These Restaurants Are Serving Craft Cocktails to Go

It's official — there's a silver lining for restaurants to the massive shutdown and underlining fear of the coronavirus: Eateries can sell cocktails to go. We're not talking a bottle of booze or a six-pack of beer, though you can easily get those, too. Instead, top-notch bars and restaurants are mixing up their spirits to send you home with tasty tipples in easy-to-pour batches. Plan a "night out" and indulge in one of these specials: Not only do you get a good drink for the virtual happy hour, but you help support an industry hit hard by restaurant shutdowns.

American Elm
4132 West 38th Avenue
720-749-3186
With a list of more than thirty drinks to choose from, you can bet the bartenders at this Berkeley restaurant are busy whipping up cocktails to go. Pick from the lemon-tinged Juicy J or the strawberry-laced Anything for Selenas, for example. Soon, says bar manager Jesse Torres, you'll also be able to order large-format batched cocktails, which will serve about six. Not only that, but guests can get cans of beer and any bottle off the wine list and weekly meals that provide food for several days. Order online for pick-up or delivery daily, starting at 4 p.m.

Bar Helix
3440 Larimer Street
720-449-8587
Although the final list and details have yet to be determined, Bar Helix owner Kendra Anderson says she is ready to start selling her delicious drinks to go beginning Friday, March 27. Think the Bar Helix Negroni, Starf*cker Negroni, a classic Negroni, the bourbon-laced Boulevardier and a Smoke and Mirrors, a Negroni made with mezcal instead of gin. Anderson also wants to provide kits to make martinis, Aperol spritzes and margaritas at home. The idea, she says, is to sell these cocktails on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from noon until 6 p.m. Each batch of cocktails will cost around $90 and serves six to eight people. Call ahead to make your order and check the Bar Helix Facebook page for updates.

Barolo Grill
3030 East Sixth Avenue
303-393-1040
The bartenders at this Cherry Creek mainstay are pouring to-go containers of cocktails, including batched drinks such as the When Life Gives You Lemons, a two-person kit with Malfy Limone gin, Fever Tree Indian tonic, tarragon, lemon and peppercorn; or the four-person spritz kit with Aperol, orange slices and prosecco, along with single-serving Boulevardiers and other classics. Order online and then hunker down with a bowl of wild boar and barley soup, housemade mushroom tagliatelle and fresh rosemary foccacia; then pour your favorite wine or one of these drinks and call it a good night. Order online for curbside pick-up Tuesday through Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.; prices start at $8 for a single cocktail and up to $32 for a kit.

Chow Morso
1500 Wynkoop Street
720-639-4089
Monday through Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m., fans of Ryan Fletter's Italian joint can order online cocktails for curbside pick-up along with to-go containers of lasagna and pasta Bolognese. On the drink side, choose from the osteria's barrel-aged cocktails, such as the signature martini, the Rye High Plane (a take on the Paper Plane drink made with Aperol, Amaro Nonino), and High West Double Rye and lemon. Also try the aged Morso Martini, made with Purus Organic Italian Vodka that's undergone an olive-oil fat wash, so the vodka picks up the flavor without the oil. Once you're settled in back at home, pour over ice or shake for a cold, smooth cocktail.

Family Jones Spirit House
3245 Osage Street
303-481-8185
For $45 take home a specialty mixer and a 750-ml bottle of Jones house gin or vodka, perfect for making a dozen cocktails or a hearty punch at home. Expect drinks such as Passion Punch, with lime, passion fruit, simple syrup and bitters; Emperor Lemonade, with lemon, ginger simple syrup and chai tea; and Springs Garden, with grapefruit juice, bitter lemon simple syrup, and pink peppercorn dust. There's the $36 Automatic Jones, too, a ready-to-pour Rock and Rye cocktail in a 750-ml bottle. Also pick up an extra bottle of the rum, bourbon, rye and other spirits and get a $10 gift card for when the distillery-restaurant reopens its dining room. As a bonus, 50 percent of the proceeds are going to a fund to help the employees of Family Jones. Pick up the booze from noon to 8 p.m. daily.

Il Posto
2601 Larimer Street
303-394-0100
ilpostodenver.com
Who doesn't need canned, bubbly Boulevardiers in their isolated lives? At Il Posto, you can pick up a single for $8 or a whole six-pack for $29. In each 12-ounce can, there's a nice balance of Buffalo Trace bourbon, Cinzano sweet vermouth and Antica bitters. It travels well and can be thrown in the fridge to chill it down before pouring on ice. Plus, this drink tastes great with the grab-and-go bites coming out of this RiNo Italian joint, such as mushroom risotto and chicken Milanese. Order from the takeout menu by calling the restaurant's number.



Mizu Izakaya and Bar Ginza
1560 Boulder Street
720-372-7100
Mizu is packing up sushi and cocktails to go, a combination perfect for a faux date night, celebration or just a treat for dealing with life. Bar manager TJ Vong will make just about any drink you want, even things not on his already detailed menu. A big hit right now, he says, is the Big Ass Margarita, which comes in a one-liter bottle. Vong is using sanitized recycled bottles from the bar to send these creations out, which you can order for curbside pick-up or delivery. Guests can also get a mocktail mix to take home, which runs about $10 for two to three servings. Boozy beverages ring in between $50 and $80, depending on what you want and the size of the bottle. Vong also says he is working on a two- to four-person Omakase Special that will be paired with your order and include cocktails, beers and a 300ml bottle of sake. And if you want to really dive into the bar's sake list, book an online tutorial with Jerrica Ash, the resident sake expert. Check out Mizu's Facebook page for updates.
 
The Post Brewing Co.
Multiple locations
postbrewing.com
All locations of the Post are offering "pitchers" of margaritas to take home. Don't worry, they're travel-safe, since the coin margarita batch comes in a Crowler. When you get it home, simply shake well, pop the top and pour over ice. Your order comes with limes and salt for the rim as well, and costs $30. Call for curbside pick-up from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily. While you're there, get one of the family packs of fried chicken with all the fixings.

Restaurant Olivia
209 South Downing Street
303-880-9728
Order the silky French onion bisque, a plate of housemade spaghetti pomodoro and a bottle of wine or one of the tasty Italian-style cocktails from this Washington Park-adjacent eatery. Choose from 8 ounces for $15, 14 ounces for $25 or the big 32-ounce jar for $65. Options range from the Family Jones gin Negroni to strawberry margaritas to the house Old Fashioned, made with Elijah Craig small-batch bourbon and brown sugar. There's also an Aperol Spritz kit for $30 that includes blood-orange Aperol, amaro and a bottle of prosecco. Place your order ahead, and if you opt to add a $10 donation, the staff at Olivia will provide a pasta kit for four to be given to a family in need.

Run for the Roses
1800 Wazee Street
720-360-4733
Restaurants on the Dairy Block are offering a wide variety of food and dessert services you can pick up or have delivered, and then there are the large-format cocktails from Run for the Roses that are big enough for five people. They include the elegant Vieux Carre, a dry martini, a Paloma and the appropriately named This Sh*t Is Bananas. Since you're required to order food with boozy takeout orders, the bar's delicious breakfast sandwich or side of deviled eggs are available, so you'll feel like you're sitting at the bar while you enjoy drinks and snacks at home. Prices range from $88 to $120, and all sales go to paying the staff.

Spuntino Restaurant
 2639 West 32nd Avenue
303-433-0949
Wine and cocktails and a side of amaro can all be ordered to go at this Highland eatery. With a list of over 100 bottles of wine discounted 20 to 40 percent and a menu of five cocktails such as the Spritz, the Bourbonator and the Rocky Mountain Rye, the only downside is not being able to enjoy it in Spuntino's lovely dining room. As always, co-owner Elliot Strathmann will be on hand to answer any questions customers have about the offerings. Spuntino asks that you call ahead to order food and drinks.