What's the Skaalvenn/Japan Connection?

So, how does a Nordic Viking themed distillery with a Japanese inspired cocktail bar with a sprinkling of Khmer (Cambodian) come to be?

It's one of those things you couldn't make up even if you tried. From the beginning we were a Norwegian inspired distillery. Tyson, the founder and president of Skaalvenn is the descendant of Norwegian immigrants and in 2014 he and his wife Mary decided that the distillery they were starting would be a nod to Tyson's Norwegian roots.

This would stay true until late 2019. We were looking to book a trip to Asia and Hong Kong had some deals, but then the protests erupted and as such we made the decision to travel elsewhere. We saw Japan had some deals and it was always a place we wanted to visit, so without knowing much else about the island nation, we booked their trip for September of 2019.

In true preparation for the trip, Tyson watched Sesame Street's "Big Bird Goes to Japan"...Tyson likes surprises, he remembered watching this show as a child so he used it for his initial research.

We in Japan and went to some cocktail bars. The first bar we went to was the most incredible bar we had ever visited, the second bar was even better than the first, and the third was every bit as good. It didn't take long for the two of us to realize that Japan just has higher expectations for things. For most bartenders in Japan, it's not a job, it's a lifetime career and they work incredibly hard to be the best at what they do.

We coincidentally had been thinking of opening a cocktail bar at our distillery but didn't know what the theme/vibe should be. Nordic design tends to be very expensive, especially if it's being done inside an old warehouse. We didn't want to just toss something together and be just another bar with reclaimed wood and chalkboard menus...We wanted the cocktail bar at Skaalvenn Distillery to be something special, and what was sitting before our eyes in Japan was exactly what we knew we wanted to bring back to Minnesota.

We started taking a lot of notes at the little touches, like Oshibori, or hot hand towels served to every customer...a really nice touch that is reserved for only the finest dining in the USA. There's no reason we couldn't do that! We booked another trip for November 2019 and brought along two bartenders we had hired as consultants to help with the buildout and initial cocktails. We knew that the bartenders needed to see first hand what inspired us so that they could execute our vision.

That is the Japan connection and how our cocktail bar came to be.

We are not a Japanese cocktail bar, and admit that we never will be. However, we draw heavily on the Japanese inspiration and to date we have brought 4 employees with us to Japan on an all expenses paid trip for them to get hands-on experience, and it's something we want to keep doing as the results speak for themselves when you watch them work.