Fun In Central MN? Stop By Your Local Distillery!

Think there's nothing to do?  It's getting chilly outside and if you're not into outdoor winter sports you might start feeling stuck indoors.  But there's something for everyone in Central Minnesota.  Just this past weekend I tried a cheese and spirit tasting at the St. Cloud distillery, Iron Street Distillery, located at 539 E. St. Germain St.

I would recommend this kind of event to everyone.  The event I attended was scheduled for 3p-5p, so it still left an open evening for other plans.  It's a fun way to get a feel for a place you haven't been yet, too.  Plus, if you've never done a tasting, it's worth the experience. The cheese this day was provided by a local Dairy Farm's "Redhead Creamery".

Iron Street has only been open since January.  They took over the nearly 100 year old  historic building that originally housed International Harvester.  It's a 67,000 square foot space.  The tasting room uses 6,700 sf of that space.  Much of the rest is used for distilling and storing the bottled spirits.  John, one of the two owners, gave a tour of the building after our tasting.

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There are pictures throughout the tasting room of the building in it's heyday. They are even using some of that history in the name of their spirits.  Their "Red Baby Rum" is a nod to International Harvesters Red Baby Truck that was on display when the building originally opened.

The distillery also houses "Harvester Square" where meetings, parties and functions happen.  John, one of the owners, also mentioned that a rooftop patio is in the works.  Probably not this coming summer, but by 2025 you just might be hanging out on their rooftop!

Iron Street's tasting room is expansive, with plenty of seating, food and drinks.  Plus, they have a huge amount of board and card games for folks to sit and play. There are lots of other distilleries and breweries that offer tastings, so if this has peaked your interest, maybe look into the events happening at Iron Street Distillery in St. Cloud or any of the others all throughout Central Minnesota.