The Twin Cities craft cocktail scene grew up in the early 2010s and never sat back down. Since the legendary Marvel Bar closed, a half-dozen serious cocktail rooms have stepped into the gap, each with their own register: speakeasy, distillery taproom, hotel bar, dim Eat Street den. These are the rooms where the bartender will actually have an opinion about your order.
A genuine speakeasy hidden behind an unmarked alley door in Lyn-Lake. Reservations through their cryptic email, classic cocktails done by people who care, and a room that takes itself just seriously enough to be fun. Worth the discovery process.
A Northeast distillery whose cocktail room is one of the most-loved bars in the metro. The drinks are built around their own spirits, the patio fills the moment the temperature breaks, and the bottle shop next door means you can take the favorite home.
A small Northeast distillery making aquavit, gin, and rye in-house. The cocktail menu is built around what they make, the room is tiny and warm, and on a winter Thursday it is one of the best places to disappear with a Negroni in the metro.
A small Northeast distillery and tasting room with a focused cocktail menu and live music programming. The atmosphere is more workshop than lounge, which is exactly right for the kind of drinks coming off the bar.
A downtown Minneapolis hotel bar with a serious cocktail program and a bar menu that takes itself as seriously as the drinks. The kind of place that is the move when you want to feel like the city is bigger than it is. Reservations recommended on weekends.
The bar at Gavin Kaysen’s flagship North Loop restaurant. Walk-in only, ten seats, and one of the best places in the metro to drink at fine-dining bar prices without committing to the dining room. The seasonal cocktail menu is the order.
The bar inside the Dakota, the city’s serious jazz club. Order a drink, listen to whatever set is happening, and take advantage of one of the more sophisticated bar rooms downtown. Cover may apply for the music; the bar itself is open all night.