We parked and smelled a grill at work in the back so we wandered that way. The warehouse door was open and we headed in and found ourselves surrounded by, amongst other things, lots of jugs and barrels.
Most of the barrels contained YB product but apparently they also bottle booze for Vom Fass and so there were also those containing scotch as well as jugs of liqueurs ready to be bottled and shipped out to the store on University Avenue. Plus there were those kettles.
I had no idea that there was an outfit in Milwaukee making craft bitters - Bittercube. Apparently those boys trek here to Madison to macerate their herbs, roots, and whatnot. From looking at their flavors, it seems that one should be mixing bitters in more than Manhattans. Additional investigation is needed…
And of course there was the still.
That behemoth was made in Germany. The Germans just have a thing for copper devices that make alcoholic beverages, I guess. The distiller himself informed me that roughly the first 10% of any batch comes out as essentially methanol and he gave me a whiff. It smelled like isopropyl to me and probably could have used it to clean my electronics. He said that he gave some to a couple guys who wanted to try and run a car with the stuff. It worked but they couldn't get it beyond 20M.P.H.
In addition to free food (I loved the cucumber salad), there were spirits. Free samples galore and folks ready to mix you a cocktail for a reasonable price. Yahara Bay now has a number of spirits to their credit. I had a cuba libre made with their Mad Bird Rum, the darker of their two rums. I'm not rum expert but it was tasty with the appropriate sweetness and woody overtones. Gin & tonics are a favorite cocktail of mine and so I indulged myself. YB's gin had a fuller, more sprightly flavor than something like Bombay Sapphire. It's a bit like comparing a fresh herb to the dried stuff.
Their Apple Crisp Liqueur was excellent. It made we want to go out and buy a wide log of pine because this stuff would be perfect for a few rounds of Hammerschlagen. The apple brandy was no slouch either. The D ordered a cocktail with the Lemoncella and it too was delicious. It had a nice bright, tart lemon flavor.
Behind the sampling table I noticed this:
After inquiring I was told that the Kirschwasser (German for "cherry water") was done and would be available in a week or so. (I think they were waiting for approval for their label from the FDA or something like that.) I'm not the biggest Kirschwasser fan ever, but I've used it for cooking and usually do a shot of it before I pour some into a cake batter or whatever it is that I'm whipping up. I've not yet investigated what cocktails it is used in.
The front of the place has a bar and, surprisingly, doubles as an art gallery. On display during our visit were works from Union Cab employees. One loved cats while another did what I think were self-portraits seemingly influenced by German Expressionism.
We walked out with a bottle of the Lemoncella. I suspect we'll get the apple brandy or the apple liqueur as the weather cools. I should also note that the YB crew was very friendly. Any questions we had were answered with a smile and we were thanked as we left. The place just had a really nice homey vibe to it. Good folks.
OK, mixologists out there: what kind of booze goes with cherry bark bitters?
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