Minneapolis carries the state's cocktail scene, and its range is wide. The best cocktail bars in Minnesota run from a polished hotel lounge to a downtown room pouring since 1906. Bar Mara, the bar of the restaurant Mara, was a Regional Top 10 Honoree for Best U.S. Hotel Bar at the 2026 Spirited Awards and backs its cocktails with a functional, alcohol-free list. Meteor was a Regional Top 10 Honoree too, for Best U.S. Bar Team, after a 2024 James Beard semifinalist nod for Outstanding Bar. Monte Carlo keeps its copper-topped bar, Char Bar pours fine whiskeys inside Butcher & the Boar, and Flora Room is first come, first served; arrive early. These are the bars we would start with.