Courtesy of Minnesota Ice
ice bar on a lake
If ever there was a year for ice bars, it's feeling like 2021. Our cold weather tech has been dialed back up to circa-1971 snowmobile suit levels and dammit, we already have the ski-masks on. Grab a pair of choppers and belly up to these ice bars which heat you from the inside out.
The Craft & Crew restaurants are bringing game, literally. Go play ice beer pong or bags while sipping on hot cocktails like The North Shore, a hot buttered toffee cider with DuNord apple, or the S'mores martini that's literally on fire. They are also offering a Schell's Bock Poke, if you're into that kind of thing, and snacks like fries, cheese curds, and mini-donuts. MUST reserve ahead, parties of 6 max, your spot holder is $20 for 60 minutes, and s'mores kits and a couple of Red Bull cocktails are included. Open now!
Freehouse + Longfellow Grill + 3 Squares
Launching this weekend, some of the Blue Plate Restaurants are putting up ice bars. Fri-Sat., from 4-7pm, these spots in the North Loop, Longfellow, and Maple Grove will feature whiskey drinks and free samples of their new Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve cocktails. Then the bars will stay up through the winter, so watch out for more fun events.
Volstead House + Whiskey Inferno + Bourbon Butcher + Tequila Butcher
ice mug
These restaurants have ice bars launching this weekend, in Eagan, Savage, Farmington, and Chanhappenin'. They've already been killing it with outdoor fun, and have launched a full roster of hot toddy infusions at Volstead. Look for these ice mugs for beers at Bourbon Butcher, and ice glasses for margaritas at Tequila Butcher. Whiskey Inferno will have its own cigar lounge and bags games. Plus, they've had little smoke boxes carved into the ice bar iteself where they plan to smoke Old Fashioneds and Manhattans. Volstead will ice bar every day, the others will operate on weekends.
Justin Sutherland is reopening his Cathedral Hill BBQ spot on Feb. 1, and on the patio will be a custom ice bar. Expect plenty of the chef's signature blend Maker's Mark bourbon along with Red Bull drinks. Look for four signature drinks, one hottie, and a limited menu of smash burgers, daily grilled sausages, and fried chicken. Live DJ from 1-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. And if the jams don't keep you warm, they'll have 6 live fire pits and plenty of gas heaters.
Not really an ice bar, but an ice wall will hold court in the open-air alleyway next to the hotel. Launching sometime in March, you'll be able to enter a door through the ice wall to get drinks from the bar and grab a table near the firepits.
