Thrillist: The Best Twin Cities Distilleries For Tours and Tastings

Take my advice and go get ya fancy drank on. 

Photo courtesy of Thrillist

If you, like me, love a potent, locally made, well-mixed cocktail, then look no further than my latest roundup for Thrillist. I got to locate all the best local distilleries for y'all and even interviewed one of my favorite female founders for the piece. My full text is below, or click through to see the Thrillist page and more of my fun roundups you never knew you needed.

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Pretty much everyone knows that breweries have exploded around the Twin Cities. But there’s an equally robust renaissance happening right under our noses -- distilleries are opening up left and right in Minnesota. People tend to have a divisive relationship with spirits. But Heather Manley, the founder of Crooked Water Spirits, has nothing but love for them. Manley founded Crooked Water, the first certified woman-owned distillery in the country, after enjoying a transcendent sip of a dill infused aquavit made using 50 pounds of dill per batch.

“It was like tasting a strawberry from a store versus fresh out of the garden,” she said.

Manley went home inspired to make her own potently flavored spirits. First up was a cask finished bourbon launched in 2014. After quickly selling out of that first batch, Crooked Water has since expanded to include vodka, bourbon, apple brandy, rye whiskey, gin, and its crown jewel: two ready-to-pour cocktails that rival anything you can get made fresh at a cocktail bar.

“We don’t do ‘normal.’ We’re looking at how we can be an elevated brand using elevated ingredients. We may have a higher price point, but it’s a next-level experience,” Manley says.

The proof is in the pudding, as Crooked Water has won 50 national awards and it’s become well-known for its ready-to-pour Negroni and proprietary sweet vermouth, which are primarily available in local markets. “As we’ve grown, we’ve been transparent in what we can offer, what we’re willing to give, to make sure I can fill my backyard first.”

A number of similarly excellent distilleries have sprung up around the Twin Cities over the last few years. Luckily, they have tasting rooms where you can directly sample spirits and choose a bottle or two to take home. If nothing sounds better to you than a dirty martini or unctuous Old Fashioned, read on for our favorite distilleries in the Minneapolis metro area.

Crooked Water Spirits
Uptown, Minneapolis
Although Crooked Water does not have its own tasting room, you can try its products at rotating locations around the Twin Cities. Follow the distillery on Facebook to find the next event. Our recommendations to buy? Crooked Water offers sample size bottles of the Kings Point Bourbon, Old Hell Roaring Bourbon, and the transcendent pre-mixed Manley’s Old Fashioned to try a few at once. Or splurge for a full size of one of the Negroni or Old Fashioned pre-mixed cocktails. You will be shocked at how flavorful they are compared to a fresh mixed drink. Coming this year? A pre-mixed Boulevardier and we can’t wait.

Norseman
Northeast, Minneapolis
Founded in 2013, Norseman claims to be the first legal micro distillery in Minneapolis since Prohibition and boasts one of the world’s largest craft spirits portfolios. Order a Shark Bait, mixing pineapple rum and pineapple chipotle gin, or a Flamingo with ingredients like tehkeela, yellowstone liqueur, and creole bitters. Norseman also offers fun events like distillery tours or cocktail classes that allow you to be hands on. If that isn’t enough, check out its solid happy hour every Wednesday that includes half-price classic cocktails and deals from the I Heart Tacos truck. Make sure to take a bottle of one of the distillery’s 31 unique spirits home. While the standards like gin or rum are excellent, spring for one of its unique offerings like the Olympia Liqueur, which features notes of peppermint, parsley, sage, and star anise.

Du Nord
Longfellow, Minneapolis
While micro-distilling is a field that inherently prioritizes high quality, Du Nord takes it one step further by ensuring all of its base grains and fermentables are grown right here in Minnesota. Best known for its classic spirits, Du Nord features cocktails like the Fitzgerald gin gimlet or L’Etoile vodka martini.(Read about said farmers on the website, if you want to put a face to a name.) Du Nord serves up happy hour every weekday from 5-6pm, allowing guests to bring in takeout food from local vendors. Hour-long public tours are available every Friday and Saturday.

Copperwing Distillery
St. Louis Park 
A recent addition to the distillery scene, Copperwing has made a big mark in a small amount of time. In addition to standards bourbon, vodka, and gin, Copperwing distills a proprietary liquor called Vodskey, a clear spirit made from bourbon mash that is distilled like vodka. Consider it a tasty, full-bodied spirit and a welcome flavor punch. Or try Copperwing’s signature Fresas, combining its smooth gin, fresh strawberry juice, and a bit of sweetness. Recommended cocktails include the Napoleon, made with gin, orange liqueur, and red wine aperitif, or a classic Old Fashioned. Copperwing also offers weekly live music on Wednesdays and one-hour distillery tours on Saturdays.

Tattersall
Northeast, Minneapolis
Tattersall is likely the first name that comes to mind when seeking Minnesota-distilled products. The gold standard for local distilleries, this impressive brand has more than 50 San Francisco Spirits Awards, a free app providing nearly 400 cocktail recipes at your fingertips, and was recently named one of the top 5,000 fastest-growing companies in America with no sign of slowing down. Perhaps because the distillery manager has a foraging background, Tattersall offers 24 spirits with unique flavor profiles like Creme de Fleur, a liqueur made with six different kinds of flowers, or Fernet containing more than 30 distinct botanicals. If you’re ordering at the cocktail room, we recommend getting one of the $15 flights to taste a range of products before settling on a single bottle or cocktail.

Twin Spirits
Northeast, Minneapolis
Another Minnesota-made, woman-founded distiller is Twin Spirits Distillery, offering solid standards like gin, vodka, rum, and whiskey. Twin Spirits’ differentiating product is its moonshine, which is made from Minnesota-raised honey and brewed once a month during the full moon. Feel free to make your visit an all-day affair by visiting its signature M coffee shop (where you can order your coffee with a spirited kick) in the morning, and staying through the afternoon hours on the dog-friendly patio. Twin Spirits is open Wednesday through Saturday and can provide tours with founder Michelle Winchester by request.

Dampfwerk
St. Louis Park
Opened in November 2019, Dampfwerk is a fresh addition to the Twin Cities distillery scene but already looks poised to stay. The spot sources locally grown fruits like apples and grapes to make European-inspired fruit liqueurs. Order a flight to get a taste of the brandies or herbal liqueurs, then splurge on a creative cocktail like the Green Card with gin, sarsaparilla, egg white, and bitters or the 1913 with pfeffersack (a German-style fernet), rose water, honey, and cardamom. Although the distillery is open every afternoon starting on Wednesdays, we recommend hitting it up on Sunday to order off of the sweet dessert Kaffeeklatch menu.

Royal Foundry
Harrison, Minneapolis
Royal Foundry distills spirits in the classic British tradition, meaning it turns out high quantities of gin, barrel-aged rum, and single-malt whiskey. The affordable menu includes nonalcoholic cocktails, savory snacks and tonics on tap. For the booze, snag a Cabin Fever made with butter rum, cocoa nib bitters, maple syrup; Sweater Weather combining pear vodka and cardamom bitters; or a Flight of the Kiwi mixing vodka, kiwi shrub, and bitter honey liqueur. If you like to move around while you sip your cocktail, you’re in luck: Royal Foundry has three pub skittle lanes (think bowling with smaller wooden pins) to play on while you drink.

Flying Dutchman 
Eden Prairie
Inspired by the founders’ globetrotting Dutch ancestry, Flying Dutchman takes a worldwide approach to distilling. Offering four core spirits (vodka, rum, an agave-based spirit similar to tequila, and a Mediterranean herbal gin), Flying Dutchman is more focused on the group experience than individual drop-ins. Contact the distillery to schedule tours, group tastings, or corporate events. Or, if you want to get even more hands-on, apply for the apprenticeship program to learn the entire craft of distilling from bottom to top.

Vikre
Duluth
If you fancy your cocktails a little further from home, consider road tripping to beautiful Duluth to sample the delights of Vikre Distilling. Vikre’s dynamic founders have compelling stories you’ll want to chat about for hours over drinks. Luckily, its products are as good as their origin stories. The signature cocktails are supremely creative. We recommend a Ponyboy (apricot-infused aquavit, coconut milk, turmeric syrup, and lime) or the Odd Job (a bracing blend of olive oil-washed gin and americano). Vikre also offers an equally creative menu of zero-proof cocktails if you’re off the wagon, and stay tuned for their rotation of bottled spirits to expand in the near future. Buy a to-go pack of the Frenchie, Vikre’s signature canned cocktail that riffs on a French 75 with an effervescent blend of gin, rosé, lemon, bubbles, and floral liqueur.

Thrillist: Best Dive Bars in Minneapolis

What's better than a cheap ass dive with filling food and stiff drinks? 

Photo courtesy of Thrillist

My answer: basically nothing.

I have always held an unholy love in my heart for dive bars, and I cannot stress how much fun it was to compile a list of the best ones in the Twin Cities for my friends over at Thrillist. We are blessed with a really great host of dives to check out in Minnesota and the hardest part was honestly narrowing this list down!

Click here to see the full piece on the site; I'm copying the text below too for a quick scan if you want to check it out in one stop. And let me know - what did I miss? Where do I need to check out next? I love a good dive, I'll take any and all suggestions!


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One of life’s most amazing pleasures involves finding that one great dive bar that you can call your home away from home. While we love all of the Twin Cities' many great dives, and boy do we have a lot, we do also have our standouts. This isn’t about bars with fine prohibition-style cocktails or incredible craft beer selections, it’s about dark watering holes where you and other people like you congregate in order to escape the outside world. And we'll cheers to that.

Neumann’s Bar
Est. 1887 | North St. Paul
The owners of Neumann’s Bar claim it’s the oldest still operating bar in Minnesota, and they might be right. The speakeasy that helped the town survive Prohibition is still open upstairs, and curious history fans are welcome to snoop around to check it out. Perhaps most unique, though, is the tank of live frogs that has graced the windows since the 1930s and the live fishing bait still sold in the main bar. For a blast from the past that still feels comfortably modern, Neumann’s a is a don’t miss on your dive bar tour.

Matt’s Bar
Est. 1954 | Powderhorn
The best food at a dive has to go to Matt’s Bar, the home of the infamous Juicy Lucy. Not familiar? The geniuses behind Matt’s decided that melty cheese deserve to be inside the burger rather than on top - and the rest is history. In an age of hand-ground short rib burgers, there is nothing gourmet about this menu and we like it that way. A regular hamburger still costs less than four bucks, tap beer comes in pitchers, and you can’t find a cozier place in town to beat the impending snowy nights.

Half Time Rec / Paddy Shack
Est. ?? | Como
Not every dive that can boast a two-for-one, but Half Time Rec’s got it down pat. By folding Irish-style Paddy Shack into the bar four years ago, Half Time Rec ensured it is a dive bar that is here to stay. You’ll still find the ripped up seats, daily happy hour and karaoke nights of yore, but now you can pair them with some of the best excellent bar food. Our advice? Head straight for the signature dishes -- like a gluttonous ham and cheese toasty -- for a satisfying way to soak up your Bloody Mary or beer back.

Palmer’s
Est. 1906 | West Bank
If a dive bar could be an icon, Palmer’s would be it. They’ve got an outdoor fire pit, a shockingly great musical lineup (including jug bands) indoors and outdoors, and a history longer than most of Minneapolis combined. Founded by the Minneapolis Brewing Company (predecessor to iconic beer brand Grain Belt), Palmer’s has outlasted Prohibition, waves of varying immigrant communities, and even the credit card trend (yes, this remains one of the last cash-only holdouts around). No tour of Twin Cities dives is complete without a stop at Palmer’s.

The Vegas Lounge
Est. 1973 | Northeast
Locals know that, if you’re down for karaoke, there is nowhere more legendary to take the stage than The Vegas Lounge. It’s become such a popular karaoke bar that you can expect to pack in elbow to elbow and fight for a seat. But it’s a dive, and where’s the fun if you don’t have to work for it a little bit, right? Karaoke happens every single night here, so if you want to go (and really, you should -- don’t let us scare you off), make sure to get there early to snag a seat and a drink or three before the pandemonium begins.

Skinners
Est. 2000 | West 7th
Community is the name of the game at Skinner’s, the latest in a long line of dives at this iconic St. Paul location. You’ll find all the usual dive bar features here, along with an innovative and assertive approach to community engagement. Skinner’s is committed to serving the military community in Minnesota and around the globe -- so much so that it won the first-ever national award for civilian service to the National Guard. Don’t just take our word for it.

Schooner Tavern
Est. 1932 | Longfellow 
Live bands with no cover charge is a rarity these days, and Schooner Tavern knows a thing or two about dive bar hospitality. Twice-weekly bingo and meat raffles, a rotating cast of regulars, and two heated patios mean this dive can accommodate fun in any kind of weather. Free popcorn, free hot dogs on Fridays, $3 beers, and easy access to public transit make this a must-stop. You can’t afford not to go, really.

The Cardinal on 38th
Owners don’t even know | South Minneapolis 
Take a poll of Minneapolitans and The Cardinal is sure to top their list of favorite dives. With all the hallmarks of a great dive bar -- tasty food like fried Stevie wings and deep fried green beans with sweet cajun sauce, cheap beers, karaoke, pleather seating -- it also sneaks in surprises. Some of the latest additions, like homemade hard seltzers, make this place a crowd-pleaser, and mean you can get your 100-calorie drink on despite the national shortage of White Claw (you’re welcome). Oh, and everything on the menu is well under $20, making this an incredibly affordable date night.

Liquor Lyle’s
Est. 1963 | Uptown
A legendary keystone in Twin Cities drinking culture, Liquor Lyle’s has been serving up two-for-ones every day for decades. It’s a surefire bet when you want quantity over quality, but there’s good stuff to be found here, too. Order up some tot-chos (nachos, but made with tater tots) and squeaky cheese curds to have the most Minnesotan bar meal of your life. Come any night of the week and enjoy free parking, all-day breakfast, and food served until 1 a.m.

The Terminal Bar
Est. 1932 | Northeast
Another long-time holdout that is powering through gentrification in the Twin Cities is Terminal Bar. All you need to know is in a quick sweep of the reviews, where the top phrases used include “dive bar,” “whiskey,” and “doghouse swine.” Local music fans can come every week to see multi-band shows with no cover charge, leaving patrons with more cash for a brewsky or two. Come for a wild card musical adventure and stay for a night you’ll most likely forget.


Hexagon Bar
Est. 1934 | Seward 
Metalheads have long frequented Hexagon Bar (lovingly known as “the Hex”) for decades, and they’re not stopping anytime soon. Pool tables, dusty rope lights, and a staffed bingo counter with plenty of pull tabs make this one of the last dives in the city that hasn’t cleaned up some part of its act. Don’t expect anything but the basics here -- but why would you ask anything more of your favorite dive anyway? Make sure to visit its Facebook page for an update on the rotating list of punk and metal bands playing every week.

CC Club
Est. 1934 | Lyndale
Good luck finding a seat at the CC Club, perhaps the best known dive still standing in the heart of Uptown. With a spacious back patio, morning cocktails, and industry nights, it’s regularly packed to the gills. While the rest of Uptown might be getting a makeover, the CC Club hasn’t lost its rock and roll vibe. Think of it as the First Avenue of dive bars and worthy of a stop at least once.

Grumpy’s NorthEast
Est. 1998 | Northeast Minneapolis
Northeast Minneapolis is a legendary haven for dive bars in the Twin Cities. With great power comes great responsibility and Grumpy’s doesn’t disappoint, serving up an excellent rotation of burgers, robust beers, and free specialty events like Firkin Fridays -- where guests can try rare editions of local beers and specialty foods like octopus on a stick. It’s a little less divey than its late, great sister Grumpy’s in Downtown Minneapolis (RIP), but still a solid bet for a Northeast night out.

Mayslack’s
Est. 1955 | Northeast Minneapolis
Daily drink specials aren’t the only draw for Mayslack’s. There’s also live music, game day specials and the real draw -- the food. Mayslack’s serves up better-than-average eats off of its wide-ranging menu, including the addictive waffle fries with seasoned sour cream. From its origins as a Polish-owned polka bar to its current life as a comfort food castle, Mayslack’s is one of the last remnants of this historic Minneapolis neighborhood.

Dusty’s
Est. 1952 | Northeast Minneapolis
With an impressive list of locally made taps, a meat raffle, vintage beer signs, and light bar games, Dusty’s manages to bridge nostalgia into modern success. Not one to be outdone by its fellow innovative dive bar menus, Dusty’s is the origin of the Dago burger. Less famous than it’s sister the Juicy Lucy, the Dago is certainly not any less delicious. Composed of a homemade Italian sausage patty, any iteration of the Dago is a welcome flavor bomb to sop up your beers.

Merlins Rest Pub
Est. 2007 | Longfellow
Bagpipe performances? Whiskey and scotch tastings? Free Wi-Fi? A little more on the pub side of the spectrum, Merlins Rest still qualifies as a Longfellow dive with a slightly spiffier sheen. It doesn’t disappoint, though, with themed events like kilt and corset night or the drunken knitters club. It’s also one of the few kid-friendly locations on the list, meaning you can continue to enjoy dives even into early parenthood -- thank god for that!