What’s Trending Now in Denver’s Drinking Scene? – Westword

With the leaves changing color and football season in high gear, bars are packed, and many places are busier than they’ve been since the start of the pandemic. So we wanted to know: What’s popular in Denver? And what’s changed since COVID first uprooted the local bar scene? From dive bars to fancy cocktail lounges to old neighborhood haunts, we talked to the staff at some of our favorite bars to get the lowdown on what Denver is drinking right now (hint: Old Fashioneds are hot).

Bar Bar (aka Carioca Cafe)
2060 Champa Street
barbardenver.com
At the Carioca Cafe, better known as Bar Bar to everyone who has visited this storied, cash-only Denver dive, simplicity is key. “PBR is our most popular thing now. It’s always been the case here,” says Rich Granville, bartender and booking and production manager. “In 2013, we were number 26 in the country. For a place this size, ranking in the top thirty of PBR sales in the country is pretty wild.”

Like many of Denver’s oldest establishments, Bar Bar has struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic. In May, Granville helped organize an online fundraiser that helped the bar temporarily, but an ongoing struggle with the city to obtain a cabaret license is draining resources and staff patience.

“It was going great, and then [the city] shut us down again. It’s been the worst game of red light, green light,” remarks Granville. Still, the team at Bar Bar is committed to keeping the suds flowing and the party going for as long as it can. “We’re not sure how much longer it will be around,” Granville admits. “We’re just trying to do all the coolest things we can while we can. We very well might outlive this place.”

Death & Co Denver
1280 25th Street
720-330-2660
deathandcompany.com
The Denver outpost of New York City’s Death & Co is an upscale cocktail bar located inside the Ramble Hotel. “Currently, the most popular drink on the menu is a tie between our Papillon, which is an Old Fashioned variation, and the Disco Tiger, which is a sour,” says bar manager Jonnie Long.

“People want to drink Old Fashioneds all the time,” he adds, attributing the drink’s popularity to new whiskeys hitting the market and to people gaining a new appreciation for the classics after being locked down during the pandemic. “As far as drinking trends go, I think people came back a little more adventurous from COVID,” Long says. “You started to see a lot more people interested in technique and process because they were stuck at home and didn’t have anything to do. So they were finding these products and making these drinks at home on their own.”

COVID has also shifted perceptions about alcohol. “One of the big trends is that zero-proof cocktails are becoming hugely popular,” Long notes. In fact, Death & Co recently added a page of non-alcoholic drinks to its menu. “People had the time to slow down, thinking and reflecting about the choices they’re making. … We’re having a lot of fun with this trend and making these cocktails that still give the feeling that you’re a part of the party. No one wants to toast with a glass of water, right?”

Englewood Grand
3435 South Broadway, Englewood
303-568-9948
“We’re just excited that people are comfortable coming out and drinking again,” says Merlin Mitchell, a bartender at this no-nonsense neighborhood watering hole. Its current best seller is “fairly predictable,” he adds. “Old Fashioneds are definitely very, very popular. It’s just a fucking cool drink. I would say it’s timeless, honestly. If I were to go to a bar with one of my grandfathers when they were around, I would have no trepidation, no hesitation about ordering an Old Fashioned.”

Mitchell notes that the pandemic didn’t just change the types of drinks people order, it also evolved the behavior of bar-goers. “People are like, ‘I’m just exhausted. Everything is so fucking hectic. I would really just like an IPA,’” he says. “There’s no fuss, no muss, no NBA bracket of a beer list. It’s just a ‘Here’s your beer. Here’s your cocktail. Here’s your comfortable spot. What else can I get for you?’ type of thing.”

Forget Me Not
227 Clayton Street
720-259-5369
forgetmenotdenver.com
At Forgot Me Not, one of Cherry Creek’s trendiest cocktail destinations, a different spirit is trending. “Everybody wants tequila,” says Nicole Lebedevitch, whose semi-official title is bar queen and director of vibes. “I remember when you couldn’t get a tequila soda in front of someone. Now it’s the default. It’s the new vodka, if you will. Our tequila cocktail is called the La Piña. I jokingly call it the spa water. It’s just incredibly refreshing and made with beautiful fresh juices. It makes you think about closing your eyes and escaping to somewhere else.”

And escaping to somewhere else is exactly what people are looking for at bars now, remarks Lebedevitch. “People just want an experience,” she notes. “They want to feel a part of something. People don’t want to sit down and contemplate over a cocktail; they want to go out and be able to talk to someone about it, be able to post it on their Instagram, be able to show someone where they were. We all learned how to make the greatest drinks at home over COVID, but trust me, drinks taste a lot better when someone else makes them for you.”

Hell or High Water Tiki
1526 Blake Street
hellorhighwatertiki.com
Hell or High Water is hidden in the mezzanine level above haunted bar Honor Farm, which opened on October 7. Bar manager Alec Aksoy describes Hell or High Water as a “teak-easy,” and the concept has proved to be a popular one since the bar opened in July. “It’s hard to keep up with demand,” Aksoy says. “We’ve been so busy. We didn’t expect to be this busy off the bat. This bar just has something special about it, with a gay pirate theme people can really get down on.”

Its most popular drink at the moment is That’s Gonna Stain, a drink nearly as unique and colorful as the bar itself. Incorporating ube, taro, banana, coconut cream, cachaca and Mexican rum, it’s the bar’s best seller, Aksoy says, “because one, it’s purple, and two, it tastes really good.”

Like most tiki bars, Hell or High Water focuses not just on how drinks taste, but also on how they look. “There’s always some type of cool presentation to go along with our cocktails, because that’s what the people want, you know? People want to have that cool mug. They want to have that awesome, frothy tiki drink.”

Stadium Inn
1701 East Evans Avenue
303-733-4031
The low-key Stadium Inn has occupied the same spot on Evans Avenue near the University of Denver since it opened in 1939, and staff there have seen trends come and go. “We’ve started to see more classic cocktails being ordered again, like Old Fashioneds,” says general manager Rich Wisniewski, who’s worked at the bar for nineteen years. “We’re having kids come in and order a Tom Collins. It’s kinda funny. You wonder, did your parents used to order this? Was it something you saw on TikTok? You never know where they saw it. They’re drinks you didn’t make for years, and all of a sudden, you’re making tons of them.”

Wisniewski also thinks people spending so much time at home during the pandemic played a role in the resurgence of classic cocktails. “You have people that sat in their homes for months, and they got creative,” he explains. “People had the time to learn. They went to liquor stores, and they bought all the things and started making cocktails at home. They had to make the most of what they were given, and a lot of people came out with the ability to make drinks.”

And a lot of people are returning to bars, too. “The way customers are coming back in the bar, interacting with each other, ordering drinks and hanging out, it’s almost back to the way it was just before COVID,” he concludes.

TrashHawk Tavern
1539 South Broadway
303-320-7798
trashhawktavern.com
This neighborhood bar, which opened last year, is inspired by owner Erin Homburger’s time living in Chicago. “Vodka is very in. We’re seeing a lot of people order vodka,” says bartender Ian Yoder, noting that TrashHawk’s most popular drink is a double Tito’s vodka and soda, called the Babygirl.

“I think people are kind of sticking to their regulars because there’s so much turmoil outside that they stick to comfort levels in the bar,” he adds. Yoder also noted that Old Fashioneds are popular right now. “Everybody who drinks whiskey is going to drink it all year round, right? So we see a lot of Old Fashioneds,” he says.

Comfort drinks aren’t the only popular beverages at TrashHawk, though. “Malört is also a trend — if you want to talk about Malört at all,” he says with a chuckle. Jeppson’s Malört, a Chicago-made spirit that’s famous for its foul taste, is now being distributed in Colorado and showing up in a lot more bars these days. “The bartender in me describes it as taking a bite of a grapefruit you forgot to peel,” Yoder explains.

“The human in me describes it as, ‘You took a grapefruit you found on the ground, and then you took a bite of it. And then you smoked a cigarette.’ Malört doesn’t let you forget about it, like that crazy ex that keeps coming back.”

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