Photo: Rachel Nadeau
Elevated Beer Wine & Spirits in White Bear Lake shares some picks.
Elevated’s Tom Boland says, “For spirits, we’re excited about Tattersall’s Bootlegger. The ‘Minnesota mojito’ has local roots and Tattersall’s take is a clean, refreshing spirit featuring distilled lemon and lime peels. Add sparkling water and mint for a great summer cooler.
“For beer, Duluth’s Bent Paddle Brewing Company is releasing Trampled Golden Ale. Embodying the spirit of Minnesota summer music festivals, this is a collaboration with the local band Trampled by Turtles. Northern Minnesota’s take on the American blonde ale, it’s refreshing and well-balanced. You’ll see it at music events and fine retailers across the state.
“For wine, rosé continues to be popular. I like the 2017 Rabble Rosé from Paso Robles, California, with notes of fresh strawberry, peach and melon. There’s even a Rabble app that provides an augmented reality experience for some extra fun,” says Boland, though you may well find that the rosé alone sufficiently alters reality.
Two Great Mystery Novels from Lake Country Booksellers
Co-owner Nancy Thysell recommends Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley (Atria Books, 2014). “I love historical fiction, and a friend introduced me to this series. The wealthy adoptive father of a family of sisters dies unexpectedly and leaves each daughter a clue about where she came from. This is the first book of a series. If you like historical detail, mystery, romance and time-switch stories, you’ll enjoy this series,” says Thysell.
Co-owner Faith Basten recommends Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Penguin Random House, 2018.) “This is the story of Kya, known around town as ‘the marsh girl’. Her dirt-poor family lives in a back bay of the North Carolina coast. One by one, her siblings leave home. Then one day her mother leaves, followed by her last brother. Kya’s consistently drunk father doesn’t seem to notice. Kya somehow raises herself, but then the handsome, athletic Case Andrews is found dead, with seemingly no clues. Was it “the marsh girl” who did it?
