The House on the Rock: Eccentricity in a Glass

Wisconsin has a talent for surprises. Hidden lakes. Forests that stretch further than expected. Taverns in towns too small to find on most maps. And then there is the House on the Rock, one of the state’s strangest and most beloved landmarks. Built in the 1940s by Alex Jordan Jr., it is a sprawling, labyrinthine attraction perched on a sandstone bluff near Spring Green. Inside, guests wander through a dizzying collection of oddities: the world’s largest indoor carousel, a room filled with automated instruments, entire streets recreated indoors. It is part museum, part fever dream, and entirely Wisconsin. 

The cocktail that shares its name follows the same spirit of eccentric invention. The House on the Rock combines Four Roses bourbon, Korbel brandy, a citrus tincture steeped for twelve hours, Angostura and orange bitters, and a sparkling float of Prosecco. At first glance, the mix looks unlikely. Bourbon and brandy together? A Midwestern spirit paired with Italian bubbles? Yet the result is balanced, layered, and just a little dazzling. 

Much like the landmark, this drink invites curiosity. The bourbon gives structure, bold and steady. The brandy adds softness, a nod to Wisconsin’s favored spirit. The citrus tincture brightens everything, bringing patience into the process. Then the Prosecco crowns it, bubbles dancing like the carousel lights spinning inside the House on the Rock. 

The decision to pair bourbon and brandy is more than whimsy. It tells the story of Wisconsin’s crossroads. Settlers and immigrants brought European traditions with them. Brandy, schnapps, and liqueurs found a home alongside American whiskey. Supper clubs served them side by side, sometimes in the same glass. This cocktail honors that blend of old and new, local and borrowed, practical and extravagant.

At Baraboo Supper Club in Boise, The House on the Rock offers a taste of Wisconsin’s appetite for the offbeat. It is celebratory, not just because of the Prosecco, but because it carries the same spirit of excess and delight that fills Jordan’s strange house on the bluff. It is not a quiet drink. It is meant to catch the eye across the table, to be raised in a toast, to spark a story or two.

And that is the Wisconsin way. Tradition is respected, but never too tightly bound. The state has always left room for oddity and invention, for a house filled with carousel horses and for a cocktail that pairs bourbon with brandy, topped with bubbles.

So, when you lift this glass, imagine the carousel lights whirling, the music clanging, and the rooms unfolding one after another. Like the landmark itself, this cocktail is a reminder that sometimes the unexpected belongs just as much as the ordinary.

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Food Pairing:

House on the Rock + Sautéed Prawns

Bubbles meet the unexpected. The House on the Rock layers bourbon, brandy, citrus, and Prosecco, making it the perfect match for sautéed prawns tossed with spinach and rosé sugo. A little theatrical, a lot delicious.