Great Lakes Distillery

Day 307, Cocktail 309

On Saturday Gwen’s Newcomer’s group set up an outing to the Great Lakes Distillery.  GLD is the first distillery in Milwaukee since Prohibition and began operation a few years ago with their flagship Reehorst Vodka.  Since then they have branched out to include Reehorst gin, Roaring Dan’s rum (made with maple syrup) and absinthe.

We got a quick tour of the distillery, hosted by Jason Neu.  The tour was quick because essentially they have the still (pictured) and a few racks for aging (they are experimenting with bourbon and brandy right now), and … that’s it.  It really is booze production at its most elemental!

While I had the opportunity to sample the rum and absinthe I’m going to focus on the gin since I was able to enjoy a Reehorst gin martini while waiting for our tour to start.  The mix was pretty simple – a generous (probably 5 oz) pour of gin, a dash of cherry bark bitters and a twist. 

It was a pretty good martini.  GLD makes their Reehorst gin unique with the addition of Wisconsin grown gingsen and basil.  The addition of these flavors takes some of the edge off the juniper, making this a more accessible gin – several in our group who profess to not like gin enjoyed this one.

All in all it is great to see a local producer making high quality spirits from local ingredients.  I look forward to tinkering with the Reehorst gin and the Roaring Dan rum in the future.  Stay tuned!

Cheers!