You’ve used cherry jam and cherry pie filling. You might even have had cherry wine. But have you had cherry moonshine or cherry vodka? What about cherry bacon spread or a can of cherry cocoa?
Door County, Wisconsin, home to 2,500 acres of cherry orchards, has them all! A surprising number of unusual cherry products can be found in this popular tourist destination on Wisconsin’s peninsula. Delicacies like cherry barbecue sauce, cherryaki barbecue sauce and cherry rub spice are found in at least one of the many of the little picturesque towns that make up the county surrounded by Green Bay and Lake Michigan.
While using the web to locate a shop or an orchard that sells a product mentioned here may be easier, what fun would that be? You’d miss out on all the other unique items the dozens of shops have to offer as well as the gorgeous drives between towns like Egg Harbor and Fish Creek.
Wisconsin is famous for its cheese and wine shops. Cherry wine made of Door County cherries and the locally-made cherry horseradish sauce pair perfectly with cherry summer sausage, cherry chutney and cherry fudge sauce, all of which can be found in local cheese shops.
Quaint shops in the downtown areas of Door County’s small villages carry treasures like cherry olive oil or cherry balsamic vinegar. In Bailey’s Harbor one of the little towns that nestle within the peninsula’s cherry orchard, bags of cherry coffee beans might be scored alongside Wisconsin’s famous cheese curds.
If you venture into Sister Bay, Door County handmade candy and wine candy tempt those with a cherry-red sweet tooth.
For waffle lovers, the cherry syrup, cherry-infused maple syrup or cherry crème honey make it hard to decide which topping to use. While you’re thinking of breakfast, search for cherry wine jelly or your favorite of many cherry butters for your toast. Try the cherry jalapeno jam for a spicy-sweet start to the day.
The cherry theme continues at lunch with the cherry mustard to put on that cherry sausage you purchased down the road. Dip your chips in (what else?) cherry dip or cherry salsa or have a salad with any number of cherry dressings.
Door County isn’t just about food, however. Outdoor activities are just as popular and sweet. Rent a kayak in Peninsula State Park and paddle a mile out to Horseshoe Island. If hiking is more to your liking, there are six trails in Door County with varying lengths and degrees of difficulty ranging from beginner to advanced. In the middle of all that activity, get a second wind with a cherry performance drink or a cherry whey for those tired muscles.
A must-do is in Door County if you’re there between mid-July to mid-August is to pick your own cherries. After all, after you’ve bought a trunkload of exotic cherry products, now you need to load up on real cherries.
After a long day of cherry-picking, start out dinner with a cherry juice margarita and enjoy it at one of the old-style supper clubs in the county. Finish it with Door County cherry pie, of course, and then relax with a cherry brandy, a cherry liqueur and a cherry cookie.
For more tips, itineraries or information about the cherries of Door County, visit doorcounty.com and pick a vacation with a cherry on top.