Zipps Liquors

I've been a huge fan of Zipps for a long time now. One of the best liquor stores in the Twin Cities, they have a great mix of beer selection, interesting wines and a good liquor selection. Their service is great, the floor employees are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.But the standout part of the store to me is the tastings. They generally have a few tastings on Saturdays, but once every few months they have a larger tasting with multiple tables and booths. I've been to Agave spirits tastings, Rose, Sparkling wine, Minnesota spirits and many more, and they are phenomenal for free! And everything you taste is generally on sale too. Just a great experience all around.

These photos are all from the recent Minnesota Spirits Grand Tasting, which featured offerings from many Minnesota Distilleries. This type of event isn't unusual- Zipps often does tasting events, including large-scale ones like the annual Bubbly tasting- and frequently has vendors offering samples throughout the month. The tastings are FREE and are a great way to things you might not want to buy without tasting first. There were so many vendors (look at the list!) so I will try and just mention my favorites from each table.A lot of the people pouring work for distributors in the area, but sometimes you can also meet with the distiller and business owners themselves. For example, this time I got to chat with Tom Schaeppi, the founder of Lost Woods Whiskey. Not only is Lost Woods the the first whiskey I have ever bought for myself (I am not someone who typically drinks spirits, preferring wine and cocktails), but it came with a company commitment to sustainability and a passion for the environment. I ended up buying a bottle of the 88 proof because I enjoyed the smooth caramel notes and wanted to support the mission. I will be very excited to visit their eventual brick and mortar location!At the Dapper Barons table, I was pleasantly surprised by the pre-made Espresso Martini. It wasn't overwhelmingly sweet, and I could see mixing it with milk or cream to make a quick desert cocktail. The Vikre Distilling options really impressed me. Each of their gin varieties is based on a different tree, which was cool. I favored the Boreal Spruce of the gin options (I think this would be delicious in a grapefruit cocktail) and also really enjoyed the Apertivo Classico. The Classico wasn't as bitter as a regular aperol and had a more interesting flavor (I would love to try this in a spritz). The Skaalvenn (I am obsessed with the labels on these) vodka had no bite at all. The rum was too funky for me, and while I wanted to like their Yuzu Gin (a Scottish dry, as opposed to a London dry) it wasn't for me (too many botanicals that I didn't care for). I skipped most of the 45th parallel, as usually bourbon and rye aren't for me. I did try their Limoncello, but as is usually the case, it was too sweet for me.At the Tattersall table, the canned cocktails were a pretty poor showing, as I thought they tasted very fake (the key lime was the best, probably because it was meant to be light). The sour Cherry Cordial, though, was great- warm, round, bold, savory and sweet. The Great Pink Ox cocktail from Stearns was nice, if you like ginger beer.100 Mill Street was gin made from maple syrup, and it tasted great. They were also pouring an espresso martini made with the gin from the big red carafe, and it was very good (surprising, I know, since most would be made with vodka, but the sweetness of the gin worked really well in the cocktail). Crooked Waters is a female-owned operation that also has gorgeous labels. I was a fan of their pre-made Negroni made with the Sundog gin, which was surprising for me, but it had a good flavor and wasn't too bitter. The Cantilever Gin had nice notes of citrus and juniper, and was very smooth. Another surprise was the Lavender Martini from Libation Project. I didn't even want to try it, but it ended up being my favorite of the three pre-made martinis (the other two I didn't care for at all). It is always worth stopping by these kinds of events at Zipps to try unique beverages, meet interesting people, and be surprised by which products you end up enjoying! A store that sells local product, has great variety, and hosts tons of free tastings.

I love this liquor store. Such a great variety of alcohol and wine. The customer service was nice and welcoming and the parking lot is also a benefit. This place will definitely become my go to spot. I also enjoyed the wine recommendations.

I love Zipps! Fantastic selection of beer, wine, non alcoholic drinks and liquor with great prices. My husband can get a 12 pack of local, hand crafted beer for only $6! Amazing. I love that they have a loyalty program too. It really does pay off if you use them as your primary liquor store. The parking lot is kind of tight and small, but the friendly staff and great prices are worth it (also, more people should just use public transit or walk and bike).

Fantastic selection of beer and spirits. The single can selection of beer it's one of the best on the cities ranging from macros to some of the hardest to get beers. Their whiskey picks are top notch and have a wide range of import beers. Highly recommend if ever needing some libations to go.

Pretty good place with a very nice selection of wine and craft beers, also some friendly staff but they are hit or miss on their knowledge of what's in store. Their wine section is hard to beat, and they have a huge soju section. Im also fond of the huge 24 pack coors lite 16 ouncer cases. Overall their prices are on par or better than a lot of the other places nearby, so I tend to make this my first stop if we are having a party or a snowed in weekend. They have a loyalty program too but you have to spend a bunch over time to get any money off.

Don't use for important events or reserving kegs! Disorganized and not willing to make things right.Reserved two kegs for our wedding a month before the wedding. The Friday before the weekend of our wedding called to confirm that the kegs were available and would be chilled. They confirmed both. Day of the wedding when my brother went to pick them up they didn't have one of the kegs.When asked for a refund all I got was a story about how this happened to another wedding in the same month! Yikes!Will never shop here again.

Service was great! All employees were happy to help and knowledgeable. Was given many suggestions. What recommend anyone to come try out Zipps

Got a keg from there and it was easy to get - just called and reserved it a week before then they helped me put it in my car.When i came back 2 days later to return the keg everyone in the store was really mean to me for no reason, just because we didn't finish the keg. I didn't think it was that big of a deal but all the employees made comments about it which made me feel really bad. I don't see why it matters- i paid for the beer and returned everything in good shape. It's hamms; its not like we could have used it to feed the hungry- its a very cheap party beer. Are we in high school? Not to be that person but I won't be back to zipps; it was all just very uncool and unnecessary.

Great store! Never been there before and stopped by last Sunday, great liquors! Will revisit again!