Recently, I drove to Minneapolis for a weekend. Without traffic or pit stops, it would be around a six hour drive. But what fun is a road trip without some interesting stops along the way? The first stop was to revisit Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet to purchase some bratwurst for that evening’s grill. It was a little early for lunch at that point, so we ignored the variety of restaurants at that exit and rejoined the highway.
Almost immediately, I noticed a billboard for Driftless Glen Distillery – and restaurant – in Baraboo, twenty miles down the road. Between cities in Wisconsin, that’s only three or four highway exits. This is not dissimilar to how I discovered Journeyman Distillery a few years ago, though the signage for finding Driftless Glen once we left the highway wasn’t as good as Journeyman’s. Fortunately, technology was able to determine the correct path, leading us past Circus World, which I may have to return for on a separate occasion.
As the weather was near perfect (and, let’s be honest, there’s still a pandemic going on), we opted to dine outside. This provided a lovely view of the river, including the occasional kayakers drifting by. I rarely drink soda, but on a whim, ordered a Shirley Temple. I was a bit puzzled by the color when it arrived, it’s darker than usual… it’s made with real cherry juice instead of the usual grenadine.
The food was as tasty as the drinks, and we followed up our lunch with a stop in their retail shop. Torn between multiple bourbons and ryes, I found a sampler pack that settled the choice for me. When I queued up to pay, the couple in front of me asked where the samplers were so they could purchase one as well. They had a couple different gins as well; I opted for their New American. (The Mammoth Distilling Cherry Bounce was waiting for me in Minneapolis; I haven’t been to their distillery… yet.)
I can’t speak to the brandy… it’s tasty, but I don’t recall the last time I drank brandy, so have little room for comparison. Their bourbon, rye, and gin are also nice. The 51 Rye, however… well, that’s something worth taking a detour for. I would absolutely go out of my way to buy that again. Not that I have to – now that I know about Driftless Glen, I know to look for it at my local Binny’s. Though I suppose I’ll have to visit again for their Shirley Temple.