Our great partners at Total Wine and More are featuring our North Brandy, Door County Cherry Vodka and Red Cabin Bourbon in our home market all month! Stop in to the Brookfield WI, Greenfield WI or Glendale location to pick up your favorite….or maybe one of our other brands they carry such as the popular Pour Ready Lemonade or Pour Ready Mule.
Enjoy a Free First Taste of Central Standard’s Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade and Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Mule at a Special Milwaukee Day Happy Hour Thursday, April 14
On this year’s 414 Day, Central Standard will honor Milwaukee and bring to life the distillery’s “Crafted to Gather” mantra when co-founders Evan Hughes and Pat McQuillan host a release party for their new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails, the first-ever line of craft, Midwest-made ready-to-pour cocktails.
“There’s no better way to honor and celebrate all that Milwaukee is than by raising a glass of a new locally-made product,” McQuillan said. “On 414, every Milwaukeean is a VIP and we can’t wait to unveil our first two Pour Ready Premium Cocktails to the world right here in our hometown.”
The release party will be at Central Standard’s Crafthouse & Kitchen, 320 E. Clybourn St. in downtown Milwaukee, on April 14 from 4 – 6 p.m. At the event, there will be a free toast of the first two cocktails in the new product line, the Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade and the Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Mule.
“For us, there is so much to celebrate this April 14 – Warmer weather, the return of baseball to Milwaukee, locally-crafted cocktails, and of course, finally being able to offer everyone in Milwaukee a taste of our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails,” Hughes said.
Pour Ready: Craft, Convenient & Cooler-Ready
With the launch of the Pour Ready Premium Cocktail line, Hughes and McQuillan are out to elevate the booming ready-to-drink category by adding a handmade, locally craft twist.
“Our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails are true game-changing products,” McQuillan said. “We aren’t just unveiling a great tasting new beverage, we are introducing a whole new category to the industry: Ready to Pour Craft Cocktail. Think of our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails as the convergence of ready-to-drink convenience with the handcrafted quality and elevated ingredients you’d receive from a veteran bartender at our Crafthouse here in Milwaukee.”
The Pour Ready products honor Central Standard’s commitment to support local Midwest organizations. Each bottle is handcrafted in Milwaukee with our famous Door County Cherry Vodka, sourced from cherries right in Door County, Wisconsin. The Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade is made from 100% organic lemon juice and botanicals, and the Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Mule combines Central Standard’s Door County Cherry Vodka with organic ginger juice and lime juice. It’s a perfect blend of ginger spiciness with the cool refreshment of cherries and lime.
Pour Ready Premium Cocktails from Central Standard Distillery are 15% ABV, 30 proof and will hit retail shelves starting in April. Each 750-ml bottle makes about four cocktails. We have also created 1.75L unbreakable bottles to ensure you don’t run out of Pour Ready at your tailgate, beach, or backyard party.
“They’re smooth, balanced and refreshing, no matter the weather or time of year,” Hughes added. “We can’t wait for folks to come out to the Crafthouse on Milwaukee Day for a free first taste.”
The Midwest’s First Urban Distillery & Restaurant
Back in August, Hughes and McQuillan opened their Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen, the Midwest’s first new urban distillery and restaurant.
The distillery’s new home, complete with a tasting room, tour operation, restaurant, private-events space and rooftop patio, replaced the formerly vacant Wisconsin Leather Building, which was built in 1874 and remains one of the oldest structures in downtown Milwaukee. In addition, the 11,700-square-foot, three-story Crafthouse & Kitchen houses a 100-gallon pot still that will produce all spirits served and sold on site.
Central Standard: Your Local Midwest Craft Distillery
Central Standard Craft Distillery, a small batch, craft distillery in Milwaukee and the fastest growing top-10 Wisconsin-based distiller, handcrafts award-winning, bourbon, whiskey, vodka and gin from locally sourced ingredients. Founded in 2014, Central Standard spirits have won 37 medals across multiple categories for their craft distilling.
Central Standard’s portfolio of premium spirits includes Red Cabin Bourbon, Door County Cherry Vodka and North Wisconsin Brandy*. Door County Cherry Vodka is a blend of Central Standard’s award-winning 100% handcrafted vodka infused with Door County cherries, which are mellowed with a touch of local-harvested, fresh honey. North Brandy, which is handmade in small batches and aged for a minimum of two years, is finished in Central Standard bourbon barrels. Red Cabin Bourbon is aged to perfection and then finished in California Cabernet wine barrels. Thanks to the red-wine-barrel-finishing, Red Cabin Bourbon – which won a Gold Medal at the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits competition in 2019, delivers a complex-yet-approachable taste.
“When you think of our entire lineup – Door County Cherry Vodka, North Brandy and Red Cabin: They’re all perfectly handcrafted for enjoying here in the Midwest or wherever your travels take you,” McQuillan concluded.
Starting on Feb. 12, guests can look forward to bottomless Door County Cherry Vodka Mimosas, plus the entire Crafthouse brunch menu on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dishes include standards like biscuits and gravy; crab cakes benedict and chicken and waffles. But guests can also induldge in housemade chilaquiles with roasted salsa roja, tomatillo salsa and sunnyside eggs; standard hash featuring house-herbed potatoes, poached eggs, Hook’s Swiss, arugula, 24 hour braised beef and Red Cabin Bourbon caramelized onions.
Our Brewmaster series rolls on with the next incarnation of the Toppling Goliath collaboration, this time featuring the Central Standard North Wisconsin Brandy aged in Toppling Goliath’s Assassin Barrel Aged Stout barrels.
Batch #1 was created by aging our already-delicious North Wisconsin Brandy an additional month in barrels previously used to create Toppling Waters stout.
Central Standard’s Toppling Goliath Barrel-Aged Brandy will be available in a limited supply at retailers in Wisconsin and Iowa. The first Brewmaster Series batches sold out faster than expected forcing the Central Standard team to pay visit to the Toppling Goliath brewery to pickup more and get it bottled for public consumption.
About the Brewmaster Series:
We live in the Brewers’ hometown, so we thought from a business perspective it was only natural to embrace Milwaukee’s great brewing heritage and launch a series of collaborations with brewmasters from across the Midwest.
Now that’s a Bourbon display!
Grab our limited edition Cabin Strength Bourbon 🥃 and Red Cabin Bourbon at Costco in Pewaukee. Great for gifting, or enjoying by yourself of course!
Toast the New Year with Bottomless Door Country Cherry Vodka “Mimosas” & Feast on Housemade Chilaquiles, Beef Hash & Chicken & Waffles at The Crafthouse’s Downtown Milwaukee Location
The serious stuff of 2022 can wait until Monday, January 3. Central Standard Distillery Co-Founders Evan Hughes and Pat McQuillan are hosting a special “resolution-free” New Year’s Day brunch Saturday, January 1 at their Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen, 320 E. Clybourn St. in downtown Milwaukee.
“We’re going to strictly enforce the unwritten rule that New Year’s resolutions cannot start on a weekend,” McQuillan said. “We will keep the New Year’s Eve party rolling with a special resolution-free brunch Saturday, January 1 and our tradition Sunday brunch on January 2.”
The star of the special-edition brunch will be the Crafthouse’s famed bottomless Door County Cherry Vodka “mimosa,” a riff on the classic screwdriver featuring Central Standard’s housemade Door County Cherry Vodka, orange juice, seltzer and garnished with a fresh orange slice.
Must-try menu items will include the Central Standard hash, which is house-herbed potatoes, two-poached farm-fresh eggs, Hooks Swiss cheese, arugula, Red Cabin Bourbon caramelized onions and 24-hour braised beef; Chicken and waffles, which is served with Red Cabin Bourbon compound butter; Housemade Chilaquiles with roasted salsa roja, tomatillo salsa, sunny side eggs and Farm Happy cilantro micro greens: A kale salad, which is Farm Happy winter kale, Door County cherries, toasted cashews tossed in a champagne vinaigrette.
Along with cocktail and menu-item specials on January 1, the New Year’s brunch will also feature raffle prizes including a January worth of free mocktails from the Crafthouse’s special January mocktail menu; a complimentary Green Bay watching party in the distillery’s private Founders Room event space, Central Standard SWAG and more.
“After the 2021 we’ll all have survived, we think everyone in Milwaukee deserves at one more brunch, a round of cocktails and a chance to win some free SWAG,” Hughes said. “Resolutions and the more serious stuff of the New Year can wait until Monday, the 3rd. Let’s brunch January 1 and 2.”
Brunch at the Crafthouse will be served from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 1, and will return to its regular 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. hours on Sunday, January 2. A special New Year’s Day Happy Hour will also run from 3:20 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. on Saturday, January 1.
The Midwest’s First Urban Distillery & Restaurant
Back in August, Hughes and McQuillan opened their Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen, the Midwest’s first new urban distillery and restaurant.
The distillery’s new home, complete with a tasting room, tour operation, restaurant, private-events space and rooftop patio, replaced the formerly vacant Wisconsin Leather Building, which was built in 1874 and remains one of the oldest structures in downtown Milwaukee. In addition, the 11,700-square-foot, three-story Crafthouse & Kitchen houses a 100-gallon pot still that will produce all spirits served and sold on site.
Central Standard: Your Local Midwest Craft Distillery
Central Standard Craft Distillery, a small batch, craft distillery in Milwaukee and the fastest growing top-10 Wisconsin-based distiller, handcrafts award-winning, bourbon, whiskey, vodka and gin from locally sourced ingredients. Founded in 2014, Central Standard spirits has won 37 medals across multiple categories for their craft distilling.
“For us, it’s not about the awards or the accolades,” Hughes explained. “it’s about making the best-tasting craft spirits with the finest local ingredients that bring to life the outdoor lifestyle of the Midwest.”
Central Standard’s portfolio of premium spirits includes Red Cabin Bourbon, Door County Cherry Vodka and North Wisconsin Brandy*. Door County Cherry Vodka is a blend of Central Standard’s award-winning 100% handcrafted vodka infused with Door County cherries, which are mellowed with a touch of local-harvested, fresh honey. North Brandy, which is handmade in small batches and aged for a minimum of two years, is finished in Central Standard bourbon barrels. Red Cabin Bourbon is aged to perfection and then finished in California Cabernet wine barrels. Thanks to the red-wine-barrel-finishing, Red Cabin Bourbon – which won a Gold Medal at the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits competition in 2019, delivers a complex-yet-approachable taste.
“When you think of our entire lineup – Door County Cherry Vodka, North Brandy and Red Cabin: They’re all perfectly handcrafted for enjoying here in the Midwest or wherever your travels take you,” McQuillan concluded.
We’re always humbled to be included in “best of” lists but for our limited edition Toppling Goliath Brandy to be featured in a the Forbes “Holiday Gift Guide 2021: The Best American Brandies To Celebrate The Holidays” list was a whole new level of appreciation. The list included eight excellent picks of American Brandy’s which you think you should definitely checkout, after your bottle of Toppling Goliath Brandy.
ABOUT TOPPLING GOLIATH
Launched as part of our Brewmasters Series, this brandy is aged in barrels that previously held Toppling Goliath stout, from the famed Iowa brewing company, and before housing beer, the barrels were filled with maple syrup. This flavor combination imparts a subtle espresso aroma with hints of chocolate, caramel and just the slightest maple syrup finish. This Milwaukee-based distillery also makes a delicious North WI brandy, which is aged for at least two years in oak barrels before getting finished in bourbon barrels.
Sunday funday just got a whole lot better! Introducing Brunch at Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen on Sundays from 11am-4pm.
We’ve got a number of items ready for you to enjoy like…
Make plans to join us this Sunday and every Sunday moving forward!
We live in the Brewers’ hometown, so we thought from a business perspective it was only natural to embrace Milwaukee’s great brewing heritage and launch a series of collaborations with brewmasters from across the Midwest. This week we officially launched our Brewmaster series in partnership with Toppling Goliath.
Series #1: Toppling Goliath Barrel Aged Brandy:
To really bring the flavor of the Midwest to life, we aged our already-delicious North Wisconsin Brandy an additional month in barrels previously used to create Toppling Waters stout.
Before housing beer, the barrels were home to maple syrup. That flavor combination imparts a subtle espresso aroma with hints of chocolate, caramel and a faint sweet, maple syrup finish.
Central Standard’s Toppling Goliath Barrel-Aged Brandy will be available in a limited supply at retailers in Wisconsin and Iowa starting in October.
UPDATE – You can now purchase Toppling Goliath Barrel-Aged Brandy in Wisconsin Costco’s.