Craft Spirits · Minnesota
Craft Spirits Distilleries in Minnesota
Tour 8 craft spirits distilleries in Minnesota. Each offers visits, tastings or experiences you can book directly — including Du Nord Social Spirits, O'Shaughnessy Distilling Co., Norseman Distillery.
8distilleries
Du Nord Social Spirits
Minneapolis gin, vodka and bourbon with a social heart
Brother Justus Whiskey Company
American single malt distillery in Minneapolis
Wander North Distillery
Local-malt small-batch spirits in northeast Minneapolis
About craft spirits distilleries in Minnesota
Minnesota's craft-spirits movement is one of the more distinctive in the upper Midwest, built around local grain, northern character and a wave of distilleries founded largely in and after 2013. The Twin Cities form the gravitational centre, but the story stretches to a remote farm near the Canadian border, where Far North Spirits grows its own heirloom rye as one of only a handful of true estate distilleries in the country. In Northeast Minneapolis you will find Brother Justus Whiskey Company, making American single malt and pioneering a cold-peating technique drawn from Minnesota's own boreal peat, alongside O'Shaughnessy Distilling Co., whose copper pot stills aim at American and Irish styles. Add the gin-and-vodka pioneers Norseman, Wander North, Copperwing and Du Nord Social Spirits, plus organic-minded Loon Liquors in Northfield, and you have a scene that spans whiskey, gin, vodka, rum and more. The common thread is a sense of place: northern grain, cold climate and makers who treat Minnesota's distilling heritage as something to revive and reinterpret rather than imitate from elsewhere.
What makes craft spirits here special
More than most states, Minnesota's craft spirits foreground where the grain comes from. Far North Spirits, the northernmost distillery in the contiguous United States, sits on a century-old family farm 25 miles from Canada and grows the heirloom rye it distils, an estate model almost no one else attempts at this scale. Brother Justus takes a different but equally local tack, introducing cold peat from Minnesota's boreal forests to whiskey-making and focusing on American single malt. O'Shaughnessy, meanwhile, works toward American and Irish styles on a trio of large copper pot stills. Around these whiskey-focused names sits a lively clear-spirits scene, with Norseman, Copperwing, Wander North and Du Nord making characterful gins and vodkas. The result is a state that lets you trace a clear arc from farm to barrel to glass, where the regional identity, cold climate, northern grain, an experimental streak, is genuinely tasted rather than merely marketed.
What to expect from a craft spirits tasting
Tastings in Minnesota tend to be relaxed and cocktail-room led, especially across the Twin Cities, where most distilleries pour their range in welcoming bars rather than formal halls. Flights are the norm, often arranged to move from clear spirits to aged whiskeys, and staff are usually frank about what is distilled on site versus sourced or blended, as O'Shaughnessy has been about its sourced components while its own spirit matures. Because these are small producers, expect limited and seasonal releases sold only on the premises. At Far North you can taste estate rye in the cocktail room on the farm itself, a very different experience from an urban room such as Brother Justus or Du Nord. Tours, where offered, are educational and conversation-friendly, so come ready to ask about grain, peat or pot-still technique.
Planning your visit
The practical heart of any Minnesota craft-spirits trip is the Twin Cities, where Brother Justus, O'Shaughnessy, Norseman, Wander North and Du Nord are all within the metro, with Copperwing just west in St Louis Park and Loon Liquors about an hour south in Northfield. That cluster makes a one- or two-day tasting route easy, ideally with rideshare or a designated driver. Far North Spirits is the outlier and the adventure: it lies far up in the northwest of the state near the Canadian border, so a visit there is a destination in itself rather than a quick detour. Cocktail-room hours often favour afternoons and evenings, and rural sites keep more limited schedules, so confirm opening times and any tour bookings before travelling. To keep the limited and estate releases you will only find on site, plan to buy bottles while you are there.
Frequently asked
- What spirits does Minnesota's craft scene cover?
- A broad spread: American single malt and rye whiskey, plus gin, vodka and rum. Brother Justus focuses on single malt, Far North on estate-grown rye, O'Shaughnessy on American and Irish styles, while Norseman, Copperwing, Wander North, Du Nord and Loon Liquors bring strong gins and vodkas.
- What makes Far North Spirits unusual?
- It is the northernmost distillery in the contiguous United States, sitting on a century-old family farm about 25 miles from the Canadian border, and it grows the heirloom rye it distils, making it one of very few true estate distilleries in the country.
- What is cold-peated whiskey?
- It is a technique pioneered by Brother Justus that uses peat from Minnesota's boreal forests as a cold filter for the distillate, rather than the smoke-drying associated with Scotch, giving a distinctly local take on peat character.
- Is everything distilled in Minnesota?
- Most flagship spirits are distilled in state, and several producers are proudly grain-to-glass. Some, like O'Shaughnessy, have been open that certain components are sourced and blended while their own pot-still spirit ages. It is always worth asking, as staff tend to be candid.
- Where should I base a craft-spirits trip?
- The Twin Cities, where Brother Justus, O'Shaughnessy, Norseman, Wander North and Du Nord are all in the metro, with Copperwing nearby in St Louis Park. Loon Liquors is about an hour south in Northfield. Far North requires a dedicated trip to the state's far northwest.
- Can I tour as well as taste?
- Many distilleries offer tours alongside their tasting rooms, typically informal and educational. Hours can be limited and rural sites keep tighter schedules, so check ahead and book any guided tours in advance.