How Cheese And Booze Teamed Up To Create A ‘Uniquely Wisconsin’ Drink

All the cheese-lovers out there probably have their favorite way to enjoy the dairy concoction — from piled on top of a pizza to breaded and deep fried — and perhaps nowhere on Earth knows how to enjoy those curds in more ways than Wisconsin.

Getting into the spirit

One Badger State distillery wasn’t satisfied with creating standard bottles of liquor and decided to embrace the region’s cheesy reputation. In celebration of Curd Fest, the punny pub Drink Wisconsibly developed something that fans and critics alike would probably describe as “interesting.”

According to pub manager Andy Braun, the resulting drink is a combination of vodka and cheese curds, which he said come together for a “uniquely Wisconsin” brew.

And if you thought Drink Wisconsibly couldn’t get any more Midwestern than that, you can order a ranch chaser for your cheesy shot.

While it might sound unusual, the concept of infusing alcohol with seemingly incongruent food flavors isn’t exactly a novel one. There have been a number of niche products (like mustard beer, for example) that have been introduced for a small but hopefully faithful group of customers.

Likewise, Wisconsin has proven that it’s willing to combine cheese with just about any other food or beverage imaginable.

Everybody say cheese

Much to the chagrin of adventurous cheese fans across Wisconsin and beyond, Buzzfeed published an article in 2018 that ranked the state’s “endless variety of ‘creative’ cheese flavors” at the top of its list of Midwestern foods that are “actually gross.”

Among the “horrifying flavors” that made it into the article were:

• Chocolate cheese
• Pineapple cheese
• Cinnamon cheese

But despite the disapproval of naysayers online, we bet there are more than a few Wisconsin locals and tourists who will knock back a shot of cheese vodka with and chase it with some ranch.

Chris Agee October 16th, 2024

Share this story: