Spirits Close-Up: Minnesota Gin

Lawless Greenway Gin // Photo by Aaron Davidson

This month’s Craft Cocktail, The Knives Out at Lawless Distilling, uses Lawless’ Greenway Gin in a more balanced version of a  Negroni. So, for this month’s Spirits Close-Up we’re taking a closer look at Minnesota gin.

The status of Minnesota-distilled spirits in 2016: the whiskeys are promising (but too young) the vodkas are fine (but perfunctory), and the aquavits are few (but exciting). The unqualified success, so far, has been gin. Our local distilleries make a full spectrum of exciting gins—from the most pine-filled Old World expressions to the citrusy New Americans. But which styles are best suited to which cocktails?

Illustrations by Jeff Nelson