Dentist in Mount Horeb, WI

A small business in Mount Horeb recently launched a new cream liqueur that’s already in more than 50 locations across the state.

Matt Raboin, co-owner of Brix Cider in Mount Horeb, says Bailey’s Irish Cream has been the top selling cream liqueur in the Badger state for more than 50 years. Raboin and his wife and business partner, Marie, hope to change that.

The couple has operated a farm to table business since 2016, and had the idea of making a cream liqueur with Wisconsin dairy a few years ago.

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“We just felt like it was a product that needed to exist,” Raboin said. “That idea kind of just stuck in the back of our minds and eventually we were like, ‘Let’s just go for it. Let’s do it.’”

They got a distilling permit late last year and partnered with a dairy processor from Neenah. This year, they launched Wisco Cream, a cream liqueur made with aged rum and a hint of vanilla. The liqueur gained statewide distribution in December.

“It’s still like a nice, sweet, creamy, rich cream liqueur, but you can use it for almost anything — coffee drinks, hot chocolate, cocktails or even just on its own,” Raboin said.

The liqueur is packaged in an old-fashioned milk bottle and the brand’s advertising features a milkman character.

Raboin said the packaging and the milkman are meant to evoke a “retro, nostalgic” vibe that’s also “fun and playful.”

“(In) Wisconsin, I think, we’re fun and playful people,” he said. “We wanted a product that kind of matched with that fun, light-hearted feel.”

So far, he says the new product has received a warm reception from those visiting Brix Cider’s taproom in Mount Horeb.

“It’s selling quite well so far,” he said. “We’re in 50 accounts so far, and that’s just in the first couple weeks of distribution.”

Brix has partnered with Wisconsin-based distributor Left Bank Wine Company. For the next year or so, Raboin says he’s only looking to distribute in Wisconsin, but he’d like Wisco Cream to become a product that’s found in grocery or liquor stores across the state.

“There’s tons of potential places out there, and we’d love to see more restaurants and bars using it in their mixed drinks. We’ve got a couple cocktails we’re making with it at our place and they’re going over really well. We’re hoping to see it kind of become something that’s a little more of a household name in Wisconsin.”

Eventually, he’d like to see Wisco Cream overtake Bailey’s as the top-selling cream liqueur in the state.

“Why would we buy most of our cream liqueur from Ireland? We’re the dairy state,” Raboin said. “Any product that can support our Wisconsin dairy farmers, I think, is a great thing.”

MOUNT HOREB, Wis. (WMTV) - More than 200 Mount Horeb High School students are heading overseas to perform in London’s New Year’s Day Parade, marking months of preparation and a long-standing tradition within the district’s music programs.

The group includes students from band, choir and orchestra, with rehearsals and logistics beginning more than a year ago.

“Yeah, this is actually month 14. We’ve been preparing. So it’s been well over a year,” said Kellen Dorner, band director at Mount Horeb High School.

The district has participated in the international parade multiple times, with the program continuing to grow over the years.

“At that time, we took maybe a group of maybe 100 people. This year’s group is about 210, so it’s grown significantly, thanks to him starting that process going,” Dorner said, referencing former band director Will Jansen, who helped launch the international travel opportunities.

Dorner said the invitation-only event has expanded beyond band to include additional music programs.

“And on this trip, we have band, choir, and orchestra. So, it’s really a wonderful way to expose so many kids to culture and just world travel,” he said.

For some families, the experience is multi-generational.

“So, my sophomore year, our former band director, Will Jansen, was here. That was his first year he started, and he started these trips with our students,” said Amy Kellesvig, a Mount Horeb alum and parent. “In between my junior and senior year, we took the very first trip, and we went up to Toronto and New York City. So that was really fun.”

Now, her daughter Leah is preparing to perform overseas as a senior and band captain.

“For the parade I’m playing snare drum, but in class I like to do all the fun auxiliary percussion and the mallets,” said Leah Kellesvig.

Beyond the performance, students will spend time touring historic landmarks throughout the United Kingdom.

“We go see Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Oxford, Westminster Abbey,” Leah said.

District leaders say the trip reflects the Mount Horeb community’s support for well-rounded education and extracurricular opportunities.

“Well, that speaks to our community, right, is that we give every opportunity for our students to experience success regardless of where they’re coming from,” said Steve Salerno, superintendent of the Mount Horeb Area School District. “The kids, they really value a well-roundedness. The families value a well-roundedness.”

Salerno said community support plays a critical role in making large-scale trips like this possible, from parent involvement to local business partnerships.

The students will bring a mix of traditional and energetic performances to the parade route.

“We do a lot of UW marching band style things,” Dorner said. “So, when we’re going for this parade, a lot of times it’s a very formal event, but we’re going to do some fun stuff like Build Me Up Buttercups to try to get the audience excited.”

As departure day arrived, students said they were eager to finally see months of work come together.

“I’m just really excited to see it all come together since we’ve been practicing,” Leah Kellesvig said. “And I’m just, yeah, I’m really excited to see how the parade goes.”

Mount Horeb students are scheduled to march in London’s New Year’s Day Parade on Jan. 1.

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MT. HOREB, Wis. - The Mount Horeb High School Music Department left Saturday for London. The band will be performing at the 40th anniversary of the London New Year’s Day Parade.

This isn’t the first time the school has been invited to the event. Attending for the first time in 2007, and more recently in 2016, the group was supposed to participate in the 2021 parade, but the performance was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, approximately 200 students plus additional faculty and parents will make their way overseas for the parade.

The high school’s band will be performing at the parade, while members of the choir and orchestra will perform at other places during the trip.

“We’re really excited to be back after all these years” said Mount Horeb band teacher, Kellen Dorner.

“They extended an open invitation for us, which is really generous.” Dorner continued.

The school district has been working hard for the last twenty months to put together this experience for the students.

Although it’s not only the staff that have been working hard, but so have the parents and students.

From fundraising, to planning and practicing.

Mount Horeb drum major Maddie Becker said, “We do a lot of practicing at school, we get pulled a lot, and we go in the gym, and we practice all our marching and all our music and putting that together and learning all the footsteps.”

Other members of the Becker family are joining in on the trip too.

Ryan Becker, a parent and chaperone, is excited for the opportunity to represent the village.

“We’re just really excited to be representing Mount Horeb and the Mount Horeb music department for the first time in basically a decade.”

Mount Horeb is one of just under two dozen schools from the United States with the opportunity to head to London for this once in a lifetime event.

“These kids have made us so proud...so to have them be able to represent the entire state of Wisconsin at this event, just means the world to us.” said Mount Horeb Area School District Superintendent Dr. Steve Salerno.

To stay up to date on what the music department is doing while in England, Salerno said that the Mount Horeb school district will be posting on their website and social media.

You can also watch the parade on the Wisconsin Channel at 7 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day.

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