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Best Cocktail Happy Hours In Minnesota

Happy hour is one of those enduring practices that will probably be around forever. After a long day at work, who doesn't need a little something extra? It's a great opportunity to get together with friends, to chat, gossip, laugh and leave all of the day-to-day pressures and stresses behind before heading home. It's a social activity, one that keeps us as humans happy for an hour or sometimes more. For a great cocktail at happy hour, these are the local spots you want to hit.

Tongue In Cheek
989 Payne Ave
St Paul, MN 55130
(651) 888-6148
www.tongueincheek.biz

The cocktails at this "Eat Side" newcomer are creative and delicious. There are so many to choose from that it's often hard to decide where to start. During happy hour, sample some of the best selections from the cocktail list for only $2, making it more fun than just hunkering down and getting wasted on watery gin and tonics. The Mother of Dragons, a mix of house-infused jalapeno whiskey, orange juice and Mathilde Peche, has so far been the favorite.

Pazzaluna
(credit: Pazzaluna)

Pazzaluna
360 St. Peter St.
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 223-7000
www.pazzaluna.com

This Italian giant in downtown St. Paul, with its soaring columns and colorful frescos, is an elegant spot for dinner, and even better for happy hour. Not only will you find excellent food specials like discounted pizzas or various selections from the antipasti case. You'll also find signature cocktails with plenty of Italian and American classics waiting to help you relax after a long day, and for only $6. There's plenty of space for you and your friends and co-workers, but it does it get busy quickly so make sure you grab a table as fast as you can.

Marin
(credit: CBS)

Marin Restaurant and Bar
901 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 252-7000
www.marinrestaurant.com

During happy hour, enjoy a Marin Martini or Marin Manhattan for classy sippers and reduced prices. Once you order a few small plates and get the conversation going, it will be hard not to order a second, or third, of these expertly crafted cocktails. You had a long day at work, and you've earned the type of treatment you'll find at this new(ish) addition to the Chambers Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.

Related: Best Cocktail Bars In Minnesota

Moscow on the Hill
371 Selby Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 291-1236
www.moscowonthehill.com

Stopping in for happy hour at this Russian gem really feels like you're taking a long vacation. Sit back and relax on the couches in the lounge area up front and enjoy various selections from the happy hour menu, be it a selection from the Moscow Cocktails list where everything is a cool $5, or just a shot or two the house-infused vodkas. Sweet or savory (and the savory shots are served with a tiny pickle chaser), there will be something there for you. A short trip to Russia before dinner? Why not? Na' Zdorovie!

Gay Bar, Dance Club, Generic
(credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Camp Bar
490 Robert St N
St Paul, MN 55101
(651) 292-1844
www.camp-bar.net

One of the more colorful places in downtown St. Paul's growing bar landscape, Camp offers happy hour specials twice daily that will bring out the social butterfly in all of us. Two dollars off all drinks from 4 to 5:30 p.m., and again at 1 a.m. until close, means you won't have to choose from a small list of previously approved happy hour drink selections. These deals don't apply on Wednesdays, however, when the infamous three for $6 on wine, beer and rail drinks comes into effect. Maybe find a taxi to take you home after that one…

Related: Best All-You-Can-Drink Specials In Minnesota

Adrian Schramm is a resident Saint Paul writer with a passion for all things local. Through his work with Saint Paul Almanac and Minneapolis Examiner at Examiner.com, as well as in the kitchens of bars and restaurants around town, he has discovered what truly makes the Twin Cities tick.

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