American Brandy Is Bigger Than You Think

[Martian]

Chuck, thank you for your recent article on American Brandy. The sales figures are always interesting to see what people are drinking.
http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/201...-than-you.html

[cowdery]

Thanks. I'm particularly enamored of the domestic brandy culture of the Northern Midwest, such as in nearby Wisconsin, where domestic brandy is frequently substituted for whiskey in classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned.

[Eth3rStrik3r]

Back when I was in college in Milwaukee, people seemed to drink an awful lot of brandy. My fiancee lives farther north in Sheboygan and it seems to be one of the more popular drinks. I happened to order an old fashioned once and they actually did use brandy, much to my surprise/dismay.

[cowdery]

Here is a nice article about the Wisconsin brandy old-fashioned phenomenon.

Like most things involving Wisconsin it's kind of sweet, both literally and figuratively.

[ratcheer]

I saw the same thing in the working mens' bars of Minnesota. Virtually everyone who was not drinking beer was drinking brandy (or, sometimes both). And they ordered nothing fancy, just "brandy and water".

Tim

[jburlowski]

I grew up in Milwaukee and a (local) draft beer and a shot of brandy were the drink of choice in working-class bars. Brandy manhattans were for the sophisticates.

[cowdery]

How does a Wisconsin brandy manhattan differ from a brandy old fashioned? Is it actually a combination of brandy and red vermouth? That just seems wrong. When someone mentions the brandy manhattan, I assume they mean a Wisconsin-style old fashioned.

[Brisko]

I saw the same thing in the working mens' bars of Minnesota. Virtually everyone who was not drinking beer was drinking brandy (or, sometimes both). And they ordered nothing fancy, just "brandy and water".

Tim

My 50-something next-door neighbor drinks brandy and water almost exclusively and she's Minnesota through and through.

[MyOldKyDram]

Closest thread I cold find to put this...

Picked up a Laird's 7 1/2 yr Apple Brandy today. Never had it before. Price seemed more than fair and I was simply looking for something different. Looking forward to giving her a spin.

[HighInTheMtns]

Closest thread I cold find to put this...

Picked up a Laird's 7 1/2 yr Apple Brandy today. Never had it before. Price seemed more than fair and I was simply looking for something different. Looking forward to giving her a spin.

Is that the BIB? I'd love to try that. Their other product, the Apple Jack, is the only one available here, and is essentially a blended brandy. BIB sounds more appealing.