Maple Syrup is used in the production of our Downtown Toodeloo Rock and Rye. We source from B & E’s Trees a locally owned and operated organic maple farm in Viroqua, WI – only 30 miles south-east from our distillery!
Sap is stored in the trees’ roots all winter. Drastic swings in the temperature – below freezing temperatures at night and above freezing temperatures during the day – allow the sap to flow up through the tree to prepare its spring leaf buds. This flow is when the team is able to collect sap and boil into syrup.
FUN FACT:
It takes between 40-50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
No wonder why it is called liquid gold!
Back at the sugar house, sap is run through reverse osmosis to concentrate the sugars. Then the sap is boiled (evaporate water) until it has caramelized and has the proper sugar content of maple syrup. From here, the syrup is filtered and aged in used bourbon barrels for two full years which is how they achieve the incredibly unique flavor of their maple syrup.
Our head distiller adds maple syrup, orange and lemon peels, and honey to our High Rye Light Whiskey and let’s it sit to allow the flavors to blend. Check out this video of the production of Downtown Toodeloo Rock and Rye!
Downtown Toodeloo Rock and Rye draws upon inspiration from nineteenth century pharmacists and taverners who served this medicinal liquor to treat ailments like the common cold, hay fever or even a case of the blues. As the old saying goes, “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Our High Rye Light Whiskey is the foundation for this playful spirit married with Wisconsin made maple syrup, crystallized honey, cranberries and cosmic elixirs. A half step dance and song later, the honeybees give us wax from their honeycomb to seal the bottles with a hug from us to you. Enjoy a cup of rock and rye and you’re on your way to feeling alright!
Heady Bella Coffee Whiskey celebrates the abundance of resources here in the Driftless Region. Organic rye grown by family farmers close by, milled and distilled at our geothermal powered distillery and aged in oak barrels on the banks of the Mississippi River. Ground espresso beans from our friends in Viroqua, WI at Wonderstate Coffee, and maple syrup tapped from the native trees of our majestic forests by Embark, are married together with our rye whiskey. We’re grateful for our talented neighbors, friends and farmers helping us create this 80 proof, organic coffee whiskey, born natural, free from any artificial ingredients or flavors.