The Earl Giles Story
A pharmacist, a confectioner, a float plane and an adventurous spirit. This is the story of a real man and a company built on curiosity, hospitality and the belief that there are always new horizons to explore.
The man, the myth, The Legend
Earl Giles was a real person, long before he was a Minneapolis distillery.
Born in 1888, Earl was a pharmacist, confectioner, pilot and adventurer. He settled in Minnesota's Land of 10,000 Lakes, where he opened and operated multiple apothecaries and confectionary stores.
Earl wasn't the type to accept the rules. A bold opponent of Prohibition, Earl would fly his float plane across northern US and Canada, bootlegging booze disguised as medicine in apothecary bottles. It was bold and it was more than a little adventurous.
A renaissance man, he kept the good times rolling when the rest of the country had gone dry.
Life is better when you're curious, and it's always better with a great drink in your hand. Whether you want classic cocktails, award winning THC-infused beverages or amazing non-alcoholic drink, we've got you covered. Or as we like to say, ‘Whatever Floats Your Boat Plane.”
The family connection
It's in the name
Here's the part that people don't believe until we tell them.
Earl Giles was co-founder Jeff Erkkila's great-grandfather.
When Jeff and his business partner Jesse Held decided to start a company together, the name wasn't a marketing exercise. It was personal. Jesse's middle name is Earl. Jeff's middle name is Giles. Jesse "Earl" Held and Jeff "Giles" Erkkila. A partnership that was quite literally meant to be.
The float plane, the apothecary, the spirit of adventure: it all runs through the family and into the DNA of this company. We didn't inherit a recipe or a fortune. We inherited a way of doing things. Curious. Bold. Always exploring new horizons.
How it Started
Something from nothing
In 2015, Jesse and Jeff founded Earl Giles from a small apartment above Borough restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis. Squeezing ginger by hand, bottling syrups in tiny batches and supplying local bars with the mantra, "by bartenders, for bartenders."
Jesse had spent over 25 years behind the bar, building one of the most respected cocktail programs in the Twin Cities. Jeff brought culinary training and an obsession with transforming raw ingredients into flavors people hadn't tasted before. Word spread. Bartenders told other bartenders.
In 2019, they produced their first commercial run of ginger beer. It sold out in two months. The consulting arm launched. The team grew. The product range expanded. And it became clear the apartment wasn't going to cut it anymore.
The brand home
25,000 square feet of everything
In 2022, Earl Giles opened its 25,000 sq ft facility in the Logan Park neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis. The space houses a working distillery, canning and bottling operations, the Drinks Apothecary with over 600 globally sourced extracts, and private event spaces including the Mezzanine, boardroom and the Apothecary.
At its heart is a full-service restaurant with a 60-foot cocktail bar, wood-fired pizza oven and over 600 plants. The cocktail menu is built around the syrups, elixirs and spirits made right here in the building. Wood-fired pizzas, seasonal plates and a brunch worth waking up for. Industrial but warm. Cutting-edge but inviting.
What we Believe
By bartenders, for everyone. This company was started by bartenders. That hospitality-first mindset drives everything we do, from the way we develop products to the way we welcome you into our space. We made our name serving the industry, and we've built a company that serves everyone.
Earned, not given. We didn't inherit our success. We built it from a loft apartment with a bag of ginger and a lot of late nights. Every product we make, every partnership we form and every drink we serve puts flavor first, has been earned through hard work, experimentation and an unwillingness to cut corners.
Rising tides lift all ships (and float planes). We believe in our partners' success as much as our own. Whether it's a bar program we're consulting on, a brand we're helping to develop or a community we're part of, we grow when the people around us grow. Open, direct, no guesswork. Just great work, together.
Serious about the making, not about the telling. We obsess over the liquid. Over 600 extracts in the Apothecary. Months of development for a single syrup. Flavor first and attention to detail on dosing for every THC can. But we don't take ourselves too seriously. We're warm, we're playful and we'd always rather you tasted the work than heard us talk about it.
What we do today
Shop
A curated selection of our favorite products, delivered to your door. The same syrups, elixirs and THC beverages our bartenders use, available for your home bar.
Production
The engine. Cocktail syrups, elixirs, mixers, THC beverages, spirits and liqueurs, all developed and produced in-house by our team.
Consultancy
Where we share what we know. Menu design, staff training, custom flavour development and full bar programme consultancy.
The home of Earl Giles
The Bar
Our 60-foot bar. Surrounded by over 600 plants and anchored by a glowing copper Vendome still. Industrial meets inviting.
The Drinks Apothecary
Our one-of-a-kind flavour laboratory, housing over 300 globally sourced extracts. This is where every product starts.
The Mezzanine
Our private bar, elevated above the production floor. Home to Cocktail Study Hall classes, poker nights and some of our best events.
The restaurant
Wood-fired pizza oven, open kitchen, warm lighting. No matter where you sit, you feel like you're part of something.
