Bar Helix Will Give You Prizes for Drinking Negronis

This isn’t a joke. You aren’t dreaming. Kendra Anderson and Victoria Errio of Bar Helix really do want to give you presents just for drinking your way through their newly expanded Negroni menu. (See, not all news is negative!)

Anderson, Bar Helix’s sommelier/Negroni-fiend owner, and Errio, lead bartender, have served more than 2,000 of the ruby red cocktails since the RiNo lounge opened in October 2017. “I don’t think any other bar in Denver can say that they’ve sold that many Negronis,” Anderson says. “It felt like it was time to just own it and bring back some of the seasonal, specialty variations we love making.”

Now there are a full dozen Negroni options on Bar Helix’s racy cocktail menu, flaunting fun names such as Hot French Girl (a floral white variation made with Lillet rosé and Suze), Brokedown Palace (a play on a “broken” Negroni Sbagliato with Cappelletti aperitivo, Casa Mariol vermut, cava, and fresh thyme), and our favorite, the amped up Supersonic (a beautiful combination of Family Jones Spirit House Juniper Jones gin, Bruto Americano, and Berto vermouth).

Oh wait, you don’t like Negronis? Not an issue. Anderson and Errio have created variations ideal for scotch drinkers, mezcal enthusiasts, sour supporters, and cachaca-based mojito devotees. For example, the sour—dubbed Suck My Negroni—tweaks Bar Helix’s signature version (which is smooth and rather softball as the drink goes) by adding lemon juice and egg white and shaking it into a frothy, creamy sipper, garnished with a house-made Negroni lollipop.

Given the season, Bar Helix is playing Santa Claus too: From now through New Year’s Eve, drink a dozen full-size Negronis of your choice (responsibly, please) and you get a gift package from the bar. If your liver is already tired from all the winter beer releases and aprés-everything, drink 12 baby (or half-sized) Negronis and you’ll still get a Negroni-themed present.

The final surprise? Bar Helix’s chef, Samuel Barrazza, has brought a chocolate-dipped Negroni cannoli to the party, replete with homemade ricotta infused with the citrus flavors of the cocktail. Happy holidays, indeed.

Bar Helix’s 12 Negronis of Christmas punchcard offer is good through December 31. 3440 Larimer St.