Old Sugar Distillery

Great place to sit outside on the benches and relax with a couple of friends. It’s a great place if you want to enjoy a nice day outside, but you don’t want the hustle and bustle of downtown life.
Feeling like a little parrot from the previous reviews, my favorite is also the honey-​cap, although I have made it a point to try the other drinks as well.

Cocktails are good if a little pricey, home made spirits are variable. Can be hard to get a seat on a weekend and can take a while to get served. Overall very enjoyable, however, and will be back.

Just far enough from the center of town that it’s not overcrowded, the distillery is a gem in Madison. The atmosphere is very relaxed and you get to sip on your amazing ($ 6-​$ 7!!!) beverages and gander at all of the distillery equipment.
I tried both the horchata drink, made with their honey liqueur, and was pleased with its uniqueness. I also tried their version of a capirinha (also made with the house honey liqueur) and exactly like the menu said, watch out — they go down easy.
I will absolutely be going back to try their whole menu, and the seasonal ones in between. I would recommend this place for date nights, family drinks, or even larger group gatherings — it seems like it’s perfect for meet up. There are also a decent amount of picnic tables and standing room outside, so I’m excited to revisit in warmer weather.

I love this place. Great cocktails every time. The tasting room has a warehouse feel to it, and on weekends it can get pretty packed. They do close on the early side though (10pm?), so keep that in mind. My favorite cocktail there is the Gringo, which tastes like boozy horchata. They also have great rotating seasonal cocktails. Fun fact, you can reserve their warehouse space for private events, and it’s fairly inexpensive (~$ 100)

Great place to meet people for cocktails — particularly during a nice summer night when you can sit outside. The service is so so. There is also a
limited snack menu that features local sundries.

I am not much of a mixed drink person but I love this place. The atmosphere is cozy and the drinks are wonderful and made with the Old Sugar’s own spirits. I usually order the Gringo, made, and it is SO tasty. Prices are reasonable and drink quality is high. A wonderful place to stop by.

Want a real whiskey sour? Then this is the place! Anything you order will be good, make sure you also try the Gringo and the Dark and Stormy, both will change your life! Oh and the new Ice Cream cocktails will knock you on your butt!
Order the Meat and Cheese plate, it’s well worth it to have a little something to snack on and the cured chorizo is incredible.
Be kind to the waiters and waitresses, try everything, and learn why this is my number one must visit every time I come to Madison from the Twin Cities!

The whole place from the interior to the bartenders are cool. You walk in and waif in the scent of spirits.
We ordered the Gringo, made with horchata, OSF honey liqueur, topped with freshly grated cinnamon and nutmeg, and Honey Cap, muddled lime, honey, and lime juice with OSF Honey Liqueur and soda water.
They were both very refreshing on a typical hot, Wisconsin summer.
We were able to grab a picnic table outside to enjoy our drinks!

Honey cap indeed. It’s like having honey with lime soda.
And also the gringo, old fashioned. I know I’ll like the other drinks as soon as I try them in the near future. Go with the platters, they’re good with the drinks.

I have Honey-​Cap on my mind! Delicious drinks, friendly staff, cool inside, and a patio area outside. I’ve been here twice for after dinner drinks and would come back time and time again. This is a must stop if you live in Madison or are visiting the area. Parking is easily available on the street, and there’s plenty of seating either inside or outside at their picnic tables. Definitely a great spot to sit outside during summer, or hide inside during the cold winter months. They do close at 10 p.m., so be sure to plan accordingly.
The only negative… the drinks are so good you can easily run up your tab. :)

I’d come here a million times over to drink the Honey-​Cap. Staff said they won an award for this drink and I’m not at all surprised. Lime & honey & house-​made honey liqueur & crushed ice & deliciousness. I’m not usually one to suck down a cocktail too fast but this one… SO good it was gone in a flash.
Cozy and dark and cool and casual — I cannot wait to return. So many more drinks to try! (They have Ouzo!)

In my current knocked up state, it was hard to visit an alcohol making facility of any kind, but luckily liquor is low on my alcohols I like to drink list. My partner though? He loves him some whiskey, so off we went.
We sat at the bar and ordered a flight for him (and later a whiskey sour) and a couple of non-​alcoholic drinks for me (the non-​alcoholic Honey Cap and the Horchata) I must say, even though I wasn’t able to drink any of the liquor, I was able to smell them like a creep and approve of one or two just based on scent alone. My man thought a few were pretty good based on both smell AND taste too, which is obviously a better measure. I’m pretty sure he was impressed by the whiskey, which is hard to do, and he also liked the honey liqueur too. Sorry I can’t give my unsolicited opinion on these… I’ll get on it in May when I’m womb-​passenger free. In alcohol free news though, the mixed drinks they serve here are legit. Both with or without the booze. They use fresh local ingredients in everything and take their time to make sure they are perfectly mixed. Read the menu and watch them work for a couple of minutes and you’ll see. If you’re knocking them down, you might not approve though, as it takes time for perfection and fresh stuff costs a lot. Point is, drink slow and have patience. It’ll be worth it in the end. Or pre/​post drink. Either way.
Next time I’m in Madison, I’ll definitely be stopping in. Especially to try the drinks WITH alcohol this time around.

Tucked away in a more industrial part of the city, there lies a place where great drinks are made and the sound of the main ingredient in those drinks distills in the background. And it is here that you can get a pretty good cocktail for a damn good price as well. And! and! most liquors are available to sample (generously sample) before you choose.
Of those offered, the whiskey is definitely top notch. There’s very little hint of burn at the end. You could even swish it around and gargle with it. Yep, I said it. Now do it.
The rest aren’t bad either. Especially the ouzo, which is normally the grossest liquor anyone ever invented, but not here.
Also, unlike some so-​called «distilleries,» they actually distill their own alcohol — quality alcohol.

As a non-​whiskey drinker, I was really impressed by offerings of this tasting room. They have plenty of drinks to impress the usual drinker and fun drinks like the Honey Cap for people like me.
There is plenty of seating both inside and out. The interior is simple but comfortable. The outside is a series of picnic tables but it is dog friendly so it was a fun favorite for me during the summer.
The people who were there are friendly and knowledgeable. The moment I leave, I start planning my next trip.

Awesome drinks. The horchata is my favorite, definitely recommend giving it a try! The staff is really helpful and eager to recommend drinks based on your preferences.
The website says you can come for a tour, but that’s really just a staff member pointing to various parts of the room and explaining the distillery process. Still nice that they’re willing to do this!
Fun ambience of being in a distillery. I definitely recommend cozying up here on a winter Saturday afternoon before enjoying dinner somewhere yummy on the east side. To be honest, I got a little bored here after 2 drinks, but they were a delicious 2 drinks! A pity they’re not open later as it’d be a fun nighttime spot.

If I wasn’t with someone who knew where this was I never would have just stumbled across it. The interior is very cool and the still is sitting right near the bar. The staff was all very friendly and helpful. We opted for the tasting flight and were amazed by the amount of liquor and the variety you get to try. We both had one cocktail as well. The tasting flight is very cool and you get a small glass to keep. I would highly suggest this place to anyone looking for a unique experience with distilled spirits.

Drinks are amazing and only about 6 bucks. I feel like that does not need much more elaboration and sums up why I love this place. Has a great vibe and always a decent sized crowd on the weekend.
Make this place your first stop for a night out on the town since they close at 10pm. This is one of my favorite spots to bring friends visiting from out of town. I can’t really name a drink that isn’t good on the menu. Menu isn’t extensive but it really doesn’t need to be since the quality of the drinks is what makes this place special.

This is a little gem on east Madison. Thanks to Unilocal’s Boozing and Schmoozing event, I got to learn about Old Sugar Distillery on my first trip here. It’s awesome to know that they source locally as much as possible and do the brewing and distillation themselves.
Their drinks are awesome! I had the honey cap — made with their very own honey liquer. As mentioned on their menu, this drink is so delicious, it goes down very easily and you won’t feel that you are having an alcoholic drink until moments later, which is not a bad thing =)
Snacks wise, they serve Banzo pita and hummus, which complement your drinks nicely.
Even though I came as a group in an organized event, you don’t have to do that in order to get a ‘tour’ of the place. The people there are very nice and friendly and more than happy to explain you how things work and show you around.
The outdoor patio is a plus. Sipping drinks out in the sun and enjoying the weather outside. Love my first experience and I will be back when I am in the Eastside again.

Love the drinks here! Great place to hang out and chill with friends. Patio is amazinggggg. If you’re hungry, get some underground butcher meats and banzo hummus and pita. Great sides for drinks!
What to get?
Gringo — horchata with honey liquor
Honey cap — easy to down drink; lime and honey liquor
Everything is amazing!
Because of Unilocal’s Boozing and Schmoozing, we got to learn all about Old Sugar Distillery from Ernest!
Inspired by the old sugar factory behind olbrich, Old Sugar Distillery has been up and running in the Willy street area for 4 years.
All the liquors are made from some type of sugar, and the makers attempt to source sugar and ingredients as local as possible. The gigantic pot steel by the door/​window can fill up to 450 gallons of liquid!
Most drinks start out with:
1000 pound of sugar
150 – 200 gallon of water
Champagne yeast. Doesn’t add a lot of flavor.
2 weeks fermentation. Then back into pot steel.
Vapors. 15−20h of vaporizing alcohol into condenser. Gaggling style of cold water tubes.
End up with 50 gallons of high proof alcohol for aging!
Oak barrels from Minnesota
Small 10 gallon barrels
Used only once
Efficient
Takes 10 months to age
1 month to age per gallon
Add distilled water to lower the proof of aged liquor
100% Wisconsin brandy
Grapes are picked by their own employees or volunteers!

Patio is open!
Gringos are flowing!
They added Banzo pita and hummus to their savory options.
Now is the time to scope out this awesome spot on Madison’s East Side, and ask them behind the bar about their process. It’s pretty wild how much they’re able to accomplish in a small space.