MINNEAPOLIS   

Flora Room 

Perfect for a date night, the dimly lit, plant-drenched Flora Room is part of the Daniel del Prado property that also includes the popular Argentinian steakhouse Porzana. Explore its originals if you’re not in the mood for a Singapore sling or mai tai, and prepare your tastebuds for exploratory spirits like the ones in the Sachamama. It features fruited pechuga mezcal, a redistilled mezcal that incorporates the rich fatty flavors of a poultry breast that cooks over the still as it’s processed. 

If you’re looking to dive deeper into the theme of Flora Room, enjoy the Flor de Verano (“summer flower”), which incorporates sweet and herby Patagonian liqueur trakal and lilac.   

Hai Hai 

Recent James Beard Award-winner Hai Hai is home to some of the best interpretations of Southeast Asian cuisine — especially on their drink menu. The bright, tropical flavors of chef/co-owner Christina Nguyen are balanced by smoky spirits like mezcal and bold ingredients like Thai chilis, soursop, calamansi and lemongrass. Enjoy the sunny back patio for your next sip or rub elbows with fellow diners in their bright and welcoming bar. 

Khâluna  

Khâluna extends the Laotian flavors of chef Ann Ahmed to its drink menu as well. Ginger palm syrup, tropical fruits, tingly Szechuan peppercorns, and sticky rice orgeat are a few of the unique ingredients you’ll find on their drink menu. The presentation of their cocktails and mocktails is stunning, with beautiful details, including fresh flowers, dried fruit, and even a wood-burned monogrammed wooden box for their Sep Lai drink. The accommodating staff are excellent at explaining ingredients and recommending beverages to match whichever dishes you choose for your main course. 

Little Tijuana

This Whitter haunt — once known for its microwaved Tex-Mex food and frequent power outages — received a major update under new ownership in 2022. The new version of Little T’s, co-owned by Travis Serbus, previous accomplished bar manager of Petite León, has fresher food with actual vegetables and a balanced drink menu with sips for any palate. Enjoy a tangy, frosty frozen piña colada void of the cloying sweetness one might find at a local chain restaurant. Many bars rode the wave of the espresso martini, but Little T’s leans into the bitterness of ingredients of their espresso negroni, made unique with the inclusion of rhubarb gin. 

Want a boozy sip but not a whole drink? Their $5 sipper shots are just the ticket for a little pick-me-up. Bask in the red light on the bar side where records and tapes provide the tunes while a disco ball shimmers above. 

Meteor 

Nondescript from the outside and located on an industrial stretch near North Minneapolis, Meteor has all the charm of a local dive bar, but its playful, upscale drinks garnered it a James Beard nomination in 2023. The cozy, brick-walled interior of this old bar keeps it feeling nonchalant, while the themed drinks range from full-booze to low-proof to no-proof, and boilers (a shot paired with a beer) with unique liquors from around the globe. 

Meteor is serious about making incredible cocktails — but also serious about having a laid-back atmosphere. Snacks for hungry sippers include well-dressed hot dogs with toppings like kimchi mayo and fried onions or pineapple, hoisin mayo, and togarashi. Need more convincing? In May of 2024 they received a nod from the Pinnacle guide as one of the best bars in the world. 

Oro by Nixta 

Becoming a finalist for the James Beard Award’s Best New Restaurant Award in 2024 after only opening in the spring of 2023 is no small feat for the dedicated crew at Oro by Nixta. The maize-loving restaurant added a bar to its sit-down establishment in early 2024 and has been cranking out cocktails inspired by Mexican flavors ever since.  

Although they have a wide variety of tequilas and mezcals, they also go out of their way to source other spirits from Mexico that many don’t associate with Mexican beverages. Imported gin, corn whisky, and rum made with charanda — a Mexican sugarcane that can only be grown in 16 municipalities in Michoacan — are all found on their menu. Fruits, herbs, and ingredients, like piloncillo, tamarind, prickly pear, and hoja santa, also work their way into drinks.  

The Monte Carlo

Undernearth their Vegas-style sign, The Monte Carlo skillfully blends old-school cocktail bar aesthetics and drinks with updated spins on classics and a supper club lean that’s been open since 1906. After you’re done being wowed by the wall of bottles behind the copper-topped bar, cozy up with a booze-forward Monte Manhattan or a blood orange martini. Grab a steak or fish and chips to balance out a few strong drinks, or go straight for a sweet treat. It’s a great spot for a dessert-drinks date with retro ice cream drinks like a Grasshopper or Pink Cadillac. If you’re craving the nostalgia of childhood favorites, they also have boozy root beer float and dreamsicle beverages. 

Young Joni Back Bar 

Young Joni is known for its flavorful wood-fired pizzas, mains, and more. It’s also home to one of the best somewhat hidden back bars in the Twin Cities. Sneak down the alley and look for the glowing strip of red to find the door to find a dark, cozy lounge spinning vinyl, vintage chairs for relaxing, and an abbreviated pizza menu and inventive, themed cocktails.  

The back bar took visitors out to the ballgame last summer with a baseball-themed drink menu and nostalgic flavors like raspberry bubble gum in The Pitcher, savory popcorn and miso flavors in The Short-Stop, and Southern-style tinges of peanut and cola in The Benchwarmer.

ST. PAUL

Emerald Lounge 

St. Paul’s Emerald Lounge packs so much flavor into a small space. Exposed brick and warm lighting create an intimate and classy setting with cocktails to match. Like their food menu, the cocktails rotate seasonally. Quippy quotes from pop culture influence the menu, like their “Pink Pony Club”’s subheader of “where boys and girls can all be queens” or non-alcoholic “Jack Sparrow, but why is all the rum gone?”; the glassware is charming, and the service is always friendly. Fresh, floral flavors and spins on classic cocktails are often found on the menu. Don’t skip the “market priced” Emerald Classic Martini du jour for a strong, boozy cocktail to unwind after a long workday. 

Mancini’s  

Step into a mid-century time capsule at Mancini’s in St. Paul. The family-run steakhouse has parked its menus in the golden age of supper clubs, features a Vegas-style lounge, and has steak, seafood, cocktails, and an aesthetic that will make you feel like you’re walking into an episode of “Mad Men.” A dirty gin martini or old-fashioned would be perfect with a New York strip and lobster tail, but don’t forget to finish the night off with one of their boozy ice-cream drinks. Minty grasshoppers, creamy Brandy Alexanders, and choco-almondy Pink Squirrels are as novel as they are well-executed for a sweet sip. 

Moscow on the Hill  

St. Paul’s Moscow on the Hill is known for its delicious Eastern European fare, including handmade dumplings, platters of pickles and cured fish, cabbage rolls, and borscht. However, it’s worth a visit for the drinks alone. Select from a variety of their signature martinis from four categories: dry, spicy, fruity, or “self-indulgent.”  

Not feeling a martini? They have several “Moscow cocktails,” including flavored mules and vodka-forward spins on classic cocktails like a cherry vodka Manhattan, a Bloody Russian as opposed to a Bloody Mary, and punnily-named drinks like the citrus-forward Lemongrad. Their vodka is distilled locally in Wisconsin, and you can enjoy unique infusions in flavors like garlic and dill, spiced pear, horseradish, and ginger. 

WA Frost & Company 

Located in a turn-of-the-century building in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of St. Paul, WA Frost and Company is a historic gem. The opulent restored bar features original tin ceilings, a Tiffany-designed peacock-stained glass window, fireplaces, and a lush, greenery-filled patio. Low-, no- and full-proof cocktails with a focus on classics like feel classy in the atmosphere. Try some of their more inventive cocktails, too, like the vegetal and herby Ode to a Carrot, featuring the aforementioned root vegetable and thyme, or a plum mule featuring Japanese ume and ginger beer.

EXPLORE MORE

Dampfwerk Distilling

Don’t let the cool and serene black interior of Dampfwerk’s business center distillery fool you: they are creative and passionate about their liquor and cocktails. The family-run business is inspired by the high quality craft spirits co-owner Ralf enjoyed back home in Germany. Together with his wife and business partner, and distiller son, and marketing pro daughter, they’ve built a solid foundation and menu around their house-made single malt whiskey, fruit brandy, gins, aquavits, and herbal liqueurs. 

Their cocktail lounge is classy, and their drinks are mature and complex in flavor, but playful. Their booze-forward “Accomplice in the Woodchipper,” features their single malt whiskey, obstler fruit brandy syrup, and angostura bitters, or try a flight of their gin and aquavits, “I Think I Got the Best One” to find your new favorite locally-made sipper. 

Skaalvenn Distillery 

Located in a building that looks like an old office, the family-owned Skaalvenn Distillery is a hidden gem just outside the Twin Cities. After walking through a non-descript corridor and a plain wood-grained door, tasters enter a dark room lit with cool-toned neon lights, friendly and knowledgeable bartenders, and cocktails to impress.  

The menu changes almost weekly based on what’s seasonably available, but all drinks feature their locally made spirits. It’s not uncommon to find a bright and tangy milk punch, smoked beverages, or flavors made from local plants and herbs like a dandelion and chive blossom shrub, or out-there ingredients that shouldn’t work but do — like Fruity Pebbles, jerk seasoning, or avocado pit orgeat. Their playful and imaginative cocktails are some of the metro’s very best.

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