Best Bartender 2016 | Chris Clewell | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Bartender

Chris Clewell

Acorn serves some of the best food in Denver. But across from the bustling kitchen is Chris Clewell, shaking up some of Denver's best cocktails behind the bar. Clewell has always been relentless in his pursuit of excellence — a challenging goal in a restaurant with meticulously high standards. But his dedication is paying off: His recipes started showing up on Acorn's cocktail menu, and he now helps to run the bar program there. Clewell seemed to be everywhere in 2015 — participating in local and national cocktail competitions, bartending events and any educational opportunity that could further his knowledge of his craft. But his talents go way beyond mere technique: Sitting at his bar, you're as charmed by his humility and empathy as you are delighted by his drinks.

Readers' choice: Brittany Wangsness

Best Bar Neighborhood

Upper Larimer Street

Larimer Square, once considered an unsafe part of town, was slowly gentrified into the downtown core's most glamorous block. But the glitz of the resulting restaurants and retail spaces has slowly spread northward twenty blocks, peppering Larimer Street with places to eat and drink. Work & Class, Cart-Driver and Los Chingones were the pioneers that first broke dirt at 25th Street, and that movement took over every block up to 35th, where Hop Alley and Metroboom are surrounded by fresh construction sites, promising even more watering holes. In between are a winery, two breweries, and a handful of Denver's hottest restaurants, including the Populist, Bar Fausto and Finn's Manor. Side streets include two cideries, more breweries, and even more bars and restaurants, making this part of town an easy night of bar-hopping and boozing — all within walking distance of each other.

Best New Cocktail

Linger

Shawn Campbell

Ky Belk is a man with his eyes on what the world is drinking. As bar manager at Linger, he's charged with synching his bar program with the kitchen's ambitiously diverse, globally inspired menu. He does that by creating drink recipes that represent every corner of the world, from sangrias to Scotch punches. Belk even offers global twists on classics, such as the Thai Old Fashioned, with peanut-infused whiskey, tamarind and bitters. But while noticing the rise of gin bars in Spain, Belk was quick to design his own Spanish-style gin and tonic, which captures the botanical essence of gin. He stuffs a large wine glass with thyme, juniper berries and grapefruit bitters, relying on the tapered sides of the glass to capture those aromas. After adding ice, he pours in gin and grapefruit juice, topping it with an herbaceous, fizzy tonic water from Spain. It's delicious and refreshing, and pretty, too: When people see one from across the dining room, they order the Spanish Gin-Tonic in droves.

Best New Spirit

Leopold Bros.

Distiller Todd Leopold hit the bull's-eye last summer — yet again — with his version of a bitter Italian liqueur that he named, simply, Aperitivo. The 22nd spirit in the Leopold Bros. lineup is an astringent, scarlet-hued aperitif that finds a rightful place on back bars next to Campari and Aperol, its cousins by nature. Aperitivo's base spirit is vodka, which Leopold re-distills in two separate batches — one with grapefruit peel, the other with coriander, saving only the best parts of each of those distillations. In a mixing tank, the grapefruit and coriander distillates are blended, then allowed to macerate for two to three weeks with cane sugar and a blend of botanicals: hyssop, petite wormwood, gentian root, vanilla and sarsaparilla root. The result is an earthy, floral and slightly bitter spirit that is perfect in a Negroni (or its whiskey variation, the Boulevardier) — or simply on the rocks. Notes Leopold, "There's a floral overlay, with the grapefruit dancing above it."

Best New Cocktail Trend

Tea and Coffee

In 2015, tea started showing up on a lot of cocktail menus in Denver. This trend was helped along by the rise of punches, which must, according to the traditional recipe, contain some form of tea. From Kyle West's cocktails at Metroboom to the punch service at Golden Moon Distillery, the Black Tea Old Fashioned at the Arvada Tavern and the slew of tea-based concoctions at Union Lodge No.1, bartenders have proved that tea is strong enough to stand up to spirits — and that it brings a lot of flavor, as well. Coffee also percolated its way into cocktail recipes, most likely due to the rise of coffee shops that added booze to their offerings. Drinks like the Superhero at Carbon Beverage Cafe, Amethyst Coffee's No Sleep Till Denver and Black Eye Coffee's series of boozy pour-overs proved that coffee isn't just for breakfast anymore.

Best Coffee Cocktail

Corvus

With changing seasons come changing coffee cocktails, which means a stop by Corvus for its seasonal "coffee cocktail" menu. You'll find refreshing drinks like the grapefruit cold-brew julep, a collaboration from the talented team of Corvus baristas. And while the shop has traditional coffee and espresso dialed in, the roasters take a much more creative approach with the cocktail-inspired line of coffee. Many of the drinks are served shaken and cold, but a few, like the Alpine Retreat (applewood-smoked cascara, housemade rosemary simple syrup and a twist of lemon), are perfect on a cold day. The booze-less cocktails change seasonally, so make it a habit to try them all before they're gone.

Best New Tea Spot

Platform T

Somewhere between a coffee clutch and fancy high tea sits the world of Denver-based Platform T, which turns the coffee-shop idea on its head by serving up piping hot or even ice-cold cups of tea, coffee's fancy cousin from the city. The T shops are homey and artistic — the Baker stop made creative use of the former science store it inhabits — and serve a colorful variety of teas, from bagged to loose leaf, along with good ol' joe and wine and spirits. Give yourself over to the relaxing scents of this leafy respite.

Best New Coffeehouse

Black Eye Cap Hill

Many coffee shops opened their doors in 2015, but Black Eye Cap Hill is decidedly different, thanks to the atmosphere, the scene and, of course, the coffee. Enter the shop and be transported back in time, to a place laced with subtle attention to detail. Conveniently open about twenty hours a day, Black Eye makes it possible to get your fix — for coffee, food or booze — at nearly any hour. The beans here are roasted in-house; be sure to try one of the shop's pour-overs (with alcohol or not).

Readers' choice: Black Eye Cap Hill

Best Neighborhood Coffee Shop

Whittier Cafe

Courtesy Whittier Cafe Facebook

From weekly Ethiopian coffee ceremonies to its calendar of eclectic community events, there's no place quite like Whittier Cafe. An expansive lineup of fresh-roasted coffees, along with teas, ice cream and sandwich options, all come out of the small but mighty kitchen at this neighborhood hangout. More than a coffee shop, Whittier Cafe is a true gathering place, hosting chili cook-offs, art shows, fresh-baked-cookie exchanges and story hours throughout the year. While the space inside is quaint and inviting, it's the outdoor experience that really takes the cake: Whittier's massive patio offers plenty of room for all to enjoy Colorado's famous sunny days.

Best Coffeehouse for Getting Work Done

Rooster & Moon

There are plenty of coffee joints in this town that sling your favorite cup of joe and provide a clean table to work on and a hot wi-fi connection, but too many of them have either been absorbed by corporate entities pushing their gift cards and branded CDs, or overrun by harried college students taking over every table and laptop plug-in. Rooster & Moon seems to sidestep those elements, despite its proximity to downtown workers and the Auraria campus. Fair-trade coffee, delicious made-to-order bites and even a full bar for when those spreadsheets threaten to spread your brain too thin are available here, with plenty of room for you and a study buddy to work, gossip and fill up.

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