Food and drink vets from Parlour, Bittercube, Town Talk Diner and more launched Northeast Minneapolis' latest tasting room / full-service restaurant at the tail end of 2022. Between its abundant greenery, sprawling open space, and bright natural light, Earl Giles is a perfect escape from winter's most frigid stretches and a must year-round thanks to creative small plates and pizza and a stacked menu of specialty cocktails. That includes everything from a booze-less Logan Park Swizzle blend of rhubarb, strawberry, watermelon, vinegar, tea and mint to a Rabbit Kick rendition of gin, carrot juice, vanilla, lemon citrate, and cracked black pepper.  

The state's most dedicated single malt whiskey purveyor is named after a Benedictine monk from Central Minnesota who encouraged copper still creativity during Prohibition and the Farm Depression of the 1920s. Brother Justus' award-winning spirits include a cold-peated whiskey made completely from Minnesota malted barley and leaning into left-field tasting notes of herbs and mushrooms. 

While it was founded about a decade ago, Tattersall has a lot of history. The Thorp Building where it's located once housed General Mills Mechanical Division, which manufactured top-secret military equipment during World War II under the watch of the FBI and CIA from the guard towers. Today, the industrial chic space serves more than three dozen cocktails made from more than a dozen spirits including vodka, gin and aquavit. Food trucks and live music add to the contemporary yet comfortable vibe.

Duluth's booming beer scene isn't the only exciting thing about drinking in this great northern port. Vikre Distillery puts out several varieties of gin and aquavit, plus whiskey, a "Bar Master's Series" inspired by chartreuse, amaros and aperitivos, and other seasonal spirits available for sampling in the cocktail room that sits in the shadow of the city's famous Aerial Lift Bridge.

Should you find yourself in the northwest corner of the state, the tiny town of Hallock (population 981) boasts one of the region's hottest distilleries. The sophisticated flavor profiles and design-forward packaging of Far North Spirits have landed the distillery's products on store shelves across the United States, and their Alander spiced rum and herbaceous Solveig gin can be found in bars and restaurants throughout the Twin Cities.

German food culture informs much of the menu at Dampfwerk Distillery, especially its peerless fruit brandies and herbal liqueurs. Order the "Do You Have Any Vodka?" to sample an obstler-style blend of plum, grapes, apples and pears alongside jasmine, lemon, a tomato leaf tincture (!), and a blast of brisk seltzer water. Copperwing Distillery is right around the corner if you want to host a cocktail room crawl, too.  

Proudly touting its status as Minnesota's first legal whiskey distillery, Panther Distillery of Osakis also makes bourbon, gin and spiked apple spirits. The distillery offers tours and tastings, with an opportunity to buy distillery memorabilia if you're so inclined.

The gorgeous copper stills of J. Carver Distillery put out a variety of beverages including vodka and gin (in both premium and ultra-premium editions) and a 96-proof barrel-aged brown gin made with wild rice and other local grains, described as “a whiskey lover's gin.” The distillery is in good company, with several wineries and breweries nearby in and around Waconia.

Minnesota-grown wild rice and beets are both featured in the flagship Cold North Vodka of 5Rocks Distilling Co., a distillery hidden along a Brainerd highway — not far from the newfangled Woodlore Cider. Other notable tasting room takeaways include a small-batch Amaretto, a cask-strength bourbon, and a salted black licorice liqueur you'd be hard-pressed to find outside Finland (a.k.a. Salmiakki).