So being a Solo Traveler does not always mean a far away destination for weeks at a time. You will get to read more of those stories soon to Tanzania, Romania, and Iceland, but for this next adventure, I only drove 2.5 hours away, spent a matter of 30 minutes at my destination, then turned around and drove back home. Where in the world is such a place that is worth a 2.5 hour drive just to spend 30 minutes? Well, it is a town called Coleman, Wisconsin. Yes, I had to look it up too to find out it is north of Green Bay and only a population of 836; no not thousands, just 836 people.
What in the world could have driven me to such a small, not much going on kind of town? A town with what is called a Main Street, but there is nothing main about it. It is truly one of those towns that if you blink, you will miss it, as I did. I was in search of one building. I looked left when I should have looked right, then next thing I know I am out of town headed for some farm land. Had to turn back around and creep through town, looking for that one structure. Not even sure it was a whole structure by itself, as it looked like it was connected to another building.
Finally, I saw it; the red door that was the entrance into the reason I was there. I had found…wait, wait. I should probably tell you a bit of the back story first.
When I travel, I love to find the local thing, the local product whether it is local food, local drink, or local event. That is what makes the trip even more special, is to indulge into the local flair. As you can see from my Wisconsin Rapid trip, I indulged in “craneberries”. So what is in Coleman, Wisconsin for one to indulge in? How many times can I say indulge in one paragraph? LOL.
I have a fascination, a curiosity to a particular liquid drink. Wherever I am in the world, I research to see if there is such a liquid drink factory in the nearby area. Most areas so far have had such a factory from Flensburg, Germany to Negril, Jamaica to the island of Mauritius. So living in Wisconsin, home of beer, brats, and cheese curds, AND cranberries, of course, I wondered, could there be such a factory in Wisconsin? It didn’t even dawn on me to look the first year I was here, as I thought the state was flooded by beer only. I soon learned that bourbon is also a thing here with the Old Fashions. Bourbon does connect Wisconsin to my Kentucky roots. I do not like the taste of bourbon though.
So, here I am wondering around in Woodman’s (the locally employee-owned supermarket) and notice they have a liquor store off the main drag. Go in there just to see what kind of liquor beverages are “on tap” and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a bottle of Smooth Sailing Rum, but no tiny reindeer. It was like one of those moments when all is right in the world. RUM! That is my jam!! The bottle has an anchor on it with a rope, NOW you have my full attention. I was a Navy Sailor once upon a career, and me and anchors go way back. So, I was thinking, didn’t matter what the rum tasted like, I wanted it. I needed to add it to my collection.
But, getting back to buying local, just because rum is in a grocery store doesn’t mean it is from the area. I turn the bottle over curious where it was made, and another AHHHHH, all is right with the world, it had a Wisconsin address; Coleman, Wisconsin to be exact. So where in the heck is Coleman? I googled right then and there to find out Coleman is only 2.5-ish hours away. It was 4pm, so not going to happen today, I thought. It was Wednesday. Could I wait for the weekend? Did I need to take a day off work to go to Coleman? I decided to do some more research. Was it an active distillery? Did the company provide tours? What was the company that distilled it? Is toffee the only flavor (as indicated on this bottle) that was distilled? So many questions, so I emailed the “contact us” link. Had a wonderful chat with Curt, the owner, who is so busy and pretty much a one-man show, who also said he doesn’t have time for tours. Thanked me for my 24-year Navy service and said I could find Smooth Sailing Rum in just about any liquor store or grocery store; just had to click on the location link to find where sold.
I thanked him for his time and then mapped out where Coleman is and how to get there. Hmmmmm, even though no distillery tours and no retail shop, still had in my mind that in order to truly enjoy Smooth Sailing Rum from Coleman, Wisconsin, I must drive to Coleman, Wisconsin and see for myself. I needed to experience Coleman with its 836 population, take a driving tour, and stop at a local liquor store to buy my rum. So, on Saturday, I fueled up my car and headed north. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day for driving and I had no other plans than to drive, oh about 5 hours round trip, in search of rum. Found out it is made by The North Woods Distillery and so on I drove, past Appleton, past Osh Kosh, past Green Bay, and many other little towns in between, and then the sign of Coleman came into view.
And now you know the rest of the story, almost. Yep, drove right past the red door because I was looking to my left instead of right, turned around, and ahhhhhhh, there it was, the North Woods Distillery sign above the little red door. Yep, it was closed as it is truly just a distillery with no tours and no retail shop. Not that I thought Curt was lying to me, just wanted to see it for myself. I parked, took some pictures (in a Chevy Chase type Vacation moment), hopped back in my car, then drove to the nearest liquor store (which was inside the Cougar Shell gas station) to purchase my bottle (okay I bought two bottles because I thought I would have the first bottle empty in a matter of weeks). LOL
Bought my two bottles, and headed home!!!!
Got home and had my first taste of this awesomeness called Smooth Sailing Rum (Toffee flavor). My oh my, no other ingredient needed. You can “smooth”ly take a shot without burn or after taste. The toffee really makes it a drink all its own, but yes it makes a great base for mixed cocktails as well.
I took it to a party, which started a chain reaction of friends buying their own bottle or two. Pretty sure I am responsible for selling about 15 bottles!!!
So, a toast to The Solo Traveler who goes 5 hours out of their way for a perfect bottle of rum!!!
Go where you want, when you want, for as long as you want:
Alli L
For all the photos, go to @TheSoloTraveler50 on Facebook