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You’ve emptied the dustiest bottles in your home liquor collection, Googled quarantine-friendly drink recipes, and shaken and stirred more cocktails than you’d care to count. Why not let the pros take over? Check out these 10 smashing cocktails available for curbside pick up around Denver (but, please, don’t try them all on the same night).
If there’s an official cocktail of our quarantine spring, it might be Bar Helix’s Aperol spritz shaved ice slushies ($8). A little bitter, a little sweet, and with just the right amount of kick, this genius drink-dessert hybrid is exactly what we need to get through warm lock-down nights. (Or days; no judgement.) Pick up a bottle of the bar’s pre-mixed negroni (from $44) while you’re there, because you know you’re going to need it.
For a killer happy hour at home, Dimestore Delibar, with help from the Family Jones, put together eight to-go cocktails (each comes in a 39-ounce bottle for less than $40). Favorites include the summery spiked watermelon and tequila agua fresca and the Quarantine Cooler, a mix of passion fruit shrub syrup, pineapple, vodka, and hibiscus.
When you need something strong, trust in the loaded hurricanes at Steuben’s Food Service. The pineapple, passion fruit, and, of course, rum-filled concoctions are available in a $10 mason jar for one or a $45 bottle that serves nine to 10.
You may not be able to enjoy its cool subterranean lounge inside the Dairy Block, but at least you can still have Run for the Roses’ expertly prepared cocktails at home. Choose from full-size bottles (from $30) or a sampler of mix-and-match single pours (four for $35), all of which will absolutely crush whatever you’ve been making at home. Pro tip: If the Chartreuse Swizzle with lime, pineapple, Velvet Falernum, and Green Chartreuse is on the to-go menu, order it.
Safta re-opened for takeout on May 13, which means you should probably be making a beeline over there to grab the spicy-tart Urfa Chile Paloma ($10). Made with ancho chile liqueur, smoky Urfa chile simple syrup, grapefruit, and tequila, this drink has got sass to spare.
It’s possible that there’s never been a more appropriate time for a tiki drink than right now. So if you don’t already have Adrift Tiki Bar on speed dial, be sure to call now for a giant bottle of zombies, painkillers, or Macadamia Nut Chi Chis (from $59). Each comes with its own festive tiki accoutrement—because tiny umbrellas, pirate flags, feathers, and pineapple leaves are a festive balm in these uncertain times.
To-go beer, wine, and cocktail sales have helped the Post Brewing Co. in Denver, Boulder, and Lafayette survive amidst dine-in restaurant and bar closures. Among its biggest lifelines—and they can be yours, too—are crowlers of near-perfect margaritas ($30) and beer ($9).
Be the envy of your next Zoom happy hour with Ash’Kara’s colorful cocktails. The seasonal Golden Colada ($8 for one, or $40 for a large mix and bottle of rum), a brilliant yellow blend of turmeric, yogurt, pineapple, and rum, is especially pretty to look at and delightful to drink.
Frosé the day away with Los Chingones’ frosé of the day ($10 for one, or $40 for a 32-ounce pitcher). This week’s flavor is a real humdinger: passion fruit. You know what to do.
Seasonal batched cocktails ($22 for four drinks) change by the day at Work & Class, but if you call on a day when they’re making aromatic basil-mint mojitos, you’re in luck. But really, order whatever the restaurant is mixing up, for it’s sure to make for spectacular sipping.
