One evening last winter my doorbell rang and there was my neighbor with a glass of clear liquid. “Here, taste this,” they said, thrusting the glass in my direction when I opened the door. “Oh that’s delicious! State Line Vodka, right?” My neighbor looked confused. “How’d you know? Yeah, but what’s going on with it? It doesn’t taste like the vodka I usually buy.”
Before John Mleziva opened State Line Distillery in 2017 on the near east side of Madison, he trekked to Edinburgh, Scotland for a Master of Science in brewing and distilling at Heriot-Watt University. His initial intent was to focus on brewing and open a brewery in Wisconsin. Yet, once in the program, Mleziva became increasingly fascinated with distilling and the opportunities to influence the flavor of spirits within the process. Additionally, he became steeped in the way the specifics of place influence Scotch Whisky and saw an opportunity for a similar approach in other distilled products. As such, his plans shifted to become State Line Distillery’s deceptively simple-sounding approach: Make spirits that reflect Wisconsin flavor and connect that back to the community.
The State Line Vodka that confused my neighbor manifests this approach in its barest form, showing off the flavor of wheat grown at Sprecher Farm in Lone Rock, Wisconsin, along with a bit of local barley. There are cereal and pastry-crust like aromas with low chamomile and roasted pear notes. The flavor gives an impression of challah and nutty wheat berries, plus a touch of lemon flesh, a whisper of allspice and, of course, alcohol. “You’re used to drinking carbon-filtered industrial Neutral Grain Spirit,” I told my neighbor. “This has flavor!”
Botanically Inspired
Riffing on that same 87% wheat and 13% barley base, State Line makes three different gins—their new London Dry Gin, their original American Gin, and Barreled Gin—and an Aquavit. There is a recognizable State Line character running through all of these, from those Driftless region-grown grains and the choices made throughout the fermentation and distilling process.
The American Gin is bold with an unctuousness that makes it a cocktail superstar. Locally grown sage is out front throughout, along with a grainy graham cracker and pastry crust impression. Floral and coriander flavors swirl beneath with a gently bitter juniper bite balancing it all. As the low sage aftertaste lingers, the floral-notes grow into a glow of violets. This gin makes brilliantly refreshing short drinks with just a bit of citrus or vermouth, and holds its own even when your G&T is prepared by someone prone to using too much tonic water. It also works great to pull a range of other flavors into a focused whole; head to State Line’s Cocktail Lounge for a Smoke Show made with American Gin, smoked black tea, lemon, honey, ginger, lemongrass, and organic cane sugar.
Barreled Gin starts life as the American Gin but takes a rest in used barrels for a paradigm shift. Citrus aromas swirl with juniper notes for a prickly ash impression with a bit of vanilla, peppercorn and sarsaparilla. The grain base seems so much richer here with the added structure and vanilla notes from the barrel. It can work equally well in classic gin or whisky cocktails, making the difference between a manhattan and a martini entirely academic. Similarly the Aquavit benefits from time in a barrel for a bit of a spice cake impression between the rich grain, vanillins from the wood and the blend of spices.
In the opposite direction, State Line’s new London Dry Gin is completely ethereal. This is still the same grain base as the others, yet through the combination of a lower fermentation temperature and higher bottling proof, the body is lighter and the flavor has a toasted white bread quality. Notes of cucumber lead on the nose with a bit of prickly ash, peppercorn and blood orange swirling throughout before the juniper cuts in, grounding the initial heady impressions.
Back to the Community
State Line’s connective approach, beyond flavor propositions, is central. “If you can’t tie it back to the community in some way, where we make this stuff, what’s the point?” Mleziva asks.
In the last weeks of summer, they put on a fundraiser for Clean Wisconsin with Muskellounge, an Oktoberfest-themed event for Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation at the Bur Oak with Young Blood Beer Company, and sponsored a meat raffle at The Dive Inn for the Schenk Parent Teacher Organization.
Working with fellow beverage producers is important to Mleziva too. “The growing number of producers in our area naturally creates an environment that fosters collaboration and friendships. The quality of what’s being produced elevates everyone. We push each other to do better, even across beverage types. People here are passionate about what they do and creating something unique to their subcategories. The vibrancy of what we’re doing will just continue to expand.”
The connections to the community go right down to the microscopic level at State Line with the distilling of their Rum pulling flavors from Wisconsin in a completely different way. “Producing rum has been really interesting, and has given us the opportunity to stretch ourselves as distillers. By creating our own dunder pit that is inoculated with microbes from right here, we are able to play with those flavors and have them be expressed in the finished rum.” Said dunder pit at State Line may look like an ordinary tote, yet it holds the variety of life needed to ferment the molasses base into something complex, yielding a compelling distillate. The dunder pit is the source of the roasted banana, low cherry pit, light lemon seed and suggestion of maraschino that complement the burnt sugar and molasses flavors. All of the complexity comes from nurturing ongoing life in this specific place, while the weight of the liquid on your palate, along with the quality of the alcohol flavor, give a clear tie to the State Line profile found in the grain-based spirits.
Cocktail Court
Like most other small producers, the onsite aspects are important, yet the centrality of the Cocktail Lounge has been a delightful surprise to Mleziva. “I didn’t expect we’d create such a deep connection with members of the community through the cocktail lounge. From having people taste the spirits, trying to source local ingredients, and having passionate people working behind the bar, we have been able to create brand ambassadors throughout the entire city and beyond. It’s fun because we are able to engage with people in an open and honest way and get folks invested in what we’re doing.”
Invested patrons are hardly surprising: sleek, warm wood, long-term staff—the cocktails! Plus, there are a few spirits designed to enhance the onsite cocktail program; distilleries in Wisconsin are only allowed to serve spirits they produce. The bright red Aperitivo leads with bitter herbs before revealing vanilla, black cherry skin, a slight yellow cake note and warm spices. Once a collaboration vermouth with American Wine Project is ready, the door is open for serving Wisconsin-centric versions of americano and negroni-style cocktails. The Coffee Liqueur, made using Madison-based Kin-Kin Coffee, plays like a nutty pour-over and allows for classics like a White Russian on the menu.
There is also a new neighbor just behind the cinderblock wall to garnish your trip to cocktail court. In spring 2021, Hastings Cameron opened Imaginary Factory, a blending and bottling operation, to explore the flavor possibilities at the limits of classic builds. Classics like a mint julep become the Electro-Julep built off the house Old Fashioned with mint, ginger and coconut water. “It’s great to have Hastings next door and to see the success of his experimental cocktails. It’s a complement to what we’re doing with our elevated classic cocktail program and brings more people out to experience cocktails and beverages that are locally made. I love what he’s doing over there—everybody wins!” Mleziva says.
And this is just the beginning. State Line Distillery was initially born from Mleziva’s interest in scotch production, and a range of mature whiskey is on the way. Expect a five-year-old Wisconsin single malt sometime in 2022. “Whiskey is the culmination of having the patience to give the spirit enough time to become what it truly is intended to be. One question we always ask ourselves is how can we find ways to use local ingredients and preserve the flavors that are unique to this area throughout the distilling and aging process? This single malt whiskey is 100% Wisconsin barley with flavors that are unique to this area,” Mleziva explains. “But in my mind, whiskey is the sub-story. There’s a definitive State Line flavor profile that people have really embraced and gets them excited about new products we release. How we use terroir and have that come all the way through to your glass is the main story that is told across everything we make.” This is Wisconsin distilled.
Editor's Correction: John Mleziva's name has been updated under his portrait to reflect accurate spelling. November 2021
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