Blue & Gold Brewing, a venture run by Marquette University students, is collaborating with Central Standard Craft Distillery for its latest project: a craft cocktail released to celebrate National Marquette Day on Feb. 1.
The student-led collaborations began in 2022 with a trio of local MU alumni who run craft breweries to launch ‘77 Golden Ale. A second beer collab followed early last year and a few months later they did a coffee with Stone Creek.
While previous projects celebrated iconic Marquette themes like the 1977 basketball championship and the recently-departed McCormick Hall, the craft cocktail is called The ‘Lanche, in honor of the legendary tavern that operated near the campus for six decades until 1997 (and was especially known for its naked beer slides).
The moniker was also, apparently, the unofficial name of Marquette’s football team from 1892-1960.
This version of The 'Lanche is a lemon-lime flavored cocktail in a 12-ounce can built on a foundation of Central Standard’s vodka. It is canned at 6.5 percent ABV and there will be four-packs at retail.
“Our partnership with Blue & Gold Brewing reflects Central Standard’s commitment to the Milwaukee community and the Near West Side,” says Central Standard co-founder Pat McQuillan.
“Collaborating with Marquette students brings fresh energy and a shared passion for innovation to this venture.”
Blue & Gold Brewing is a first-of-its-kind program run entirely by Marquette undergraduates. This year’s cocktail team includes College of Business Administration seniors Hitinder Singh, Maggie Starker, Jack Hartle and Donovan Jones.
The students lead all aspects of the project, from market research to product development, branding, supply chain logistics, advertising and beyond.
The resulting revenue is used to support Marquette’s student-run programs and provide hands-on learning experience for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The ‘Lanche can art was created by Carl Collective, a Milwaukee-based marketing and communications agency that is also student-run.
“Being part of the Blue & Gold Brewing team has been an incredible opportunity to experience every step of launching a product, from developing the concept to partnering with local businesses,” says Singh.
The ‘Lanche will be available beginning on Feb. 1 at select locations in the area. Use this link to find retail outlets.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
