Tasty Tuesday: Saporous Spirits on the Lake County Libation Trail
By: Jonathan Jones 11/17/2020
These four saporous spirit makers provide an absolutely divine concoction of flavors.
From rum to gin, absinthe and bourbon, to vodka and liqueur and everything in between, Lake County’s four distilleries have the perfect adult beverages for cocktail connoisseurs.
Taste one of these eclectic drinks from our distilleries this Lake County Libation Trail Month and throughout the year. It’s five o’clock somewhere this tasty Tuesday.
Make sure this November, you note your attendance at one of these maker’s facilities via outdoor sipping and/or carryout or curbside pickup. During Lake County Libation Trail Month, sippers have the opportunity to win a free overnight stay at Lincolnshire Marriott Resort for two with late checkout, a $50 food and beverage credit at Wright’s Brew & Bistro and a sample pack of Five Eyes Honey Ale, made with the honey produced at the resort, and brewed by Tighthead Brewing Co. in Mundelein. Continue here to learn more.
To enter, patrons will text “CHEERS” to 224-706-1133. Let’s explore, this tasty Tuesday: saporous spirits on the Lake County Libation Trail.
28 Mile Distillery is currently closed during Lake County Libation Trail Month, and will reopen in the future.
The Lake Zurich puts the L in “gimme a liddle fiddle.” Copper Fiddle created small-batch gin and other spirits since 2012. The distillery’s story is derived from a family heirloom passed down from generation – that heirloom being a violin. This 1906 musical instrument’s sound is what the Lake Zurich distillery utilized as a metaphor for the smoothness of their gin and bourbon whiskey. The “Illinois-Made” recipient creates each drink from scratch. Copper Fiddle offers gins, rums, and bourbon whiskeys. For their superior drinks, Copper Fiddle has achieved two American Craft Spirit Awards and an American Distilling Institute Award. In 2020, Copper Fiddle also added vodkas to their repertoire. At the beginning of the pandemic, Copper Fiddle Distillery created hand sanitizer at their facilities like 28 Mile Distillery in Highwood and North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks.
Copper Fiddle Distillery, 532 W. Illinois Route 22, Suite 110, Lake Zurich.
North Shore Distillery is the first craft distillery in the land of Lincoln. Since 2004, Derek and Sonja Kassebaum (and their larger than life friend Ethel) provide vodkas, rums, gins, absinthes and unique seasonal beverages. The self-proclaimed nerds and Illinois-Made inventors love to experiment on new flavors with a plethora of different ingredients, and that’s why the award-winning Green Oaks distillery designs innovative art with their liquid creations. The Green Oaks Lake County Libation Trail participant is open Wednesday through Saturday and Sunday (noon-7 p.m. Wed.-Sat and 2-7 p.m. on Sun.) and offering curbside service to your trunk. They are also providing quarantine cocktail kits like the
Lake County Sunset Sips @ Home Cocktail. At the start of the pandemic, like Copper Fiddle Distillery and 28 Mile, they created hand sanitizer.
North Shore Distillery, 13990 Rockland Rd., Green Oaks.
The Waukegan facility that specializes in gin and whiskey is located in Waukegan, but the spirits are created in Wheeling. The Lake County Libation Trail participant creates decadent beverages for the modern townsman, by the modern townsman. The award-winning distillery has notched a slew of awards for their gin – specifically their Reserve Old Tom Gin and American Botanical Gin. The latter of the gins was the
January 2020 Libation of the Month. The American Gin from Oppidan Spirits contains grapefruit, elderflower, hibiscus for a light floral nose. The superbly balanced gin tastes great neat, or with the complement of a cocktail.
Oppidan Spirits, 220 W. Clayton St., Lot C, Waukegan.
Distilled from a blend of all malted midwest grains, 28 Mile Vodka is clear in color with aromas of almond and vanilla bean. This unique vodka has a silky smooth mouthfeel and notes of vanilla and cocoa nibs that finishes extremely clean on the palate with a lingering warming sensation. Drink this neat, on the rocks or in your favorite cocktail. The Highwood drinkery has an unbelievable backstory of how these crafters came up with the name and logo of their distillery. The Debonair (the woman on their logo) was a real-life queen during the Prohibition Era. Twenty-eight Mile Vodka also just earned a MicroLiquor Spirit 2019 Triple Gold Award for Extraordinary Taste and Highest Recommendation.
28 Mile Vodka & Distillery, 454 Sheridan Rd. Highwood.
For past Tasty Tuesdays, continue here. For more about the Lake County Libation Trail and its saporous spirits, click here. To see the story about the Lake County Libation Trail makers creating hand sanitizer, continue here. Cheers, Lake County!
Enjoy photos from our social media friends on the Lake County Libation Trail.
Be sure to continue sharing with us socially!
