ISSUE ONE FALL 2015 fwt luxury travel food wine travel Portugal’s Devotion to Ginja A Cherry Liqueur Mainstay Where Josephine Lost Her Head Searching in Martinique

South Pacific Ambiance Meets Disney Magic Disney’s Aulani Hawaiian Resort and Walt Disney World’s New Polynesian Bungalows in Florida

explore! savor! live! The American Club, Kohler,

PHOTO COURTESY KOHLER CO. 30 fwt FALL 2015 The American Club Cream of the Crop in America’s Dairyland by Linda Fasteson

FALL 2015 fwt 31 Irish Course at , Hole 11, The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin, PHOTO COURTESY KOHLER CO. Sargento, the first to offer prepackaged cheese, and Johnsonville, one of Amer- ica’s largest sausage producers. With ith just a few states left in our much of the early European immigration quest to discover the essence coming from Germany, it is little wonder Wof each one, we headed for that Bratwurst Days, Oktoberfest, and Wisconsin, knowing little more about it breweries add to the region’s fun. Deep than its reputation as America’s Dairy- fried cheese curds that ooze melted land. cheddar are indeed popular – and We discovered the cream of the crop addictive – treats. But there’s so much in Kohler, which is about a 22 hour more. drive north from Chicago and an hour Little did we know that in the Village from Milwaukee. Kohler is in Sheboy- of Kohler, established around a foundry gan County, home to companies like for making farm implements, we would

32 fwt FALL 2015 The Wisconsin Room, The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin PHOTO COURTESY KOHLER CO.

waned the American Club was trans- formed into a one-stop vacation desti- nation that exemplifies gracious living. It opened in 1981 with the finest of accommodations, dining and spa expe- riences as well as year-round outdoor adventures. The American Club is a AAA 5-dia- mond and Forbes 5-star ranked hotel, one of only 48 hotels in the world with both designations. It was added to the National Historic Register in the 1980s. Guest rooms are uniquely decorated and their bathrooms include The Kohler Showering Experience as well as a range of Kohler bath features. Those who wish to bring the experi- ence home can visit the Design Center. Kohler became a household name The luxurious Kohler Waters Spa is after bought out his on the first floor of the adjacent Carriage father-in-law’s Sheboygan foundry and House. machine shop that manufactured cast Since breakfast, afternoon tea, and iron farm implements. In 1883, he add- hors d’oeuvres are served there, guests ed four legs to their enameled cast iron who stay in one of the 186 adults-only feeding trough and sold it to a farmer as guest rooms can be attired in their plush a bathtub in exchange for fourteen pigs robes all day. and a cow. By 1891 Kohler was produc- The spa is the ultimate place to ing bathtubs, washbowls, and drinking experience the therapeutic benefits fountains. Kohler Co. went on to be the first company to offer a complete solution for kitchens and baths–sinks, toilets, faucets, and tubs. In 1900 the factory was moved a few miles west to Riverside, and after John Michael Kohler’s death in 1927 Riverside was renamed the Village of Kohler. His son, Walter, saw that the expanding company needed a place for immigrant workers to live and built the elegant red brick Tudor-style American Club in 1918 find a world-class five star resort expe- with dormitories, a dining area, billiards, rience. The complex has evolved with bowling, barbershop, tavern and school championship golf courses, including for learning English and gaining citizen- Whistling Straits, with massive sand ship. It was sited opposite the factory, dunes and roaming sheep that replicate separated by a broad, tree-lined boule- the rugged courses in Ireland or Scot- vard. Walter Kohler, Sr. went on to cre- land. ate a zoned, planned community with It attracted the PGA Championship plenty of green space in keeping with again in 2015, the third time it has been Sir Ebenezer Howard’s English garden held here. The American Club’s other city movement. Later, such notables course, , utilizes the as Boston’s Olmsted Brothers and the natural Wisconsin terrain and is regard- Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation added to Carrot 43 Martini at The Winery Bar, The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin, the master plan. ed as one of course designer Pete Dye’s PHOTO COURTESY KOHLER CO. crowning achievements After the need for immigrant labor

FALL 2015 fwt 33 Room 114, Heritage King, guest room The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin PHOTO COURTESY KOHLER CO.

Governor’s Suite Bathroom room The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin PHOTO COURTESY KOHLER CO.

Chocolatier Anette Righi DeFendi’s work, like fulfilling Mr. Kohler’s desire for a chocolate peanut butter creation to surpass Reese’s flavor and for the world’s best chocolate turtle, the Terra- pin, now the shop’s signature chocolate. Kohler Co., now a global company that employs over 30,000 employ- ees in fifteen countries, continues to be privately held and is in the fourth generation of family management. The company also owns Baker Furniture, examples of which are found throughout the American Club.

of Kohler’s water-inspired treatments served in a different Kohler restaurant. Linda Fasteson and is one of 48 spas worldwide to be The more casually elegant Wisconsin awarded five stars by Forbes Travel. Room, the original dining hall of im- Linda Fasteson is There are a dozen or so dining migrant workers, serves farm-to-table an award-winning writer options at Destination Kohler, from breakfast and dinners. It is renowned for with who specializes the homemade ice cream, snacks, its bountiful Friday Night Seafood Buffet in Baby Boomer travel and coffee and tea in the greenhouse, and Sunday Brunch. with emphasis on history shipped piece-by-piece from England, The workers’ former pub is now the and culture, grand and historic hotels, to the elegant European-influenced casual Horse &Plow. It is a place to waterways and railways, educational va- American cuisine of the romantic and relax with a brew or an Arnold Palmer, cations, and food and wine. She views AAA Four-Diamond Immigrant Restau- half lemonade and half iced tea, munch travel as a way to to better understand rant & Winery, which has a specialty tea some fried cheese curds and pretzels the people, places and events of our menu that reads like a fine wine list. The or a sandwich like the H&P Reuben or world. Winery Bar has nearly five hundred wine the American Club. Tabletops are made In addition to her Sunday newspa- options and received Wine Spectator’s of wood from the immigrants’ bowling per travel feature stories, Baby Boomer Best Award of Excellence. alley. Travel and Travel Deal columns, and The Immigrant Restaurant’s Tasting Those seeking a light meal with a website, NotableTravels.com, she has Menu is an experience in fine dining that sweet treat should head for Craverie been a panelist for major publications could begin with rare Russian Imperial Chocolatier Café, where its handmade and international tourism boards and is Osetra Caviar, formerly available exclu- original recipe chocolate can be paired a contributor to a variety of magazines, sively to the Russian czars. The Ameri- with beer or wine and enjoyed while forums, and cruise reviews. can Club’s 5-star dine-around features watching the sun set over Wood Lake. five courses, each paired with wine and Product development is a key part of IFWTWA Author profile here.

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