Mount Horeb small business launches cream liqueur made with Wisconsin dairy

A small business in Mount Horeb recently launched a new cream liqueur that’s already in more than 50 locations across the state. 

Matt Raboin, co-owner of Brix Cider in Mount Horeb, says Bailey’s Irish Cream has been the top selling cream liqueur in the Badger state for more than 50 years. Raboin and his wife and business partner, Marie, hope to change that. 

The couple has operated a farm to table business since 2016, and had the idea of making a cream liqueur with Wisconsin dairy a few years ago.

“We just felt like it was a product that needed to exist,” Raboin said. “That idea kind of just stuck in the back of our minds and eventually we were like, ‘Let’s just go for it. Let’s do it.’”

They got a distilling permit late last year and partnered with a dairy processor from Neenah. This year, they launched Wisco Cream, a cream liqueur made with aged rum and a hint of vanilla. The liqueur gained statewide distribution in December.

“It’s still like a nice, sweet, creamy, rich cream liqueur, but you can use it for almost anything — coffee drinks, hot chocolate, cocktails or even just on its own,” Raboin said.

The liqueur is packaged in an old-fashioned milk bottle and the brand’s advertising features a milkman character.

Raboin said the packaging and the milkman are meant to evoke a “retro, nostalgic” vibe that’s also “fun and playful.”

“(In) Wisconsin, I think, we’re fun and playful people,” he said. “We wanted a product that kind of matched with that fun, light-hearted feel.”

So far, he says the new product has received a warm reception from those visiting Brix Cider’s taproom in Mount Horeb.

“It’s selling quite well so far,” he said. “We’re in 50 accounts so far, and that’s just in the first couple weeks of distribution.”

Brix has partnered with Wisconsin-based distributor Left Bank Wine Company. For the next year or so, Raboin says he’s only looking to distribute in Wisconsin, but he’d like Wisco Cream to become a product that’s found in grocery or liquor stores across the state. 

“There’s tons of potential places out there, and we’d love to see more restaurants and bars using it in their mixed drinks. We’ve got a couple cocktails we’re making with it at our place and they’re going over really well. We’re hoping to see it kind of become something that’s a little more of a household name in Wisconsin.”

Eventually, he’d like to see Wisco Cream overtake Bailey’s as the top-selling cream liqueur in the state.

“Why would we buy most of our cream liqueur from Ireland? We’re the dairy state,” Raboin said. “Any product that can support our Wisconsin dairy farmers, I think, is a great thing.”