned?': Lawmakers seek to make drink official Wisconsin co*cktail (2024)

FAQs

'Who doesn't love an old fashioned?': Lawmakers seek to make drink official Wisconsin co*cktail? ›

'Who doesn't love an old fashioned?': Lawmakers seek to make drink official Wisconsin co*cktail. The Madison Mallards made history Saturday night after mixing a record-sized 325-gallon brandy Old Fashioned co*cktail for fans. Sweet or sour?

Wisconsin crowns the brandy old fashioned as the official state co*cktail : NPR. Wisconsin crowns the brandy old fashioned as the official state co*cktail Lawmakers in Wisconsin have passed a resolution declaring the state's official co*cktail: the brandy old fashioned.

For the unfamiliar, the old fashioned co*cktail in just about every place other than Wisconsin is traditionally made with a whiskey, like bourbon, sugar and bitters. But in Wisconsin, brandy usually replaces whiskey — and it's most often poured over a mixture of muddled cherries, orange slices, sugar and bitters.

Brandy's popularity in Wisconsin started when a large number of German immigrants moved here in the 19th century and couldn't find their favorite drink, brandewijn. This prompted Korbel to start distilling for the public in 1889. Small-batch local distilleries produce – or have produced – brandy, too.

It may surprise some to learn that the Badger State consumes more brandy than anywhere else in the United States. In 2019, Wisconsinites accounted for more than half of the worldwide sales of Korbel brandy.

Then came bitters, ice, sugar, a soft drink, sour mix or club soda, oranges, cherries, olives and pickled vegetables (pickled vegetables?). “The old-fashioned has become an unmistakable symbol of Wisconsin, its residents, and its unique culture,” the resolution authors continue.

That's because the Brandy Old Fashioned is the (un)official co*cktail of Wisconsin. Nationally, Old Fashioneds are typically made with rye or bourbon whiskey, but the true Wisconsin Old Fashioned is made with brandy -- Korbel by tradition.

Similarly, for the past few decades, the old-fashioned has been seen as a man's drink, but after Prohibition, the old-fashioned was one of the most popular drinks ordered by women. Understanding this connection between women and co*cktail culture places women back into a story that popular culture has removed them from.

The co*cktail was so simple that it continued in popularity by drinkers who refused to change their ways and drink more modern co*cktails. These drinkers always ordered their drinks the old fashioned way with whiskey or bourbon, sugar, water and bitters.

Why is drinking so big in Wisconsin? ›

One common theory about why Wisconsin's drinking culture is so extreme is linked to the state's German heritage. About 43 percent of the state's population claims German roots, which explains Wisconsin's drinking culture — so the theory goes — since medieval Germans are the ones who invented hopped beer.

1. Wisconsin's Twist on a Classic — The Brandy Old Fashioned. Did you know Wisconsin consumes the most brandy per capita in the country? Part of the reason is due to our official state co*cktail, the Brandy Old Fashioned.

The Wisconsin Legislature designated milk as the official state beverage in 1987. This action recognized Wisconsin's position as the nation's leading milk-producing state and the contribution of milk to the state's economy.

In fact, no other human has ever matched Andre as a drinker. He is the zenith. He is the Mount Everest of inebriation. As far as great drunkards go, there is Andre the Giant, and then there is everyone else.

Russia and Australia have the highest prevalence of alcoholism dependence overall, with 2.61 per cent and 2.58 per cent, respectively. According to the World Health Organization, US has the lowest rate of alcohol dependence with only 1.93 per cent.

Leading brandy & cognac brands in the U.S. 2022, based on volume sales. In 2022, Hennessy was the leading brandy and cognac brand in the United States with about 4.1 million 9 liter cases sold. E&J ranked second with 3.5 million cases sold.

Wisconsin's Twist on a Classic — The Brandy Old Fashioned

Did you know Wisconsin consumes the most brandy per capita in the country? Part of the reason is due to our official state co*cktail, the Brandy Old Fashioned. It's the Old Fashioned co*cktail you know and love, with brandy in place of whiskey.

The Old Fashioned is arguably the most well-known whiskey co*cktail in the world. Essentially just a slug of bourbon that's been lightly sweetened with sugar and modified with a couple dashes of bitters, it's dead simple to make, but within this basic template is a world of opinions and flavor.

Wisconsin has historically ranked as one of the heaviest drinking states in the United States with a persistent drinking culture. Few studies have documented the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption after the first few months of the pandemic.

Examples of brandy include pisco, armagnac or Obstler (a brandy produced in Austria and Switzerland). Cognac, however, is always made with grapes and has a very specific distillation and blending process located in a small, protected area in the southwest of France. considered as brandy, but not all brandy is cognac.”