lovely libations
HASKELL’S R A I S I N G M I N N E S O T A N S ’ S P I R I T S S I N C E 1 9 3 4 THE HISTORY OF P UR V E YOR S OF D I S T I L L E D S P I R I T S , CRA F T B R EWS , AND T HE F I NE S T WI NE .
Haskell’s, the retailer of fine wine and spirits we all know today began in 1934 at the repeal of Prohibition. But what you may not know is that Benny and Fritzi Haskell had been sharing their popular libations with the entire community during Prohibition.Ask the right people, and you’ll hear countless stories of meetings in Loring Park and the swapping of baby buggies filled with cash and booze. Benny and Fritzi ran their operation out of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis until Benny got caught. Fritzi managed to escape detection, and when alcohol became legal, they put the license in her name. At that time, the
license holder also had to be physically present at the store. So, what was Fritzi to do while Benny and his friends sold the finest whiskey, gin, and beer? You guessed it: Sell wine! In 1935, Fritzi brought the first container of wine into the United States from Europe. She traveled all over Europe in the mid-1930s, spending much of her time as the guest of honor at prestigious houses, including Hennessy, A. Hardy, and Piper Heidsieck. Fritzi returned from Europe a visionary — dreaming of sharing her love for wine with everyone who stepped into her store.
Over the years, there have been many stories of Twin Cities professionals who’ve chosen to celebrate momentous career occasions with a trip to Haskell’s — a lawyer who passes the bar or becomes a judge or a businessman who closes a big deal and buys a bottle of Bordeaux to celebrate. Fritzi would look them up and down and ask if they knew anything about these exceptional wines on her shelves. Most answers were, “No. I just want to celebrate!” But that didn’t fly with Fritzi. Instead, she would set them up with a handful of introductory bottles and direct them to “drink these, learn to enjoy them, and
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