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Event Wed Dec 23 2015
Mark Your Calendars: Supper Club Doc at Siskel
Fun fact I learned about the Old-Fashioned while watching Holly DeRuyter's documentary "OId-Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club": Korbel set up a booth at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 to introduce the world to their brandy, which became popular with the Fair's many German customers, who brought it north to Wisconsin. The state is still the top buyer of brandy today, because hey, an Old-Fashioned with whiskey is downright heresy.
DeRuyter's documentary, which was crowdfunded (we enthusiastically covered it back in 2011), makes its Chicago debut on Jan. 23rd at the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State) for two screenings. The film does a great job of tracing the origins and distinctive style of the (mostly) Wisconsin-based restaurant phenomenon known for its relish trays, ice cream drinks and fried perch, as well as the role the supper club plays in their community for being a beloved meeting spot for locals and tourists (even the Chicago gangsters of the 1930s liked them). It's hard to watch this on an empty stomach, so if you have a car, you can be at the Wisconsin border in an hour.
