The Colorado Bartenders Guild (COBG) hosted its first-ever cocktail contest on Sunday night at Trios Entoneca, and Mark Stoddard (above), of Boulder’s Bitter Bar, took first place with his “Swedish Fish” — a tasty blend of Absolut, Orgeat Syrup, Maraschino Cherry liquid Regan’s Orange Bitter’s, orange wedges and mint. The…
As we reported in March, New Belgium Brewing has rolled out its second canned beer – Sunshine Wheat — in Colorado only (the trucks hit the road on Friday on their way to liquor stores). But if sales are strong – as they were when the Fort Collins brewery introduced…
I love a challenge, and as soon as I saw the “limit 3 per customer” advisory on the menu for the Bar Sketch White Sangria ($7.50), I knew what I had to do. From the first sip, I knew I would not be taking on a traditional “sangria” made from…
The state’s best mixologists will be pouring it on — and pouring out the drinks — Sunday, April 26, at the first Colorado Cocktail Classic competition, sponsored by the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Go to Trios Enoteca,1730 Wynkoop Street, at 6 p.m. to cheer on your favorite bartenders and enjoy some…
I hate windows during the summer. I hate them because when I’m at work, I can see the sky and the sun and the birds and all the people who aren’t at work strolling merrily by. Thankfully, I don’t work near Coors Field anymore, because the smell of food and…
While two totally separate establishments, Roslyn Grill (504 East Colfax Avenue) and Nob Hill Inn (420 East Colfax) nonetheless comprise a flaming binary star of degeneracy around which many of Denver’s down-and-out orbit. Because they’re less than a block apart and both cheap as hell, they attract the same crowd…
Buchi Café Cubano (2651 West 38th Avenue, 303-458-1328), which has already made a name for itself with stellar coffee drinks and sandwiches, is hoping to add beer, wine and speciality drinks to its menu this summer – pending approval of a liquor license application. Owner Emmett Barr doesn’t plan on…
Since we reported last month that Denver would be among the many cities to host a Snuggie Pub Crawl — in which proud owners of the awesomely popular sleeved blanket slip into their Snuggies and get hammered — we’ve been counting the days until the event. We’d heard it was…
The Leopold Bros. distillery in Denver got a shout-out in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Columnist Eric Felten, author of the weekly column “How’s Your Drink?”, called its gin the best of the new, craft-distilled American gins trying to give well-established British gins a run for their money. Here’s an excerpt…
Does your pale ale go down better with some Poe, your stout with some Silverstein and your lager with some Longfellow? If so, then you and your favorite iambic pentameters might want to try Liquid Poetry, a special beer that goes on tap today at the Wynkoop Brewing Company in…
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey celebrated the corking of its 1,000th barrel on Wednesday, April 8 — which means that the five-year-old micro-distillery has produced 52,800 gallons of whiskey at its facility in the Ballpark neighborhood. And who was on hand to drive home the cork, or “bung,” as it is apparently…
Although I’m not normally a fan of national chains, I’d been waiting with bated breath for Houston’s to open in Cherry Creek, because I have fond memories of long, delicious lunches at its siblings in Arizona and California. But those lunches were a long time ago, and either I’ve changed…
Baseball season is on tap, and so is the seasonal reappearance of Denver’s oddest brewpub, Blue Moon Brewing Co. @ the Sandlot, inside Coors Field. Why is it odd? Although the brewery itself – owned by a division of Coors — cranks out Blue Moon and some of the other…
A Westword informant recently reported that Watson’s Liquor and Grocery, the recent Best of Denver winner right around the corner from our office, wraps your booze in a donut bag. “So the bums outside don’t bother you for beer,” the guy behind the counter told him. Makes sense. Unless, of…
For Colorado bartenders, taxes aren’t the only thing due on April 15. That’s also the deadline for submitting recipes to the first cocktail competition of the year organized by the Colorado Bartenders Guild (COBG). And I’ll be helping to judge the results at 6 p.m. April 26 at Trios Enoteca,…
Across Eighth Avenue and just down the block, the neon-bright liquor store and a bodega are humming with activity — parked cars with their doors ajar, engines idling, low-end bass rumbling the parking-lot pebbles like un-popped kernels of corn; loiterers and potential customers huddling in circles, laughing loudly, talking shit…
The eighteenth annual Colorado Mountain Winefest doesn’t start until September 17, but the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology just uncorked the winner of its WineFest art contest. “Labor of Love,” by Grand Junction artist Mary Ellen Andrews, will be featured on all promotional materials for the four-day Winefest, and…
Rock me, Amadeus. I’ve been going to the Mozart Lounge for years. It’s just down the street from my friend Hayley’s house, and we’d made a habit of celebrating her birthday by getting a big group of friends together at “the Mo,” where we always drank too many exceptionally strong,…
This from a guest bar blogger: Hey all, we’re having a great time here in Denver!!! We’re discussing social networking and demographics, the future of journalism, and politics. Woo!!! We have found out that the 18-25 age demographic isn’t as brain-dead as previous thought. They may actually have some positive impact on this planet, but it’s too early to tell. Thoughts?
The Wynkoop Brewing Co. was the first modern-era brewpub to open its doors in Denver, and this summer, it plans to become the first city brewery to sell its beer in cans. “We’re pushing for June,” says new Wynkoop head brewer Andy Brown, who got the project off the ground…
A warning, via whiteboard, from the staff at the Viking (4888 West Colfax Avenue): YOU NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE WHEN: • You run your big fucking mouth because the bar is out of something • You call the bartender dirty names in another language, unaware she…
New Belgium Brewing, which began canning its signature Fat Tire amber ale last summer, will release a second aluminum-clad brew, Sunshine Wheat, in April or May. The move gives more credence to the growing popularity of canned craft beers – a trend that began in 2002 when the Oskar Blues…
