“People were shocked when they came to our distilleries and learned that they couldn’t buy what we made,” said Shanelle Montana, co-owner of Du Nord and president of the Distillers Guild, “thankfully, state leaders agreed that this outdated law needed to change.”

Du Nord Craft Spirits, one of Minnesota’s first micro-distilleries, is now the first licensed cocktail room in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area. The cocktail room will open to the public on January 9, and will serve craft cocktails made using Du Nord’s Fitzgerald Gin and L’etoile Du Nord Vodka.

Joel and Emily Vikre (pronounced veek-ruh) have turned what was once a cluttered storage space into a warm, inviting, two-level cocktail room and distillery.

Fitzgerald Gin, Formula No. 1, is a classic London dry style gin. Like any London dry style gin the lack of sugar lets the botanical elements impart most of the flavor and aroma. The traditional juniper flavor stands front and center in Fitzgerald Gin, Formula No. 1. It is supported by flavors of citrus, angelica root, and licorice root.