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Toward the end of June, I attended a conference in Kohler, Wisconsin. I stayed at the beautiful American Club resort and was able to play golf at both Blackwolf Run and the Irish Course at Whistling Straits. I also so happened to squeeze in some time to have a few bloodies. Read on.

The Horse & Plow


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The Horse & Plow is an upscale pub located at the American Club resort. I had dinner there late one evening and couldn’t resist sampling their Bloody-and I’m glad I did.

Spice: Not spicy hot, but good.

Mix: The description says “house-made tomato juice ran through the garden”

Chaser: Small Miller Lite

Fixin’s: Lemon, Celery, Pickle, Olives, Brussels Sprout, Onion & Pepperocini

Price: $9

Here’s another photo, courtesy of Jason Oates, a fellow Bloody fan that I met at the conference:

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The next day, I had a bloody while playing at Blackwolf Run; however—and this is so unlike me—I neglected to take a photo. In my defense, it wasn’t anything special as it was made from the drink cart and thus, limited in quality.

The following day I made sure to get to the course early so I could try a Bloody made at the bar at the Whistling Straits pub.

Whistling Straits Pub

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Spice: Nice blend of spices.

Mix: Unsure.

Chaser: None offered.

Fixin’s: Lemon, Lime, Pickle, Olive

Price: Unknown (drinks provided as part of our package)

The moral of the story? If you’re looking for a good Bloody Mary in Kohler, be sure to check out the Horse & Plow. You won’t be disappointed. And, as far as on the course Bloody Marys go, the ones at Blackwolf Run & Whistling Straits are average—nothing special but they will hit the spot just the same.

On Friday, I hit another Third Ward location for Bloodies. This time, Cafe Benelux.

Benelux is part of the Lowlands Group of restaurants which includes some of my favorite places to get a Bloody Mary:Cafe Hollander, Trocadero, and Cafe Centraal. (In writing this I just realized I haven’t reviewed ANY of those here yet—FOR SHAME! Don’t worry, I will get on that!)

Anyway, each of these hot spots boasts an impressive and tasty variety of Bloodies. Here’s the Benelux Lineup:

I had the Athenian and one of my dining partners had the Red Barbie (and kindly let me have a taste), so I’m able to review both of those here.

The Athenian

Spice: Not spicy hot, but good.

Mix: Their own mix with Effen Cucumber Vodka

Chaser: Small light beer.

Fixin’s: Lemon, Lime, Feta Cheese, Kalamta Olive, Olive, Grape Tomato, Pickle and Asparagus

Price: $9

I LOVED this drink. It quickly shot up in the ranks to become one of my favorites.

The Rad Barbie

Spice: Not spicy hot, but good; BBQ sauce was overpowering

Mix: Their own mix, made with horseradish-infused Van Gogh vodka

Chaser: Small light beer.

Fixin’s: Lemon, Lime, Pickle, Olive, Asparagus, Bacon

Price: $9

This one was also a winner, but with a couple of caveats—one, I am all for horseradish, but I couldn’t taste the vodka in this drink because the bbq sauce was overpowering. However, the sauce was also tasty, so it’s not a terrible thing. Just don’t know if I could drink more than one of these.

On Thursday, I attended an afterwork event at Ryan Braun’s Graffito in the Third Ward.

It was Happy Hour and they have some really great specials; unfortunately, Bloodies aren’t one of them, but I hadn’t had theirs before and wanted to add it to the list. Thus, in the name of the blog here you go!

Spice: Very peppery, but good!

Mix: Not sure.

Chaser: None offered.

Fixin’s: Lemon, Lime, 1/2 a Beefstick & Two Olives

Price: $9

I’ve heard Graffito has a good brunch, so I’d definitely recommend getting a Bloody while you’re at it!

On Memorial Day, I played golf at Kettle Moraine Golf Club in Dousman, Wisconsin. There are not many bars/restaurants in the area, so afterward, we headed to the clubhouse for a cold beverage.

This was pretty much your standard Bloody Mary, no bells, no whistles, no beef stick, no burger. Definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to have it again, but when your options are limited, it still gets the job done.

Spice: Not spicy hot, but good.

Mix: Tomato juice, with their own spices added.

Chaser: None offered.

Fixin’s: Pickle and two olives.

Price: $5

Yesterday, after golfing at Hartford Country Club, we stopped in at Hank’s Restaurant & Drinkery, formerly known as “Hammerin’ Hanks,” located on Main Street in downtown Hartford.

I will admit I was not expecting much. Last July when I was in there, I had asked for a Bloody and was told they were all out of mix—on a Sunday!

However, yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised when I received this:

The bartender informed me that their Bloodies are just $5 before 3pm on Sundays. Check out all the stats:

Spice: Not spicy hot, but good.

Mix: Forest Floor—I’d never heard of it before, but apparently it is an excellent bottle mix!

Chaser: Yes, I chose Miller Lite.

Fixin’s: Celery, Asparagus, Pickle, Cheese, Brussels Sprout Olive, Mushroom & Shrimp

Price: $5 before 3pm on Sundays—not sure what happens after that.

As I said previously—I wasn’t expecting much; however, I definitely went home happy. Next time you find yourself out in Hartford, pop in to Hank’s and try them out!

Probably the Biggest Bloody Mary Ever Made

On Thursday night, I met some friends for Taco Night at Mustang Shelly’s Roadhouse in New Berlin.

I had never been there before and it seemed like we drove and drove to get to this place out there almost in the middle of nowhere. I was admittedly skeptical upon arrival, but ended up pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and drink, especially the Bloody Mary—bonus!

Shelly’s gets extra credit for the boot glass—very cute.  Now on to the review:

Spice: Not spicy hot, but a good amount of spice.

Mix: Homemade

Chaser: None

Fixin’s: Lemon, Asparagus, Celery, Scallion, Pickle, Brussels Sprout, Olive

Price: $? Unsure, but we had about 8 tacos, four beers and one bloody for under $30.

Last year, I reviewed Miller Park’s Bloody Mary for the blog I co-author as part of my day job: John and Cait…Plus 9 and this year, I was really excited to note that Benny’s Bloody Mary Beef Straws have been added to the roster of fixin’s for the standard bloodies! Click here for the updated review.

There is also a “U-Skew” station (aka build-your-own Bloody Mary bar) on the Club Level at Miller Park. On Sundays, you can find this station near the Home Plate Bar on the PNC Club Level. They are $12 each, made with Jimmy Luv’s mix, and include all the fixin’s you can fit on a skewer. Choose from options such as: celery, asparagus, sausage, cheese, mushrooms, hard boiled eggs, olives, pickles, cherry tomatoes and more! Here’s a peek at the bloody I made last week:

Whether you go U-Skew or standard, you can’t go wrong with a Miller Park Bloody Mary. And I’m not just saying that because I work there.

Cheers!

Rustico

Posted: May 13, 2013 in Uncategorized
Tags: , ,

I’m a little late on reviewing this one, but about 10 days ago I went to Rustico, a pizza place on Water Street in the Third Ward, for dinner.

Bonus—they had not one but THREE bloodies on their menu, so I tried  the Piccante, which is made with five pepper house-infused vodka. Yum!

Spice: The house-infused pepper vodka put this on the spicy side, just the way I like it!

Mix: Homemade

Chaser: Yes—Peroni!

Fixin’s: Lemon, Lime, Olive, Pepper, artichoke, cheese and pepperoni

Price: $9

Loved the Italian twist on the Bloody; will definitely try another one when I go back. This would also be a great place for brunch!

Today I went to the Twisted Fisherman on the second nice day of 2013.

It was the perfect place to pick for an afternoon brainstorming session, with a cool breeze right along the water.

I’ve been here before and had their bloody, but somehow I failed to blog it, so here goes:

Spice: A little on the spicy side, just the way I like it!

Mix: Unsure

Chaser: Yes.

Fixin’s: Lemon, Lime, Olive, Pickle and Shrimp

Price: $7

The verdict? A great spot to go when the weather is nice—the Bloodys hit the spot and go down almost too easily!