Winter Harvest Sips

Local Bartenders Get Creative with Cold Weather Libations that Warm the Soul

As frost and snow cover the landscape, bartenders are limited in what cocktails they can create with seasonal fruits and vegetables. While we’ve become accustomed to getting any type of produce year-round, there is a season for everything. Specific types of produce show their truest flavors at certain times, and freshness equals quality when sourced from a short distance.

While tiki drinks continue to gain fandom, the exotic fruits — often fruit concentrates or syrups — featured in those drinks are sourced worldwide. Also, who really craves an ice-cold frozen tropical treat when the temps are below freezing? For those dreaming of a bright, fruit-driven, cold-weather-themed cocktail in the winter, here are some local libation from some of Boulder County’s most talented and creative bartenders.

DEKI Spirits

Lafayette

DEKI Spirits in Lafayette is a small family-owned distillery that takes its seasonal drinks to a whole other level. With almost 60 cocktails on its standard drink list and another rotating seasonal list with another 10 to 20 creative concoctions, there is something for even the pickiest cocktail connoisseur. The folks at DEKI deal in small-batch, artfully crafted and infused vodkas, gin, and rum and feature a corn-heavy and rich bourbon for those who take the brown stuff neat. They also have liqueurs to choose from, including coffee liqueur and amaretto, for those who need a little pick-me-up in their coffee. On a recent visit, they were featuring both their fall and winter seasonal cocktails, and I couldn’t resist trying the Flavors of Fall, featuring bourbon, apple, maple, and real pumpkin puree. The result was a bold and bright cocktail with a slick mouthfeel due to the addition of pumpkin. In addition to this seasonal recipe, check out their website at DekiSpirits.com for a plethora of recipes featuring their own spirit creations. Or come into the tasting room and ask their head bartender, Liliana, to whip you up something special.

Spirits’ Flavors of Fall

• 1.5oz Spirits Bourbon
• 0.5oz house-made apple syrup
• 0.5oz maple syrup
• 0.75oz pumpkin puree
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice and strain over ice into tumbler. Garnish with dried apple slice.

West Side Tavern

Longmont

Along with creative, yet comforting, gastropub fare, West Side Tavern has a liquor selection that will make your head spin. Even though the shelves behind the bar are inching close to the ceiling and filled with bottles neck-to-neck (The bartenders need to keep a stepladder close at hand.), the whiskey selection is kept in a curio, and liquor shelves wrap around the corner of the dining room due to a lack of space in this cozy environment. Whiskey lovers need to especially take note: Expect to find rare offerings that you won’t find anywhere else in the vicinity. You’d even be hard-pressed to find some of their selections anywhere else in Colorado. Unafraid of unusual combinations and bold flavors, the creative bar team changes up the seasonal cocktail menu often. Created by bartender, Caitlyn, the Golden Delicious marries the sweetness of apple, the smokiness of mezcal, and the aromatic herbal qualities of Chartreuse. A flamed sage leaf garnish helps ward off the evil spirit of Old Man Winter.

West Side Tavern’s Golden Delicious

• 1.5oz apple cider
• 1.5oz tequila blanco
• 0.25oz mezcal
• 0.5oz lemon juice

Community Supper Club

Lafayette

Remember the bowl of shelled nuts your grandmother would have on the kitchen table alongside the classic, red-jacketed nutcracker around the winter holidays? If you were lucky, you’d get a few minuscule bites out of a walnut or Brazil nut — that shell was thicker than combat armor — before either shooting a shelled projectile into oblivion or pinching a finger. The Community Supper Club’s Clockwork Orange, created by bar manager Danny, balances the richness of pistachios with smoky mezcal and bright citrus. Perfect for the nut lover who doesn’t want to risk a nutcracker accident or clean up a pile of pistachio shells. Danny makes his own pistachio orgeat, a nut syrup traditionally made with almonds and featured in classic tiki cocktails like the mai tai. The result is both blissful and inventive, sweet and salty. The addition of a toasted pistachio rim intensifies the cocktail’s satisfying savory characteristics. The team at Lafayette’s Community Supper Club balances a neighborhood atmosphere with a refined and creative menu and bar program. Expect to find plenty of local offerings on both the constantly rotating beverage and food menus.

Community Supper Club’s Clockwork Orange

• 1.5oz 400 Conejos Espadín Mezcal
• 0.5oz lemon juice
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• 1.5oz house-made pistachio orgeat (Blend 2 cups raw shelled pistachios with 1 ¼ cups warm water and 1 ½ cups sugar until very smooth. Make sure you use a powerful blender like a Vitamix for best results. Any type of store-bought orgeat works also.)
• Rim coupe glass with crushed toasted pistachios. Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice and strain into glass.

The Greenbriar Inn

North Boulder

The deep and rich history is evident as soon as you walk into The Greenbriar Inn. The original bar was once a general store and post office for the town of Altona almost 150 years ago. What ultimately became the North Boulder countryside made a great setting for budding restaurateurs in the late 1960s. The restaurant concept has changed over the years, but the beauty of the grounds at the base of the Foothills has only gotten more charming over time. With a current focus on classic American cuisine and an award-winning wine list, the bar program at The Greenbriar Inn also utilizes the bounty of produce and herbs from its 7,000 square feet of on-site gardens in season — it was farm-to-table before it was even a thing to toot your own horn about. Some of the spirits are even house-infused from the Greenbriar’s own grown ingredients. Bartender Misty does double duty as gardener when the season is plentiful. Her Blood Orange-Cinnamon Daiquiri blends the flavors of vivid winter citrus with the warmth of spicy cinnamon.

The Greenbriar Inn’s Blood Orange-Cinnamon Daiquiri

• 2oz Mile High Spirit’s Peg Leg White Rum
• 0.5oz cinnamon-infused simple syrup (preferably Ceylon cinnamon)
• Fresh-squeezed juice of 1 blood orange
• Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice and strain into coupe glass. Garnish with blood orange wheel and cinnamon stick.

William Oliver’s

Lafayette

Whiskey purists unite! William Oliver’s list of whiskeys is awfully impressive, if not overwhelming. The classic pub fare is focused on flavor and meant to go along with an all-Colorado beer list or the whiskey of your choice. The whiskey list is priced at one-ounce pours, but they also offer half-ounce pours if you want to make your own flight. Beverage director Josh, who oversees all three locations — pubs in Fort Collins and Windsor as well — suggests the classic Hot Toddy. “Think traditional winter spices, top-notch spirits, and those extra soothing touches that make you sigh with contentment,” says Josh. All brightened up by a fresh lemon squeeze. Don’t miss the Pint-O-Bacon appetizer, a simple presentation of five slices of thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon with maple syrup for dipping. And don’t be afraid to dip straight into your whiskey.

Willam Oliver’s
Whiskey Hot Toddy

• 1.5oz top-shelf whiskey of your choosing (I recommend local favorite A.D. Laws Four Grain Bourbon)
• 0.5oz honey clove infused simple syrup
• Squeeze of fresh lemon wedge
• Add whiskey and simple syrup to the bottom of a short mug. Top with hot water and lemon squeeze to taste.