Gatehouse Destinations

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24
DESTINATIONS MAGAZINE / SEPTEMBER 2015
FOOD & DRINK
By CARLY A. MULLADY
More Content Now
I
llinoishasarichhistorywithhome-
madeliquor,fromAlCapone’s
backroadbootleggingtoanupswing
ofpresent-daydistillerieswelcoming
visitorsforataste.
Amongthem,membersoftheIlli-
noisCraftDistillersAssociationofferup
moonshine,spiritsandwhiskeyatGrand
RiverSpiritsinCarbondale,J.K.Williams
DistillinginEastPeoriaandBlaumBrothers
DistillingCo.inGalena.
Thoughonlyacoupleofyearsold,each
ofthedistilleriesismakingamarkregion-
ally,eachsparkedbydifferentpassions.
Grand River Spirits
KarenBinder,associationsecretaryand
founderofGrandRiverSpirits,wantedto
utilizelocalagriculture.
“There’sahugesatisfactionthatallof
usatthedistilleryareabletoearnbystart-
ingwithcorn,waterandyeast,andturning
itintoanaward-winningwhiskeyand
bourbon,”Bindersaid.“We’reveryproud
toshowcaseSouthernIllinoisingredientsby
PHOTOCOURTESYJKWILLIAMS.COM

Final Trim - 8.75Wx11.00D Gatehouse Travel Tab-A-Zine - 12-00B C M Y K 23
D I S T I L L E R I E S
O F F E R O L D
F A M I L Y
R E C I P E S ,
F O C U S O N
I N G R E D I E N T S
25
makingourproducts.”
GrandRiverwaslicensedin2012and
hasbeensellingforlessthantwoyears.Its
productsincludeRedEyeMoonshine,Grand
RiverWhiskeyandGrandRiverBourbon
alongwithanassortmentoffruitwhiskeys
andmoonshines.
BindersaidGrandRiveroffersweekend
distillerytoursfrommillandmashtodistill-
ing,filtering,andbottlingorbarreling.
“Weliketodogoodspiriteducation
alongtheway,”Bindersaid.
PartofthatforGrandRiverincludes PHOTOS COURTESY OF GRANDRIVERSPIRITS.COM

PHOTOCOURTESYOFJKWILLIAMS
sharingwherethevariousproducts
comefrom,suchaswhoprovidesthe
applesandapplejuiceandwherethe
distillerygetsitsoakbarrels.
Thetoursendwithtastingsof
signaturecocktailssuchasanApplePie
CornWhiskeyandBourbonMintJulep.
“PeopleinSouthernIllinoishave
mintgrowingintheirbackyards,”she
said.“Thatsplashofapplepiecorn
whiskeyaddsjustalittlesweetness.”
J.K. Williams Distilling
J.K.WilliamsPresidentJon
Williams(anIllinoisCraftDistillers
Associationboardmember)saidthe
distilleryfocusesongrain-to-bottle
productionofbourbon,rye,cornand
single-maltwhiskeysaswellasavariety
offruit-flavoredwhiskeys.TheEast
Peoriafacilityalsooffersfreetoursand
tastingsonweekends.
“Ourguestscangrabacocktailand
takeatour,”Williamssaid.“Onour
tours,youlearnwhycraftspiritsare
29
Our guests
can grab a
cocktail and
take a tour.
On our tours
you learn
why craft
spirits are
different
and how we
make our
whiskey.
— Jon
Williams

differentandhowwemakeour
whiskey.”
Craftsmanship,passion
andflavorarethedrivingforces
behindJ.K.Williams’spirits—as
canbeseeninitslogo.Brothers
JonandJesseWilliamsandwives
KristinandKassi,respectively,as
fatewouldhaveit,hadnotonly
themotivationbutalsotheper-
fectinitialstoreviveanheirloom
moonshineformula.
“Oneuniquefeatureofour
distilleryisthatweuseourgreat-
great-grandfather’scornwhiskey
recipe,”Williamssaid,referring
tothefruitwhiskeys’baseas
wellastheaward-winningJ.K.’s
YoungBuckBourbon.
“Wemakespiritsworthyof
ournameandthatwefeelwould
makeourgreat-great-grandfa-
therproud.”
Blaum Bros. Distilling Co.
BlaumBros.inGalenais
anotherfamilyendeavorforCEO
andco-ownerMattBlaum(presi-
dentoftheIllinoisCraftDistillers
Association),whostartedthe
businesswithhisbrotherMike.
“Wealwaystalkedabout
openingabusinesstogetherat
somepoint,andwesharethe
commonbondofaloveofgood
whiskey,”Blaumsaid.
Whiletheirprimaryfocusis
whiskey,theyhavemoonshine,
gin,vodkaandaspecialHellfyre
Vodkawithjalapeno,haba-
neroandpeppercorninfusion
availableastheybarrel-agethe
whiskey.TheyalsoofferaKnot-
terBourbon.
“We’reoneoftheonlydis-
tilleriesdoingawhiskeyinspired
byscotch,”Blaumsaid.
BlaumBros.offerstours
($10peradult,unlessyourbirth
nameisGus,inwhichtheypick
upthetourtab)andtastings
sevendaysaweek,withsixdaily
toursonweekends—upfrom
justthreeperdayayearago.The
tourendswithatasteflightof
threeproducts.
Italsohasawhiskeylounge
withacocktailmenuthat
featuresanold-fashionedmade
withKnotterBourbonanda
chocolatemartiniwithHellfyre
Vodka.
These spirited DESTINATIONS across Il-
linois offer distinctive drinking experiences
with take-home opportunities. For those
especially taken by the products they taste,
many are sold in stores throughout Illinois
and even neighboring states, as seen on
their websites:
Grand River Spirits
grandriverspirits.com
facebook.com/
GrandRiverSpirits
428 Wood Road
Carbondale, IL
618-503-9050
J.K. Williams Distilling
jkwilliamsdistilling.com
facebook.com/pages/JK-Williams-Distill-
ing/504363782962737
526 High Point Lane
East Peoria, IL
309-839-0591
Blaum Bros. Distilling Co.
blaumbros.com
facebook.com/
BlaumBrosDistilling
9380 W. U.S. Highway 20
Galena, IL
815-777-1000
FYI
29

32
TRIP ON A BUDGET
By CARLY A. MULLADY
More Content Now
T
he likes of Nat King
Cole, Chuck Berry,
the Rolling Stones
and even John Mayer
have sung about
it. And at least one rock ’n’ roll
legend did it. So why not get hip
to the timely trip and get some
kicks on Route 66?
The highway that once led
drivers from Chicago to the West
Coast has loads of pit stops for
entertainment, education and
family fun in Illinois, from its
remaining start point at East
Adams Street/Jackson Boulevard
and South Michigan Avenue in
Chicago to its end near St. Louis.
ROCK ’N’ ROLL ON
ALITTLEGASMONEYISALLYOUNEED
FORANUNFORGETTABLETOUR
PHOTOSCOURTESYILLINOISROUTE66.ORG

33
‘Real America’
Therealkickshappenatallthosemappoints
inbetween.JustaskGregPeerbolte,executive
directoroftheJolietAreaHistoricalMuseum.
“WeknewitwasmorethanjustafadwhenSir
PaulMcCartneywalkedthroughourdoorsin2008,
travelingdownRoute66inanoldFordBronco,”
Peerboltesaid.
Themuseum,locatedwhereRoute66and
LincolnHighway(Route30)wouldmeet,contains
aRoute66Visitor’sCenterasthe“ceremonialfirst
stop”outsideofChicago,hesaid.
“Atthemuseum,themostcommonreason
Ihearforitsappealisthatitrepresentsthe‘real
America,’therusticandgrittygivingwaytothe
scenicandpastoral,over-the-topkitsch,andan
overallpresenceofsomethinglargerthanlife,”
Peerboltesaid.
Fromnaturetothecompletelyunnatural,
manyofthesitesasyoutraveldownstateexudethat
grandfeel.
“AhiddentreasureafewmilessouthofJoliet
isMidewin,thenation’sfirsttallgrassprairie
preserve,”Peerboltesaid.“Locatedonthesite
ofaformerammunitionplantusedtosupplythe
firepowerofWorldWarII,thesiteisnowbeing
reclaimedfromwartopeace.”
Midewinisintheprocessofreintroducingspe-
ciesofbisonintotheprairie.
Main men
Amongthoselarger-than-lifeartifactsalong
Route66arethe“mufflermen,”giantstatueswith
slightchangesdependingonlocation.oneofwhich
isjustsouthofJolietinWilmington.Thisone,—30
feethigh,donningaspacesuitandholdingarocket
—isknownastheGeminiGiant.Hewasnamed
aftertheNASAGeminiProgramandstandsoverthe
formergreasyspoonknownastheLaunchingPad.
Othermufflermenprototypesandunique
photoopportunitiesareadjustedfordifferentuses
downtheroad,accordingtoEnjoyIllinois.
AbrahamLincolnwithanaxe.
joinsAbeinSpringfield.
DavidsonT-shirtjustoutsidethePinkElephant
AntiqueShop,anotherrecommendedstopthathas
itsowngiantpinkelephant.
Lincoln.
Statue,wherethemythicanmanisholdingagiant
hotdoginsteadofanaxe,acrossthestreetfromthe
PalmsGrillCafé,whichfeaturesathrowbackmenu
toRoute66’sgoldenage.
fromCollinsvillecouldhelpBunyon’sunadorned
hotdog.
Food & fun
Speakingofhotdogs,theIllinoisTourism
Officelistsplentyofplacestocurbhighwayhunger
—beginningwithLouMitchell’sRestaurantatthe
startinChicago.
InBraidwood,there’sthePolk-a-DotDrive
In,whichfeaturesburgers,fries,shakes,jukeboxes
andstatuesoficonslikeElvis,MarilynMonroeand
BettyBoop.
Claimingtobethecreatorofthecorndog,the
CozyDogDriveIninSpringfieldoffersitsspecialty
aswellasregulardinerfare.
Springfield,too,celebratesRoute66.From
Sept.25-27,the14thAnnualInternationalRoute66
MotherRoadFestivalhostspeopleandcarsfromall
overthecountry.
FestivalspokeswomanJessicaKirchnersaid
between70,000and80,000spectatorsandthou-
sandsofclassiccarsandtrucksaswellasmodern
musclecarsmeetforacruiseparadeatthecity
centerFridaynightandparticipateinotherweekend
activities.
“Lastyear,wehadpeoplefromGermanywho
weretravelingRoute66andstoppedfortheevent.
Weputtheminacarfortheparade,”shesaid.
“Thereareallsortsofeventsforparticipantsand
spectatorstohaveagoodtime.”
Aburnoutcontest,livemusicandafamilyfun
zoneareamongplans.
Toplanapersonalizedtrip,visitenjoyillinois.
com.
IF YOU GO
JOLIET AREA HISTORICAL MUSEUM
jolietmuseum.org
240 Ottawa St., Joliet, IL
815-723-5201
14TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ROUTE 66
MOTHER ROAD FESTIVAL
route66fest.com
Sept. 25-27
Between Washington and Capitol and
Fouth and Seventh streets in downtown
Springﬁeld, IL
Free for spectators
To register vehicles, call
1-866-783-6645, or register online
PHOTOCOURTESYOFMARYANNHOLLOWAY
PHOTOCOURTESYOFSOCIALSTUDIESFORKIDS.COM
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RIDESFREE.COM
Route 66 starts in Illinois but
takes you all the way to L.A.

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