Did you know that sugar beets are one of Minnesota’s largest crops? Not the red kind where your dad would pretend he accidentally cut himself with the bright red sauce. Sugar beets are a white and tan root vegetable from the Red River Valley up north. Minnesota local Ben Brueshoff started distilling premium vodka from sugar beets right here in the Midwest a few years back and darn it all, I’m hooked. Now I don’t typically enjoy sipping on vodka because it’s always seemed like an abrasive spirit to me. Then I tried Bēt Vodka. (Pronounced “beet.”) Since this is more than just a grain-neutral spirit like most other products, there’s a ton of extravagant flavor. With sweeter notes of vanilla and spicy notes of pepper, this is a smooth and sultry addition to your bloody Mary, vodka martini or coffee cocktail. The attention to detail continues on to the bottle, where the stopper even has the cross section of a sugar beet depicted.
Graham Luterbach is a liquor specialist with Edina Liquor.
