It’s no secret that Wisconsin gets down with brandy. It’s commonly said that more than half of all Korbel brandy sold in the U.S. is consumed right here in Wisconsin. And most of that brandy is being poured in the state’s flagship (sorry, Bloody Mary) cocktail, the Wisconsin Old Fashioned. 

Now, I am no brandy aficionado, but I am a die-hard brandy sour Old Fashioned drinker. While the rest of the country associates the “traditional” Old Fashioned with the holiday season, we Wisconsinites enjoy our version year round. 

A distillery, cocktail bar and restaurant in western Wisconsin is introducing new drink options that don’t include alcohol.

Tattersall Distilling, the award-winning craft spirits maker based in River Falls, has launched Tattersall Functional Beverages (TFB), two hemp-derived, THC-infused, alcohol-free drinks.

Alcohol’s Empire: Distilled Spirits in the 1700s Atlantic World contains a collection of essays on the unique histories of distilled spirits in Europe and the Americas and includes adaptations of historic recipes for contemporary use as well as a video overview of the project and process. The Alcohol’s Empire project was a joint effort of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine (WHL) at the University of Minnesota, and Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis.

Planning a corporate event in or near River Falls? You’re in for a treat. It’s a charming town with unique venues that stand out from the standard city options.

Let’s explore a few considerations to help make your event a success. For starters, it’s always a good idea to start with your venue choice. River Falls Venue and Lodges, for example, provides event spaces that are suitable for groups of various sizes, with an indoor capacity for over 300 guests and similar space outdoors. They also offer accommodation, which is super convenient if you need it.

Tattersall Distilling provides unique spaces suitable for small team meetings or large unforgettable weddings. Irrespective of the size of your meeting or event, they’ve most likely got the perfect meeting rooms for rent near River Falls.

When planning your corporate event, don’t forget about catering. Tattersall Distilling offers full-service catering. For smaller events, Olivia’s Organic Cafe & Event Center provides a newly renovated space that holds up to 150 people.

Incorporating team building activities near River Falls can also help boost engagement with your team. Just make sure that your venue has all the necessary tech, like Wi-Fi and A/V equipment. Tattersall Distilling, for instance, offers both high-speed Wi-Fi and A/V technology.

If you’re searching for conference rooms for rent near River Falls, check out options like the St. Paul Event Center and River Falls Venue and Lodges. Both offer unique opportunities for corporate retreats. They have a food preparation area that is ideal for catering with a tri-compartment sink, prep tables, storage shelves, a large refrigerator, an ice machine, plenty of electrical outlets (20 amp), and a private entrance.

While you’re visiting River Falls, make sure to stop into the ultimate distillery destination for food, drinks, and so much more. Just a 10-minute drive from Hudson WI, and only 25 minutes from St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Woodbury, MN. With live music, cocktail classes, tours, events, a fully-stocked market, and lots of other fun experiences, Tattersall Distilling has something for everyone.

Along with breweries, distilleries rose in popularity the past few decades. According to an updated 2024 report on the economic impact of Wisconsin breweries, wineries and distilleries and by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “In 2001 there were only nine wineries in Wisconsin employing just over 120 people and there were no distilleries. By 2022 the number of wineries grew to 66 employing 797 people and 25 distinct distilleries employing 220 people.”

These places ushered in a new culture for alcohol, one that extends beyond just drinking. In addition to cocktails and beers, people wanted to see how the drinks were made. Distilleries and breweries showed off machinery behind windows and offered tours to curious patrons.

Tattersall Distilling isn’t a big distillery, but its rye whiskey and wheated bourbon are both excellent.

For years, bottled-in-bond was a whiskey category that was off limits to most craft distilleries. The reason for this? Most of them didn’t have any whiskey that met its strict definition: exactly 100 proof, the product of one distillery and one distillation season, and aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years. 

That last part was the real sticking point; most small distilleries released their whiskey much younger than four years old, often only after maturing for a year or two.

Produced using at least 51 percent of its eponymous grain, rye whiskey is no doubt associated by cocktail aficionados with classics like the Manhattan and Sazerac. Those drinks simply wouldn’t be the same without the American-born, herbaceous, savory whiskey. It’s also true that without those drinks, as well as the cocktail renaissance of the turn of this century, rye whiskey could easily have become irrelevant, all but lost to the pages of history.

Those who prefer their whiskey neat might sooner equate rye to bourbon, considering it a spicy alternative to America’s so-called native spirit. That’s also hard to argue with. But more importantly, it’s the combination of those two stories — the intertwining of a craft cocktail movement along with a bourbon sales boom and subsequent renaissance of American distilling — that’s served a rye whiskey landscape richer in options than ever before.

For regular drinkers looking to find a bargain or invest in a special bottle, this status quo is both a blessing and a curse. More options equals both more opportunities but also more confusion. Which is why, every year, VinePair takes care of the heavy lifting to present these, the 30 best rye whiskeys to buy and drink right now.

Before Bentley Gillman was an award-winning distiller, he was just a kid in the woods. Now, he’s the distillery manager at River Falls’ award-winning Tattersall Distilling. Gillman grew up between La Pointe, on Madeline Island, and Wausau, where he spent much of his time exploring local fields and forests, picking wild fruit, grains, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs.

In the Gillman household, July 4 isn’t just Independence Day. It’s Black Raspberry Day.

That’s the day Bentley Gillman, distillery manager at Tattersall, goes out foraging with his family for ripe blackcap raspberries at the peak of their season.

“The kids obviously love it and I feel like it really hearkens to that innate knowledge of understanding: ripe fruit, in season,” Gillman said. “Because when you see a raspberry in the wild, your body and your mind and everything else just knows, ‘OK, this is a raspberry.'”

RIVER FALLS – Distilleries come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny mom and pop shops to industrial behemoths.

While Tattersall Distilling, which inhabits a former Shopko store in River Falls, near the Minnesota border, isn’t anywhere near the largest – that title would likely go to a Kentucky giant like Heaven Hill – it is surely among the biggest and most varied distilling facilities I’ve seen in the craft world.

Opened in late 2021, the nearly 80,000-square-foot building has a restaurant, a large events venue, pre-function areas, a spacious stillhouse, barrel storage, warehousing, three kitchens, meeting and event rooms (including an evocative “barrel room”), bride and groom rooms, a classroom for cocktail classes, multiple large outdoor patios, a shop, staff dining room and locker room, and offices, as well as the kind of parking lot you’d expect at a former department store.