Lost Whale

Daniel Beres and Tripper Duval in front of their new Bay View bar. 

When Tripper Duval discovered that Boone & Crockett was relocating from its 2151 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. location, he saw the perfect opportunity to bring a business idea to life. That idea — an eco-friendly, sustainable craft-cocktail bar named after a piece of Wisconsin folklore — opened its doors to the public June 28.

Lost Whale is the brainchild of two Milwaukee service-industry veterans — Daniel Beres, former beverage director of Milwaukee hospitality group Stand Eat Drink — and Duval — former mixologist for Badger Liquor. In the infant stages of the bar, Beres served as a consultant for Duval. This eventually blossomed into a full-blown partnership that drew upon a pool of industry connections to create a business that not only prioritizes eco-friendly practices, but also does so in a cost-effective manner — while offering unique craft cocktails that won’t break the bank of its patrons.

Whirlwind transformation

In May, Beres and Duval announced that they were taking over the old Boone & Crockett space with the goal of opening in mid-June. Renovations began, and the pair began tirelessly working on what Beres calls “de-Boone-&-Crocket-fying it all.” The owners, with help from staff members, industry friends and contractors, put in labor-intensive 15 to 18-hour days in order to transform the space. Tripper — who has a daughter and a fiancée — even worked through Father’s Day.

Colleen Drew, one of the contractors, hand painted the patterns on the walls. Rob Elliott, another contractor, brought the old Boone & Crockett music stage up to code with seating, railings and a sectional couch. The stage will serve as additional seating only, as Lost Whale doesn’t plan on hosting shows in light of previous noise complaints from the neighborhood. Assistance also came from a revolving cast of service-industry friends of Duval and Tripper, who would lend resources and a helping hand.

“Those industry people have been our lifeblood,” Beres says.

The name of the bar is derived from an April Fool’s joke article claiming that a whale had been spotted in Lake Michigan. While most disregarded it as a joke, others created a whale-watching Facebook group, inspiring some ambitious watchers to board a boat on Lake Michigan, searching for the whale. Beres speculates that there was probably a little bit of partying involved during these “whale watching” sessions as well. He relates this to what he and his team hope to achieve with the bar.

“As Wisconsinites, we just have this inherent ability to turn anything into a good time,” Beres says. “It’s just in our blood, and that’s also our ultimate goal here. We have all of these initiatives and goals that are serious, but at the end of the day, we just want to have a good time and get weird.”

Eco-friendly cocktails and supplies

Lost Whale’s main focus is to cut back on as much waste as possible. The bar will use mostly compostable and recyclable products, and many of the leftover cocktail ingredients that would normally be thrown away will be repurposed or composted.

Lost Whale plans to use compostable straws from either Eco Green or Green Paper Products. Straws will be disposed of behind the bar in a separate container until they are ready to be composted — whether that’s through someone in the neighborhood picking up the bins and using them for their personal compost bin or through the Compost Crusader.

All paper products are made from 100 percent recycled fiber, and the bar is using as many unbleached paper products as possible — such as paper towels for the bathrooms. The bar will also use biodegradable garbage bags. During the research process, Beres found out just how advanced Milwaukee’s recycling program is.

“We want to make sure that when we’re recycling products, we’re not just doing this out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing,” Beres says. “We want to see it to the end and see what’s actually happening with that.”

While the “straws only on request” movement is taking off in Milwaukee, eliminating straws entirely at a craft cocktail bar is a little more complicated than it might seem.

“I love the idea of no straws, but in the cocktail nerdiness that is who we are, some drinks — like the Tom Collins — taste night-and-day different without a straw,” Beres says. “Having these alternatives (compostable straws), we can still have that same quality while still being environmentally friendly.”

‘The shackles are off’

Lost Whale will have a drink menu that changes biannually, with one menu for the fall and winter and another for spring and summer.

“What we’ve learned about Wisconsin is that we don’t really have fall and we don’t really have spring,” Beres says. “We do, but it’s just not long enough, and in the process of what it takes to bring in product and make drinks and get new menus printed — that stuff takes a lot more time and energy than people realize.”

Combining the knowledge of two bartending veterans who now have absolute creative freedom, Lost Whale’s menu has some ambitious, unique and fun items.

For example, “Dem Boyz” — named after the owners of Boone & Crockett — uses a combination of six ingredients. The base is Buffalo Trace Bourbon, a spirit that is typically unobtainable by small establishments like Lost Whale, paired with Sazerac Rye. Flavor notes are added by watermelon syrup made from macerated watermelon and sugar, fresh lemon and grapefruit juices — and some of Taco Moto's signature taco sauce for heat.

Beres is also playing with the idea of creating frothy components with vegan ingredients, as opposed to the traditional use of egg whites. Using Aquafaba — a protein found in garbanzo beans — is one way he plans to achieve that.

“We may have even purchased an edible printer to put their faces on the top of the cocktail in some way, shape or form,” he says.

Beres also hinted at a Jolly Good Fruit Punch cocktail, which would consist of a syrup made from the fruit punch served in the original can.

“It’s going to be whacky, fun and exciting,” Beres says. “The shackles are off and we’re doing anything.”

While all of this might sound expensive, all cocktails will be at the same price point as Boone & Crockett — around $8 to $12. Beer and wine will be priced similarly to other bars in the neighborhood.

Charities, food trucks and local businesses

Lost Whale will connect with various charities and organizations, such as the Milwaukee Riverkeeper, in order to build relationships and host charity events at the bar.

“Everyone can do their part when it comes to reduce, reuse, recycle, and being conscious of what you’re doing,” Beres says.

The bar will also work with distributors and suppliers who align with Lost Whale’s mission and offer consultations for off-site events. While there are no charity events scheduled at the moment, Beres says that once the doors are officially open, it’s “pedal-to-the-metal.”

Lost Whale won’t have a kitchen, but it’s partnering with local food trucks with a residency program similar to when Taco Moto was headquartered behind Boone & Crockett. The bar’s first resident will be Iron Grate BBQ, which will be switching things up from its brick-and-mortar location. The food truck will focus on “World BBQ,” and will utilize open-flame cooking. It will also have vegetarian options that won’t be available at the restaurant. Food-truck residencies will rotate seasonally, and Beres hopes to winterize the patio for the fall and as much of the winter as possible.

“Something that would give people some comfort when we’re in our months and months of 20 and 30-degree weather,” Beres says. “Give them some solace before it gets to negative 10 and we don’t want to leave our house.”

Lost Whale will also partner with outside businesses for its cocktail specials. Local businesses can donate their leftovers to the bar, which Beres and his team will then repurpose into menu items. Beres uses Stone Creek as an example: If the coffee shop has leftover croissants, he knows a way to make Orgeat — an almond oil — by using the croissants, adding a pastry flavor rather than just an almond flavor. Those cocktails will have limited availability depending on the number of leftovers donated.

Specials will also include what Beres calls “salvaged cocktails” — drinks that utilize leftover components from cocktails from the main drink menu. For example, one drink on the main menu might call for a banana. Beres and his team will then take the leftover peel, macerate it and turn it into an Oleo-Saccharum for a “salvaged cocktail” on the special menu.

“Something that we would normally throw away, we are now using in another drink before it makes it to the compost or the garbage,” Beres says.

While there is no set “happy hour” yet, Beres expresses interest in creating one with an emphasis on donating to charities.

“We want to figure out a way where it’s a little more fleshed out, like taking a couple of bucks off of a drink, but maybe on our end, we’re taking even more money off,” Beres says. “So, a $10 drink would only be $8, but Lost Whale only takes $5 and the other $3 goes to a ‘charity of the month.’”

A part of the community

Lost Whale opens its doors for regular business on June 28, but the bar will be celebrating with a party on July 4 after all of the initial kinks have hopefully been worked out. The party comes as a partnership between Sheboygan’s 3 Sheeps Brewing Company and Maker’s Mark Bourbon. Inspired by an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Beres and Tripper wanted to throw a fun, over-the-top American party.

“We’re going to go America all over everybody’s asses because right now it’s a very weird climate,” Beres says. “We want to show that hopefully at the end of the day, Americans can still come together and be civil, united and a part of the community.”

Beres notes that denim is encouraged but is optional and is currently planning to donate proceeds from the event to the ACLU.

“I hope it brings a sense of light-hearted fun rooted in two guys and a staff behind them that have great hearts and want to do something good for the community,” Beres says. “We don’t just want to bring something to this community, we want to be a part of this community.”

Lost Whale is located at 2151 S. Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee. 

Hours of operation: Monday through Friday 4:00 p.m. to bar close; Saturday through Sunday noon to bar close.

Phone: 414-249-3188

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