Wisconsin Checklist

Every state has their special foods and drinks or their unique cultural tradition that you must try at least once. Wisconsin, however, must top the list. Their list of specialities runs long and locals are proud to share. To truly say that you have “done” Wisconsin, there are a few staples that you must try, do or see Of course, you still need to visit the many beautiful and fun things to see or do but to feel like a local and to truly experience the state, you need to try these.

Old Fashioned

If you are a frequent drinker of the Kentucky version of this cocktail, you might be in for a shock the first time you order an old fashioned in Wisconsin. It is nothing like what you are used to. Not only is it made differently, but it has a entirely different lingo and a lot of choices to make.

First, the alcohol. You can use brandy, bourbon, or whiskey. A true Wisconsin old fashioned is made with brandy, but whiskey use has increased in recent years. You can certainly pick your favorite bourbon to use, but I don’t really recommend using any top dollar brands.

The reason not to use the best bourbon is due to the next question – Do you want it sweet, sour or press? This refers to the soda added to the drink. Yep, they add in a Sprite or Squirt-like soda. A. press is half sour, half club soda. I don’t like really sweet drinks so I tend to the sour.

You might be asked what size at this point – tub or pint? The tub is the smaller of the two. This seemed contrary to me, but who am I to say! Tub is really just a slightly larger size of the typical low ball glass. Pint is exactly what it sounds like.

And lastly, garnishes? This one seems more regional to the eastern side of Wisconsin. You can do a maraschino cherry or go more savory with olives or pickled mushrooms. Some folks even get more creative with other types of garnish.

Your old-fashioned is going to start with muddled fruit – oranges and cherries with a cube of sugar. This gets pounded up and then a handful of ice is added. After a coating of bitters, they add a generous helping of alcohol followed by the soda of your choice and the garnish. Naturally with the muddled fruit and the soda, this is a sweeter version. It also becomes VERY easy to drink as it tastes less alcoholic so beware. They can sneak up on you!

Now you know. To look like a local when ordering, say “I would like a brandy old fashioned sour with cherry garnish?”

Supper Clubs

And where is the best place to get the old-fashioned? In a traditional Supper Club. These institutions of Wisconsin were started to give neighbors a place to get out for an evening of socializing and good solid food. We tried several and it was fun to see all the folks greeting one another and catching up at the bar. At one, a family was even holding a reception for a newly wed couple in the dining room.

The buildings tend to be low with few windows, giving the interior a dark but inviting mood. You enter straight into the bar area to wait to be seated. One bartender told us that on busy nights, they will premake a line of old-fashioneds to hand to regulars, knowing it is the most popular first choice.

Supper Clubs don’t open until 4 p.m. with dinner starting at 5 p.m. Many ask for reservations, but can often squeeeze you in. We arrived to our first supper club right at 4 and sat at the bar in hopes of being seated. The dining room was empty until right at 5 when the light over the room’s entrance lit up. Then folks started to filter to their seats.

The menu tends to prime rib, as big as a dinner plate, and steak. Fish Fries are popular and available every Friday. Usually with the local specialty, wall-eye. Of course, there are many other choices! Appetizers including cheese curds (another Wisconsin staple), bread for every table, and yummy looking desserts.

We usually skipped the dessert to go straight to another Supper Club tradition – the ice cream after dinner drink. Grasshoppers and Brandy Alexanders are the staples, but you can also find others. All include ice cream and alcohol, what’s not to love?!

Pull Tabs and Shake A Day

On one drive between two spots about eleven miles apart, we counted eleven neighborhood bars. While some would call them dive bars, most are a comfortable local bar where you meet up with your buddies to relax with a drink and maybe play darts. Many also offer food including the Friday night Fish Fry which is clearly a Wisconsin tradition year-round. This is a great spot to try an old fashioned or have a local beer.

And a place to try your luck at two games which are officially not gambling in this state.

If the bar isn’t too busy, you can ask the bartender to play Shake A Day. The bartender rolls one die and whatever that number is, you have three rolls to get all your dice to match.

In another version with about fourteen dice, you are trying to get ones. As long as you get one die per roll to match, you can keep going. Normally, you only get to play each one once. You pay in $1 but if you win, you get half the jackpot of the bar.

Another fun game of chance at most bars is pull tabs. These come from a machine so can be played whenever you wish. For a dollar, you get a card with tabs to pull. If you get three in a row, you can win up to $500.

Technically gambling is not be legal in Wisconsin, but these games are allowed. Guess when it is a tradition and part of the culture, everyone just lets it go.

Spotted Cow

New Glarus Brewery is a Wisconsin brand that only serves their beer in Wisconsin. This family brewery once shipped to Illinois but found it hard to keep up production. They decided that they didn’t want their home state to run out of its favorite beer, so pulled back and only serve their home state to ensure they always had enough. Focused on local ingredients, their popular Belgian Red is brewed with more than a pound of Door County Montmorency Cherries in every four pack. They also offer seasonal favorites. The most well-known is offered year-round, Spotted Cow, a easy drinking, sessionable farmhouse ale.

There are other local breweries, many which are very good, but Spotted Cow is a Wisconsin speciality.

Cheese and Meat

As one of our country’s main dairy producers, you can imagine the amazing cheese and ice cream options in Wisconsin! I mean the state is known as the Cheese Curd capital of the World! As you drive around the state, you see production facilities for brands like Sargento and Sartori. You also see signs at many of the farms displaying which brand their cows supply.

Speaking of cheese curds, they are a must have. And very easy to find. You can find them at any cheese store or grocery. The fresher they are, the more they “squeak” against your teeth. They come in many flavors and are best slightly warmed or room temperature. My favorite way to eat cheese curds is lightly breaded and fried. These yummy delights are found at nearly every bar or restaurant in Wisconsin. We can highly recommend the ones at the Courthouse Pub in Manitowoc as our favorite!

Plymouth, WI is the Cheese Capital of the world. This small town boasts that 14% of the cheese consumed in the US comes through their town. We went to their Cheese Fest and enjoyed several cheese treats at the food trucks and attended a session on building a charcuterie board with Sartori Cheese. We had samples made just around the corner at their facility and won a $10 gift card. Naturally, we went down the street to the Cheese Counter, a store with all things cheese and crackers, to cash in for several delicious varieties. My favorite, so far, is the Rosemary Asiago!

And what goes best with cheese, meat! Wisconsinites are fond of their sausage and bratwurst. In fact Johnsonville has a large facility not far from Plymouth and a sweet little market store where you can buy all things sausage. They have cases of summer sausage and speciality flavors of brats, You can also buy clever tees, sweatshirts or dishware all proclaiming your love of encased meats.

As for bratwurst, commonly called brats, they are served at every festival or event you attend. These delicious meat products are easy to eat on a bun or just with mustard, though a common condiment here is sauerkraut. And if you can find one with a pretzel bun, definitely try it!

The Sweeter Side

Wisconsinites love dessert! And as a dairy state, ice cream is almost always on the menu. As mentioned, the popular end to a supper club dinner is the ice cream focused and alcoholic drinks! But that isn’t the only way to have ice cream.

Cedar Crest in Manitowoc is a popular brand, found at many ice cream parlors through the state. We happened to be near their Ice Cream Factory and got their frequency card on our first visit,. The Likker License lets you earn free ice cream after ten purchases. A fatal mistake for my waistline. With flavors like Mint Mackinaw Fudge and Wisconsin Pothole, you know we earned the free cone.

The Door County Ice Cream Factory is an old, adorable store in Sister Bay. It has clearlyl been part of the community for a long time and I appreciated the history. When the original owners were ready to retire, they sold to a young man who had been one of their employees. Their flavors are created from local ingredients and Door County is known for its cherries, so you know that they have great cherry-based flavors. Personally, I was delighted by the homemade mint ice cream sandwich!

Not to be outdone, the pastries of Wisconsin are just as delicious. With a culture founded in Swedish and Norwegian traditions, sweets are unique and must be tasted. You can get Swedish pancakes with ligonberries for breakfast in Door County or a delicious multi-layered torte in Sheboygan at the Northwestern House. But the granddaddy of them all is the Kringle.

And the best Kringle can be found at Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe in the Green Bay and Appleton area. This monster pastry comes in many flavors including Bourbon Apple Carmel or Cherry Cream. While you can just order a half, be prepared to share. Based on our experience, it took four people a week to finish half!

Bonus items

There are a few other interesting things found in Wisconsin. I definitely recommend checking them out for a unique experience, but they are less prevalent so you can feel you have participated in the culture without these.

Meat Raffles – A common fund-raising method for schools or churches. This is more social than the raffles that I know. The neighborhood bar hosts and offers bar food for the cover fee. You buy chances in each round to win meat from the freezer. There are a limited number of tickets sold in a round, so multiple rounds are held. Once the chances are sold, the wheel is spun to find the winning number. Winners go to the freezer to put their name on their choice of anything from cube steak, to bacon wrapped tenderloin and stuffed chicken breasts.

Fleet Farm – While not a uniquely Wisconsin store, it is definitely easy to find here and a must visit. This is one of those stores where you just have to wander the aisles to see what might be around the corner. With everything from farm equipment, clothing, guns and pet supplies, you are sure to walk out with a few good purchases. Who knew that I needed a bag of nuts? And I definitely needed that new camp chair! So $100 later, we had experienced Fleet Farm.

Bloody Marys – Another cocktail that Wisconsinites take to a new level. I mean, a full meal level. Many places specialize in serving bloody mary’s with more garnishes than a drink can allow. The largest we had was in a bar called Smashed on the Rocks. They had a full beach theme going on in this wildly decorated bar, but the draw was their bloody marys. We ordered one and it was enough food to feed all four of us a healthy portion appetizer. I also enjoyed one at another bar with a skewer of burnt ends that was my dinner.

Friendly Spirits

Wisconsinites are proud of their traditions and appreciate sharing them with visitors. They quickly figured out that we were “not from here.” And they were happy to make sure we knew the best places to experience their culture. They are among the nicest, most polite, and friendliest folks we have met on the road, doncha know! Everyone we met was willing to explain and even laugh at their unique traditions, often shaking their head at the shake a day or focus on food and drink.

We look forward to returning and sharing another old-fashioined, or two, soon. Tell us if you have had one or more of these Wisconsin treats and if we missed any. And to help you get the most of your trip, use this bingo card for your next trip to the Capital of Dairy – Wisconsin. Go for the full card!

P.S. Some of the photos in this article were shared by Jennifer Kemper. She and her husband Greg acted as our tour guides to make sure we learned the ways of Wisconsin.