While I approve of Bob McManus and Lee Egbert's enthusiasm and investment in a new distillery in the old Hamm's Brewery, they need to realize their business is not needed to elevate St. Paul to "cool" status — it already is a cool place to live, work and visit ("Brew with bite: St. Paul gets distillery moving in," Oct. 24). They need look no further than their neighbors. Where else can you find a trapeze school (Twin Cities Trapeze), or a bakery that is open to the public only one Saturday a month and sells out its stock in two hours (St. Agnes Bakery)? Or a city with one of the few remaining free zoos in the country and a first-class conservatory (Como Zoo and Conservatory) or the site of Red Bull Crashed Ice with the beautiful St. Paul Cathedral as its backdrop? St. Paul is home to six renowned colleges and numerous fine eateries, shops and historical sites. Now, we may never be as hip as our twin, Minneapolis, but we're cool with that. That's why we live here.

WENDY ARMITAGE, St. Paul