Jackson, WI – Perky’s Old Fashioned is officially 2-years old this week. To celebrate owners Josh, Lyle, and Karen Ernisse wanted to share some success stories of their adventure over the past years.
Perky’s is headquartered in the Village of Jackson, WI and started as a family recipe.
The original Perky’s recipe was crafted in a kitchen on the farm by Wally’s dad Gilbert Gundrum. “He liked to mix stuff up,” said Wally. “When I was young and at home yet, dad used to have a glass pitcher where he made himself martinis; then he started making an old fashioned with the liquor and bitters and the sugar in a bottle ready to drink.”
Long before a “mixologist” was a thing, Gilbert was starting down a path that would blossom into a business four generations later.
Gilbert died at 90 in 2007 and the torch of the old-fashioned mix was passed down through family tradition and holiday gatherings.
“We’d stir them up on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas… you name it,” said Perky. “They were so good with just the right ingredients and so simple… we just added the soda.”
In the infancy of the homemade old-fashioned mix, the Gundrum’s used old Southern Comfort bottles and mix up a batch and give it away as gifts.
“We didn’t do anything special with it, just gave it to family and friends as a gift and they loved it,” said Perky. “It didn’t get famous until the kids took over.”
She said, they give it the Perky’s name after asking permission.
“I said sure,” said Perky about the request. “It made me really proud they would use my name.”
New to the brand is the Wisco Shot. It is a blend of Perky’s bourbon and brandy and meant to be Wisconsin’s new go-to shot. “We call it a Wisconsin supper club in a shot glass,” said Lyle.
Another tagline is Chase it with a cherry. “Similar to a lime after a tequila shot you eat a cherry with the Wisco Shot,” said Josh.
The Wisco Shot is being launched at area bars and it will be available to purchase in stores late August early September.
“Thank you to all the businesses, friends, family and everyone who has grabbed a bottle off the shelf and given us a shot,” said Lyle. “We truly appreciate it. Visit us at Perkysspirits.com.”
#getperkedup #jointhefamily
