Drink of the Week: Orange Spiced Fizz at Green Russell

The Prohibition-style bar trend, which started in 2000 with Sasha Petraske’s Milk & Honey, finally reached Denver last month, when restaurateur Frank Bonanno (Mizuna, Bones, Luca d’Italia, Osteria Marco) and partner Adam Hodak opened Green Russell. The name’s inspiration is even older than Prohibition: William Greeneberry “Green” Russell came to…

Ask the bartender: A library of books about libations

Sean Kenyon knows how to pour out both drinks and advice. A third-generation bar man with almost 25 years behind the bar, he is a student of cocktail history, a United States Bartenders Guild-certified Spirits Professional and a BAR Ready graduate of the prestigious Beverage Alcohol Resource Program. You can…

Double Rainbow and four other intense Colorado beers to try soon

I love holiday beers. But that’s not all that Colorado’s breweries are putting out right now. Here are five beers that have just been released — or are about to be — that were brewed simply because, well, because Colorado is awesome. Double Rainbow Trinity Brewing, Colorado Springs Black Fox…

Sips and snacks at R Bar on the ‘Fax

Happy Place: R Bar, 3209 East Colfax Avenue, 303-320-8635 The Hours: Daily from 5 to 7 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. The Deals: $6 house wines; $3.50-$4.50 draft beers; $6 cocktails; $5-7 food specials Were we happy? Flip the page…

Three sensational wine cocktails to celebrate the holiday season

In case you haven’t noticed, 2010 is most definitely going to go down as the Year of the Cocktail. Seems like dozens of swanky, speakeasy-type establishments (complete with throwback-era barkeeps) opened their doors in and around Denver this year, proffering edgy concoctions designed to entice even the pickiest drinker. So…

Portland beats Denver as a beer city, hands down

Portland is a better beer town than Denver. As a Denver native, it pains me to say that, but after having visited Beervana for the first, time, there is no getting around it. While Denver brewers consistently make better beer than those in Portland, there are more than three times…

Drew downs $100 in tequila at Lola

The over/under time on me passing out at the bar or simply disappearing and cabbing home without saying goodbye to anyone (a favorite move of mine that one buddy calls “smokebombing”) is apparently 7:30 p.m. Currently, it’s 5:30 p.m., and I’ve only been bellied up at Lola with pints of…

Three cheers for happy hour at Steuben’s

Happy Place: Steuben’s, 523 East Seventeenth Avenue, 303-830-1001 The Hours: Monday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. The Deals: $5 specialty cocktails; $12-$20 shareable cocktails; $1 sliders; $3 gravy fries; $0.50 deviled eggs Were we happy? Flip the page…

Celebrate the end of Prohibition at Denver’s oldest bar

Yes, the Buckhorn Exchange boasts liquor license number 1 — but that’s because the venerable restaurant was first in line after Prohibition ended in 1933, when new liquor licenses were issued. The oldest saloon in town is My Brother’s Bar — city registries indicate that 2376 15th Street was a…

The Wynkoop brews InaugurAle for John Hickenlooper’s throning

As if the Wynkoop Brewing Company didn’t have enough going on today — it announced that it will join with Breckenridge Brewing — it has also named (tentatively) the beer it plans to brew in honor of brewery co-founder and Governor-elect John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper’s InaugurAle will be brewed on Saturday,…

Ask the bartender: How did the cocktail culture survive Prohibition?

Sean Kenyon knows how to pour out both drinks and advice. A third-generation bar man with almost 25 years behind the bar, he is a student of cocktail history, a United States Bartenders Guild-certified Spirits Professional and a BAR Ready graduate of the prestigious Beverage Alcohol Resource Program. You can…

The warm taste of Maui Brewing is on its way to chilly Colorado

On November 15, a shipment of Maui Brewing Company’s canned beers left Hawaii by boat, bound for one of the ports in Southern California — and eventually for Colorado. It hasn’t arrived yet. But it might soon, and when it does, says Dave Watson of the CR Goodman liquor distributorship…