By K.D. Norris
Grand Rapids’ Eastern Kille Distillery has a little Halloween treat to share, of the adult beverage variety and in two styles: a little traditional and a little gross.
The distillery, located at 700 Ottawa Ave. NW, has two Halloween cocktail kits ready for mixing on that spooky night or any chilly fall evening: a Half Blood Prince kit — ready made for serving with creepy fake eyeballs (not supplied but shown) — and a Hot Rum Cider kit, for those less in the gross-out mood.
The Half Blood Prince cocktail kit can be ordered in the standard size (4 cocktails) or party size (12 cocktails). It features raspberry, pomegranate, blueberry, sage and maple flavorings along with Eastern Kille Aged Rum … to make “blood red cocktails to compliment your favorite scary movies,” we are told.
The Hot Rum Cider cocktail kit is intended to be created in a large batch and serves 20 cocktails. Featuring fresh local cider, cinnamon, ginger Eastern Kille Aged Rum, and Appelflappen — a liquor that tastes like the also named Dutch pastry, we assume — this kit creates “a warm punch perfect to enjoy the cool holiday weekend with.”
You can order your Halloween cocktail kits online and pick up at the Eastern Kille Distillery Tasting Room beginning Thursday, Oct. 29. If you would prefer to remain in your vehicle, they are offering curbside delivery.
Eastern Kille Distillery can be reached at 616-893-3305 or by visiting easternkille.com.
Historic distiller Joseph Magnus joins Holland’s Coppercraft
It as announced recently that Joseph A. Magnus & Co., a premium brand of award-winning bourbons and dry gins, will relocate its operations from Washington, D.C., to Holland, Mich., later this month.
Joseph Magnus will “share both talent and production space” with Coppercraft Distillery, according to the announcement. “Coppercraft’s distilling team will work closely with Joseph Magnus master blender Nancy Fraley in a space reserved for Magnus’ triple cask blending and finishing process.”
The return to Michigan is sort of a coming home for the brand, as the eponymous Joseph Magnus had a summer home in Oden, Michigan, in the early 1900s, where he was an active and philanthropic member of the community. In 1921, he purchased a tract of land on the shores of Little Traverse Bay and donated it to the City of Petoskey. (If you know the Traverse area you know Magnus State Park as well as other ties to the historic name and brand.)
The celebrated Magnus brand was originally founded in 1892 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and reestablished in 2015 in Washington, D.C.
“We’re excited to be bringing the Magnus brand home to Michigan to support the next phase of our growth,” Ali Anderson, general manager for Magnus, said in supplied material. “West Michigan is known for its storied history of quality craftsmanship and industry and we are proud to contribute to that legacy in our new location in Holland.”
For more information on the Joseph Magnus brand, visit josephmagnus.com. For more information on Coppercraft Distillery, visit coppercraftdistillery.com.
Michigan Brewers Guild members bring home the bling
It was recently announced that five Michigan breweries brought home a collective six medals from this year’s the Great American Beer Festival Competition in Denver, Co., which is said to be the largest commercial beer competition in the world.
The winners included the big and small of Michigan brewers, from Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids to Silver Harbor Brewing Co. in St. Joseph and Stormcloud Brewing Co. in Frankfort. All are members of the Michigan Brewers Guild.
Just for the heck of it, three maybe interesting, maybe boring groups of facts:
Judges the competition evaluated 8,806 entries from 1,720 breweries from all 50 states, and the “socially distanced judging” took place in 35 sessions over 18 days, with strict safety measures in place.
The beer category with the highest number of entries? Juicy or hazy India Pale Ale, with 377.
And, according to the Michigan Brewers Guild, Michigan’s brewing industry contributes more than 21,000 full-time jobs and $872 million in labor income, with a total economic impact of over $2.5 billion. In terms of overall number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks 6th in the nation — supporting its title as “The Great Beer State.”
For more information on the mibeer.com.
