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This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “InterCHANGE,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
*WARNING! FAMILY BRAGGING ALERT!*
By Kevin Fischer
Tuesday, Jul 3 2007, 06:59 AM
My cousin Doug MacKenzie is in the news again.
He makes cool vodka and now gin, with real honest to goodness Wisconsin ginseng.
Isn’t ginseng an aphrodisiac?
From the Wausau Daily Herald, 7/1/07:
Homegrown ginseng finds spot in gin Mark Multer
By Mark Multer
Wausau Daily Herald
mmulter@wdhprint.com
A Milwaukee distillery has found a way to make its new gin sing: add a little ginseng.
Great Lakes Distillery has been making and selling vodka for about two years. It claims to be the first, and so far only, distillery to operate in Wisconsin since the Prohibition of the 1920s, said Ryan Rappis, sales and marketing manager for the company.
The three-man operation, which includes owner Guy Rehorst and master distiller Doug Mackenzie, tries to use home-grown ingredients whenever possible. Its vodka is hand-crafted using red wheat grown in Chilton, and the ginseng for its gin is grown at Schumacher's Wisconsin Ginseng in Marathon.
"You can't get better ginseng than Wisconsin ginseng," Rappis said.
The ginseng is used in place of angelica root, an ingredient used in most gin to smooth out the liquor's other flavors, he said. After trying it out, the trio decided the ginseng gave the gin a bit of a twist, and made it a unique product on the market.
"The root smoothes it out and gives a little bit of a spice to it," Rappis said. "It did make a difference in the taste profile, and it was actually pretty good.
"I don't like gin at all, but our gin is really good. Non-gin drinkers should be encouraged to try it."
Jim Schumacher, owner of Schumacher's Wisconsin Ginseng, thinks what the distillery is doing is interesting, and he'd like to see it catch on.
"Hopefully it works out all right; it's something new, obviously," said Schumacher, whose parents, Harold and Mary, started the farm 50 years ago. "Years back, there was a person here in Wausau that tried making some kind of spirit with ginseng in it, but I don't think it went too good."
Great Lakes Distillery sells its gin and vodka under the label Rehorst, and its products are available at 33 bars and restaurants in Wausau, and at grocery stores such as Trig's and Crossroads County Market, Rappis said. The distillery makes about 2,000 bottles of vodka a month, and this week shipped out its first batches of gin throughout the state.
"Production-wise, we're probably one of the smallest, if not the smallest, distillery in the country," Rappis said. "We do it by hand, and the quality speaks for itself. If we get too big, that quality goes in the toilet.
"We thought the people of Wisconsin would appreciate a truly homegrown product that's distilled in Wisconsin." |
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Guy Rehorst sent me this newsletter today:
Dear Kevin,
Last month we told you about the imminent release of a new product. I'm pleased to say it's now available!!! I hope you enjoy this special newsletter devoted to our new Gin.
-Guy
It's Here! Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin!
After much experimentation and way too many delays, Great Lakes Distillery is proud to announce the release of our new Gin- Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin!
Our Gin is made like our Vodka- small batch and pot distilled- every batch is tasted frequently throughout the process and adjusted by our distillers to achieve a balance and flavor not found in any other Gin. Not quite a traditional London Dry, we think we've created a whole new category- "Milwaukee Gin". Using 9 botanicals including two never found in a Gin before- Sweet Basil and Wisconsin Ginseng!
Caution: This Gin is not your typical Gin.
When it comes to Gin, people seem to fall into one of two categories. You either love gin or you hate it. Those that hate it will usually cite a horror story from their past which resulted in swearing off Gin forever or they'll declare they don't like Gin because it "tastes like a pine tree". Well in many cases they are right, some Gin's are made with an overabundance of Juniper berries. When we developed Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin we decided we didn't want to be another "pine tree gin" so we began to experiment. The resultant recipe is lighter on the Juniper, a bit higher in citrus and with a floral character that has to be tried to be believed.
Already the praise comes in!
The Beverage Testing Institute in their 2007 International Review of Spirits just awarded our Gin a Silver Medal- "Highly Recommended". As you might imagine we are very pleased. We think you will be too.
We have just begun shipping the Gin so availability in some areas may be limited. If they don't yet carry it, ask your bartender or retailer to get it in!
Ginseng???
Ginseng is not a traditional botanical used in Gin in fact we know of no other Gin that uses it. While not a strong tasting ingredient (it is somewhat "earthy" in flavor and aroma) it helps marry the botanicals together and is a big part of the unique flavor we've achieved with Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin.
Did you Know?
Wisconsin Ginseng is considered to be the highest quality Ginseng in the world! Wisconsin is the largest producer of Ginseng in the United States with about 90% of the states crop coming from Marathon County. Most Ginseng grown in Wisconsin is exported to Asia where it is revered by herbalists.
The Ginseng used in our Gin is supplied by the Schumacher family.
Gin Drinks
Nothing too fancy to start with, we'll publish more Gin recipe's in the future. The two basic Gin drinks everyone should try (if you haven't yet)-
Gin & Tonic
2 parts Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin
3 parts Tonic water
1 Lime wedge
A great summer drink! Traditional recipes often call for 1 part Gin to 3 parts Tonic. Because our Gin contains higher amounts of citrus you may want to try it with just a splash of Tonic. Make sure you use a good Tonic, quality varies significantly by brand. You may want to try garnishing our Gin with an orange!
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The Martini
4 parts Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
1-3 olives
Stir or shake gin and vermouth with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass (martini glass) add the olives.
Personally I like it drier and merely coat the serving glass with dry vermouth by rotating and tipping then dumping the remainder out. Bruno Johnson of the Palm Tavern in Bay View suggests you try an even amount of Dry and Sweet Vermouth.
If you haven't tried Gin in a long time or never liked Gin, give us a try, in taste testing we've surprised a lot of people, we think you'll be surprised too.
It's been a long time coming but we think you'll agree, our new Gin was worth the wait. We thank you for trying our small batch locally made spirits, your support will help us to continue to develop more great spirits in the future!
Sincerely,
Guy Rehorst
Great Lakes Distillery, LLC
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