Dazzling Distilleries During Lake County Libation Trail Month 2022
By: Jonathan Jones 01/28/2022
These four dazzling distilleries provide an absolutely divine concoction of flavors.
From rum to gin, absinthe and bourbon, to vodka and liqueur and everything in between, Lake County’s four dazzling distilleries have the perfect adult beverages for cocktail connoisseurs.
Taste one of these eclectic drinks from our distilleries this Lake County Libation Trail and throughout the year. It’s five o’clock somewhere as we enter the Lake County Libation Trail Month/Check-in Challenge.
Guests who “Check-In” at five or more locations between Feb. 1-28 will be eligible for a drawing, where 50 people will win a new Libation Trail Roster Shirt. The long-sleeved 100% cotton shirt lists all the Libation Trail partner locations to visit this year. Once 50 names are drawn after March 1, winners who respond to email notification with their name and mailing address within seven days will be awarded a shirt to wear proudly.
- SCAN the QR code, TEXT "CHEERS" to 224.706.1133 or visit Experience.VisitLakeCounty.org.
- Sign up for the Libation Trail Passport and opt-in for location services and prompts.
- CHECK-IN at five or more participating locations between Feb. 1-28 to be entered to WIN.
- 50 eligible entrants will win the new Libation Trail Roster Shirt, a sought-after souvenir for adventurous libation connoisseurs.
Let's take a walk on the vine side and taste one of these elegant berry drinks during Lake County Libation Trail Check-in Challenge and year-round.
Let’s explore the local distilleries in Lake County.
The Lake Zurich distillery puts the L in “gimme a liddle fiddle.” Copper Fiddle created small-batch gin and other spirits in 2012. The distillery’s story is derived from a family heirloom passed down from generation – that heirloom being a violin. This 1906 musical instrument’s sound is what the Lake Zurich distillery utilized as a metaphor for the smoothness of their gin and bourbon whiskey. The “Illinois-Made” recipient creates each drink from scratch. Copper Fiddle offers gins, rums, and bourbon whiskeys. For their superior drinks, Copper Fiddle has achieved two American Craft Spirit Awards and an American Distilling Institute Award. In 2020, Copper Fiddle also added vodkas to their repertoire. At the beginning of the pandemic, the distillery provided nearly 100 bottles of sanitizer for police and fire departments in the area. It usually takes around seven days to make a supply, but the Lake County Libation Trail team utilized 45 cases of unsold bottles of rum to accelerate the process.
Copper Fiddle Distillery, 532 W. Illinois Route 22, Suite 110, Lake Zurich.
North Shore Distillery is the first craft distillery in the land of Lincoln. Since 2004, Derek and Sonja Kassebaum (and their larger-than-life friend Ethel) provide vodkas, rums, gins, absinthes and unique seasonal beverages. The self-proclaimed nerds and Illinois-Made inventors love to experiment on new flavors with a plethora of different ingredients, and that’s why the award-winning Green Oaks distillery designs innovative art with their liquid creations. The Green Oaks distillery is open for indoor, outdoor and carryout. At the start of the pandemic, like Copper Fiddle Distillery and 28 Mile, they created hand sanitizer for first responders and heath care workers..
North Shore Distillery, 13990 Rockland Rd., Green Oaks.
The Waukegan facility that specializes in gin and whiskey is located in Waukegan, but the spirits are created in Wheeling. The Lake County Libation Trail participant creates decadent beverages for the modern townsman, by the modern townsman. The award-winning distillery has notched a slew of awards for their gin – specifically their Reserve Old Tom Gin and American Botanical Gin. The American Gin from Oppidan Spirits contains grapefruit, elderflower, hibiscus for a light floral nose. The superbly balanced gin tastes great neat, or with the complement of a cocktail. For those who aren't cocktail connoisseurs, Nightshade and Dark's Brewing Co. is housed in the same residence.
Oppidan Spirits, 220 W. Clayton St., Lot C, Waukegan.
The Highwood facility is the north shore’s premier distillery and lounge. The Lake County Libation Trail participant is donned in art décor (you’ll feel like you’re in a 1920s speakeasy) and has a large garden for live performances. Twenty-eight Mile Vodka also offers space for private parties and tours of the distillery, not to mention a ton of live shows are happening at this venue. The Highwood drinkery has an unbelievable backstory of how these crafters came up with the name and logo of their distillery. The Debonair (the woman on their logo) was a real-life queen during the Prohibition Era. Twenty-eight Mile Vodka also just earned a MicroLiquor Spirit 2019 Triple Gold Award for Extraordinary Taste and Highest Recommendation. The distillery has notched accolades for its liquor and was pivotal during the height of the pandemic as they supplied first-responders with hand sanitizer. The recently created bourbon from 28 Mile Distilling Co. is the November 2021 Libation of the Month.
28 Mile Distilling Co., 454 Sheridan Rd. Highwood.
To learn more about the Lake County Libation Trail Month Check-in Challenge, click here. To register for the challenge, continue here. Drink Lake County local! Cheers!
Enjoy photos from our social media friends on the Lake County Libation Trail.
Be sure to continue sharing with us socially!
