Wisconsin Old Fashioned (2024)

FAQs

How is a Wisconsin Old Fashioned different? ›

For the unfamiliar, the old fashioned cocktail 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.

a wisconsin old fashioned is not your typical old fashioned; it muddles sugar, bitters and orange with brandy and finishes with a crisp pour of soda for a sparkling version of a classic.

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 cocktail, the Brandy Old Fashioned. It's the Old Fashioned cocktail you know and love, with brandy in place of whiskey.

Starting as country road speakeasies during Prohibition, the dance halls turned restaurants are a staple of Wisconsin family life. “Everyone grew up going to supper clubs, and you always drink an Old Fashioned,” says Rob Peterson, marketing director of Door County Distillery.

To this day Wisconsin buys copious amounts -- roughly a third of the brandy Korbel produces every year goes to Wisconsin. Now, if you remember, the liquor in the Whiskey Cocktail/Old Fashioned was interchangeable, so those brandy-loving Wisconsinites swapped out whiskey for brandy and the Brandy Old Fashioned was born.

Lawmakers in Wisconsin have passed a resolution declaring the state's official cocktail: the brandy old fashioned.

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 cocktail culture places women back into a story that popular culture has removed them from.

Glass: The Old Fashioned is one of the few drinks in existence that has a glass named in its honor. The ideal glass should be between eight to 10 ounces, with a thick heavy bottom. Ice: This is a sipping cocktail, but you don't want that expensive booze turning into a watery mess.

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.

Let's take a look at the history, and why the beer is only sold in Wisconsin. The origin story: First released in 1993, Edel Pils and Wisconsin Belgian Red were the original beers of New Glarus Brewing. The brewery didn't start to gain its iconic status until the 1997 launch of Spotted Cow.

What city in Wisconsin drinks the most? ›

According to a survey by InsiderMonkey, Milwaukee has an excessive drinking rate of 24.6 percent, the highest among cities in the U.S.A. This Wisconsin city was ranked the drunkest in America... again.

Old Fashioned

Milwaukeeans have been drinking Old Fashioneds since long before Don Draper made them cool again. This cocktail traces its roots all the way back to the 19th century and is most often made with whiskey – but the Wisconsin version is all about the brandy!

If you order an Old Fashioned in 49 out of 50 states, you can expect a whiskey cocktail made with sugar, water and bitters, typically Angostura. In Wisconsin, however, the Old Fashioned ditches convention. Wisconsinites swap their whiskey for a brandy-based mixture served one of three ways: sweet, sour or press.

Wisconsin has one of the lowest alcohol tax rates in the country, which lowers retail and wholesale prices; Busalacchi says the tax rate for beer hasn't increased since 1969.

I like Wisconsin's fun little twists on the classic old fashioned. Just be aware that if you're in the presence of Wisconsinites passionate about their state cocktail, the only acceptable brandy is Korbel! Easy to make.

An old fashioned is sweetened with sugar or simple syrup. The Manhattan's sweetness comes from vermouth. An old fashioned is garnished with an orange peel, while a Manhattan is garnished with a brandied cherry. An old fashioned is served in a lowball glass, but a Manhattan is served in a stemmed martini glass.

Wisconsin is a leading producer of Ginseng in the United States. Green Bay is known as the "Toilet Paper Capital" of the world. The first ice cream sundae was concocted in Two Rivers in 1881. The Fox River is one of the few rivers in the nation that flows north.

The cocktail itself goes back to the early 1800s, though the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Ky., claims it originated at least a version of it in the latter half of the century. Brandy old-fashioneds have a long history in Wisconsin, the resolution notes.

“ 'Sweet' is with 7-Up, 'sour' is with Squirt soda or pre-packaged sour mix, and 'press' is half 7-Up, half club soda,” says Brian Bartels, author of The United States of Cocktails, and owner of Settle Down Tavern in Madison. “Most people opt for 'sweet' or 'press.