There’s been lots of recent activity in the local ready-to-drink beverage scene. Vikre Distillery is canning a pink and bubbly French 75, Crooked Water Spirits has announced a bottled Negroni, and Plain Spoke Cocktail Co. from Madison, Wisconsin, has just introduced a canned mojito to complement their Bourbon Smash and Moscow Mule. Now perhaps the … [ Read more]
About John Garland
John Garland is the Deputy Editor at the Growler Magazine. Find him on twitter (@johnpgarland) or in every coffee shop on West 7th Street.
The Taste Test: Hazy IPA
July 24, 2019 by
The Growler’s editorial staff partnered with official BJCP judges in a blind tasting to determine the best Hazy IPAs in Minnesota. The results may surprise you.
Now Open: Alexandria’s Ida Graves Distillery launches honey-based vodka and organic gin
July 17, 2019 by
Brock Berglund and Anna Wilson’s 77 acres outside Alexandria, Minnesota, are beautiful, bordering on idyllic. The land is enrolled in the Minnesota DNR’s Conservation Reserve Program, in which private land is set aside to encourage wildlife habitation. It’s full of native grasses and pollinator plants. The DNR even installed a berm to create a wetland … [ Read more]
Ticket Giveaway: Bittercube + Bar Brigade’s ‘Hemingway’ cocktail pop-up on July 8
July 5, 2019 by
If you’ve ever had a Bittercube-designed cocktail (and if you’re reading this, the odds are high that you have) you know that they’ve pretty much mastered things in the way of fun, citrusy rum drinks. A special pop-up on Monday, July 8, at Bar Brigade in St. Paul will put these skills on full display … [ Read more]
Hi-Lo Diner goes full dad-bar tonight
June 17, 2019 by
In the past three years, the theme-night cocktail pop-ups at Hi-Lo Diner have grown increasingly elaborate, wacky, and just downright fun. The bar that recently gave us the Booze Brothers and Hi-LoWeen tonight will transform into the bar of every dad’s dream. Dad Bar: A Hop On Pop-Up will feature a dad joke contest, a … [ Read more]
Eastern Promises: Shochu and baijiu are entering the Minnesota market—getting them right in a cocktail takes a delicate touch
May 28, 2019 by
The bottle in question was some type of clear spirit, purchased on a business trip to China, secondhand gifted to me. Its only English lettering was the word “Taiwan” and a three-digit number that I figured to be the spirit’s proof. It smelled like an auto mechanic’s shop on a humid July afternoon—stuffy like hot … [ Read more]
Better Camp Eats & Drinks: Nalgene Cocktails
May 28, 2019 by
This article is a part of The Growler’s Outdoor Guide. Find more tips for outdoor adventure and dining here. If you’re going camping, you can nip on a 1.75 of whatever whiskey you can find in a plastic handle and that’s a perfectly respectable way to get three sheets to the warming summer wind. But … [ Read more]
A Roadside Diversion That Makes Roadside Diversions: It’s a meta wonderland at the FAST moldyard
April 29, 2019 by
A lifeless mermaid sits on an anchor in a field just north of Sparta, Wisconsin. Behind her looms a menagerie of bears, cows, fish, pirates, and the 12-foot-tall hindquarters of a sitting dog. His giant head is some feet away, casting a blank stare toward a trunkless elephant. Travelers on a quiet stretch of highway south … [ Read more]
A taste of ‘Plague Water,’ and other spirits of centuries past
February 20, 2019 by
I’m drinking Plague Water. It’s made from a medieval-sounding roster of roots and herbs including zedoary, valerian, horehound, thistle, and rue. It tastes bitter and strange—but I have it on good authority that these ingredients are a “singular remedy against pestilence and poyson.” So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice. The recipe is from … [ Read more]
Craft Cocktail: Morelos Sour at Popol Vuh
January 28, 2019 by
Bourbon sours are my fiancée’s favorite drink, so I’ve had plenty of practice making all their possible variations. The challenge with sours is they get too sweet in a hurry. Bourbon is a comparatively sweet whiskey, pre-made “sour” mix isn’t sour in the least, and a rich syrup can leave the drink feeling heavy. It … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Baked Alaska at P.S. Steak
January 16, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. There are few rosters in modern dining that are as worthless as the dessert menu at a steakhouse. As if your wallet hasn’t been gouged enough, and your gullet weren’t already stuffed full of salt, starch, and buttery … [ Read more]
Little Shrimp on the Prairie
January 2, 2019 by
The uncertain future of the world’s oceans is propelling the establishment of saltwater farming in Minnesota No one believed that Paul Damhof had ordered 20 above-ground swimming pools. His credit card company flagged the purchase and called to verify it. The FedEx guy called believing the delivery was a mistake. The retailer was also perplexed—ultimately … [ Read more]
Craft Cocktail: Of The Northern Fashioned at The Hasty Tasty
January 2, 2019 by
As we gaze into our crystal snifter and divine the future of cocktails, one trend we’re seeing with greater frequency is the decreasing importance of brand names on cocktail lists. There’s hardly prestige in a top-shelf call when you lose that flavor under a barrage of other ingredients. We’d rather have a bar program that’s … [ Read more]
Year in Review: Minnesota Wine & Spirits in 2018
December 3, 2018 by
A martini at Nye’s Bar is a fine drink to reflect on the year 2018 in local spirits. In January, this bar, Nye’s in name only, opened in the dust of the demolished Polonaise Room, a place whose divey charm earned it the Best Bar in America designation from Esquire in 2006—a lifetime ago, from the … [ Read more]
The Perfect Holiday Party Nightcap Recipe: The Hearthsider
November 16, 2018 by
The fire is dying, the kids are asleep. Time to reward yourself for a party well-thrown. Let’s stop in to Bardo where our cocktail columnist, Zachary Sapato, stirs up the perfect nightcap. “Hechicera Rum has a ton of banana-coconut-tropical notes to it, but also the vanilla and caramel flavors you want from a barrel,” he … [ Read more]
