Where to Find Hot Cocktails in Denver This Winter

A well-made cocktail should be balanced, nuanced and, of course, delicious. As we kick off the holiday season and embrace the Colorado winter, it’s a bonus to have a comforting and warm element when imbibing, too.

Here are thirteen places in the metro are where you can sip on hot cocktails right now:

Adrift Tiki Bar
218 South Broadway
720-784-8111
Each year when the temperatures cool down, Adrift launches Snowdrift, a holiday pop-up bar that runs through December 30. Along with festive decor, there are holiday-inspired cocktails, such as cranberry mojitos and gingerbread nog. If you’re looking to warm up, go for the Hot Buttered Prum-Pum-Pum-Pum made with a rum blend, allspice liqueur, butter and cinnamon. 

Atomic Cowboy
Multiple locations
Atomic Cowboy’s cocktail menu consists of Bloody Mary variations and other breakfast-influenced drinks — bacon fat-washed whiskey with maple syrup, an iced latte with vanilla vodka, and the breakfast sangria. Served hot is Santa’s Sugar Cookie, a seasonal cocktail made with Frangelico, vanilla vodka and half and half, topped with whipped cream and cocoa powder.

Bigsby’s Folly
3563 Wazee Street
720-485-3158
There are two warm cocktails available at Bigsy’s Folly this season. The hot toddy is made with Redemption Bourbon, but you can substitute a local collaboration Woody Creek Rye that was aged for six months in one of the winery’s Zinfandel barrels. The hot mulled wine is made with a blend of Bigsby’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc along with brandy, pomegranate, cranberry, orange and mulling spices.

The Block Distilling
2990 Larimer Street
303-484-9033
This distillery in RiNo produces seasonal gins, whiskeys, vodka and a coffee liqueur. The Flower and Stone cocktail is served hot with plum-infused four-grain whiskey, marigold and lemon. In addition to assorted teas and coffee, there’s also a hot zero-proof option, the Fake Fall, which is a mix of cranberry, herbes de Provence and citrus.

Deep Roots Winery Bistro
2875 Blake Street
720-909-3464
This RiNo winery has plenty of comfort food options to warm you up, such as sweet potato truffle fries, smoked chicken pizza with spicy honey, and deep-fried Oreos topped with a red wine reduction. Along with wine by the glass and in flights, there are wine-infused cocktails available, including hot mulled wine made with a red blend spiked with cinnamon and spices that can be paired with a gingerbread cookie.

Downtown Denver Ice Rink
1601 Arapahoe Street
Open through February 11, the Downtown Denver Ice Rink experience includes cocktails from Uncle Tim’s, including two warm options: a hot espresso martini made with coffee liquor, vanilla, espresso and vodka; and the hot cider, a mix of bourbon, spiced cider and cinnamon.

The Eddy Taproom and Hotel
1640 8th Street, Golden
720-442-8150
Head to Golden to visit Miracle at the Eddy, a Christmas cocktail pop-up bar featuring over-the-top holiday decor and themed drinks. The lineup includes the Hot Buttered Rum made with aged Jamaican rum, mixed spice bitters, oat milk and velvet falernum, as well as mulled red wine spiked with tawny port, orange liqueur and holiday spices.

The Family Jones
3245 Osage Street
303-481-8185
Vodka, gin, rum and whiskey are made at this Highland distiller that also produces a variety of ready-to-drink bottled cocktails. For the hot toddy that’s served in the tasting room, whiskey is swapped out for the award-winning Earl Grey Juniper Jones Gin, which is aged in bourbon barrels that also held Earl Grey tea. For this libation, it’s mixed with honey, lemon, hot water, cinnamon and star anise.

Mistletoe Lounge at Cherry Creek Holiday Market
Near 1st Avenue and Fillmore
The Mistletoe Lounge is a holiday pop-up featuring themed drinks, live entertainment and festive decor. One of the most popular options is the classic hot toddy, made with whiskey, lemon juice, honey and fresh cinnamon.

Primitive Beer
2025 Ionosphere Street, Longmont
If you’re looking for a different twist on a hot adult beverage, Primitive Beer has that covered. On Saturday, December 16, the Longmont brewery will host its third annual Hot Bierfest and Holiday Marketplace, where it will serve beer warmed with a hot poker, which creates a lot of head and a different texture along with a nice aroma. 

Queens Eleven
3603 Walnut Street
720-583-1143
This coffee shop that doubles as a bar has an extensive menu that includes boozy options like the Queen’s Revolver, made with bourbon, espresso, coconut cream, Mr. Black coffee liqueur and orange bitters. 

Room for Milly
1615 Platte Street
720-630-7020
Room for Milly is known for its inventive, inspired and seasonal cocktail menu. Currently on offer is the Bunny Slope, a hot mulled red wine apple spiked with brandy, honey, cinnamon and cloves. The bar’s Après Ski Milly Lodge pop-up runs through January 31 and includes vintage ski decor, antique chair lifts and sleds, retro mountain art and specialty cocktails and shotskis.

Sienna Wine Bar
3434 East 12th Avenue
303-355-2202
For its hot mulled wine, Sienna Wine Bar starts with a full-bodied Merlot and adds honey and a mulling spice mix that includes orange peel, allspice, cloves and cinnamon. It’s served with an anise star or cinnamon stick and pairs well with the bar’s baked brie.