Family owned & operated microdistillery—conveniently close to Cuyuna.

When you adventure Cuyuna, you can now also experience locally distilled spirits at 5Rocks Distilling Co. Located just a few clicks west in Brainerd (17 minutes from Ironton), it’s a short drive that’s well worth the experience. (Just designate your driver, bonus—5Rocks has mocktails for the driver, sweet/sweet!)

5Rocks is the vision of Lisa and Bill Desrocher, along with their family of Elisabeth, Billy, and Seth, which make up the 5Rocks of this microdistillery. Speaking personally, it’s fun to be around Lisa as you can actually feel her passion for her work—it’s alive, and worthy of engaging and leaning into. We’d highly recommend a distillery tour with her leading the way, you’ll learn new things, to say the least!

When we sampled the 5Rocks spirits, we were personally amazed at how drinkable they are. Speaking at least for myself (Aaron), I wouldn’t want to mix the spirit with anything else—drinking “neat” would be perfect. The Cold North Vodka & Lizzy’s Gin, were approachable, kind, and friendly in flavor. They also have specialty liqueurs—. For bourbon lovers—5Rocks hand-selected a three-year-old, 21% rye for their patrons to enjoy until their own spirit is ready for the market. I just sat back, sipped, and smiled.

If you prefer to mix, 5Rocks has you covered with their cocktail menu and bartenders boasting more than 20 artisan drinks featuring 5Rocks spirits, as well as the super-appreciated mocktail menu with four additional opportunities! (5Rocks also says that if you like a cocktail on their menu, but would prefer it in a mocktail, they can help you out!)

Artisan cocktails that capture our attention include:

• Cold North Mule
• 5Rocks Old Fashioned (Dare we say our favorite)
• Suburbia Bliss (Gin Cosmo)
• Sidecar
• Boulevardier

In the 5Rocks tasting room, they have light snacks, but they invite you to order in or bring in your own food—bonus! Current hours are:

• Closed Monday and Tuesday for distilling (Go Lisa, go!)
• Open Wednesday through Saturday—check their website for hours.
• Closed Sunday.

5Rocks also sells their hard work in attractive, 375ml glass containers if you would enjoy bringing spirits back to your Cuyuna overnight lodging or back to your home. Pre-order online (5rocksdistilling.com) for curbside/pickup or available for walk-in. These favorites are available in a take home cocktail kit—each makes 4–6 cocktails.

Simple, easy, fun, good, right here—we like 5Rocks, you might, too.