Sixteen Bars and Restaurants for Whiskey Lovers

It's well known that Coloradans love beer, and it’s not uncommon to walk into spot with dozens of craft brews on tap, but recently, more local restaurants and bars are stocking an impressive selection of whiskey. These sixteen metro area establishments, listed in alphabetical order, are doing something special with the whiskey drinking experience, offering hundreds of options, rare and unique bottles or flights to help guests discover a new favorite.

Bluegrass Coffee and Bourbon Lounge
7415 Grandview Avenue, Arvada
720-476-3950
By day, this Old Town Arvada spot roasts and serves coffee, but at night, it’s all about the bourbon. A wide variety of Colorado distilleries are featured on the menu, such as Copper Sky Distillery, the Heart Distillery, Branch and Barrel Distilling and Mythology Distillery. You can order flights as well as signature and seasonal cocktails like the Bourbon Smash, which is made with fresh lemon and mint, housemade simple syrup and soda water. Along with bourbon, appetizers, pizzas and oven-toasted subs are available once the lounge switches from coffee to booze.
Bookmakers Bar & Grill
25791 East Smoky Hill Road, Aurora
303-353-8298
This is a hot spot for both sports and whiskey, with options that range from Colorado spirits to Kentucky classics. You can design your own flight, or opt for a Bourbon cocktail like the Black Maple Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Kentucky Mule or New York Sour. While you sip, you can catch a game on any of the eight sixty-inch televisions; during football season, Bookmakers plays every live game Thursday through Monday.

Bull & Bush
4700 Cherry Creek South Drive
303-759-0333
This fifty-year-old brewery may be best known for its beers, but it's also home to a huge selection of whiskeys. Sample several by ordering a flight for $20, which includes three one-ounce pours from a range of options that include bourbon, Irish whiskey, single-malt Scotch and more. There are plenty of food options to help you soak up the booze, too, including a prime rib special on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and one of its signature dishes, Colorado-style mashed potatoes topped with green chile.

The Burns Pub & Restaurant
9009 Metro Airport Avenue, Broomfield
303-469-3900
Located in the Hilltop Inn, the Burns Pub has over 500 whiskeys that highlight various regions across the globe. There’s a section featuring local distillers, too, with options from 291 Colorado Whiskey, Axe and the Oak Distillery, Breckenridge Distillery, Bear Creek Distillery and more. The food menu is filled with classic pub-style dishes like beer-battered cod and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie and Scotch eggs, all of which pair well with dark booze.

Churchhill Bar
321 17th Street
303-312-8944
This full-service cigar lounge has a customized humidor along with a long list of small-batch bourbons and whiskey. Located within the historic Brown Palace hotel, it also boasts limited-release, rare and highly unique selections. Dozens of whiskeys, some upwards of $450 a pour, are best enjoyed neat or over a large ice cube. Looking for a bourbon-based cocktail? Opt for the Grand Manhattan made with Woodford Reserve, sweet vermouth and barrel-aged cherry bitters.
Finn’s Manor
2927 Larimer Street
Of the 800-plus spirits available at Finn’s Manor, 400 are whiskeys. You can sip them straight or in cocktails like the Finn’s Old Fashioned, made with Angel’s Envy Bourbon and Delord Napoleon Armagnac along with bitters, syrup and an orange twist. For a sweet whiskey cocktail, the Nutella Favela combines Laws' rye whiskey with other spirits and nut bitters. There’s also a long list of beers on tap and a large outdoor patio.
The High Lonesome
3360 Navajo Street
720-287-4324
This low-key neighborhood bar has beer, cocktails and pool along with a solid whiskey selection. The spot launched in 2016 and has dozens of bourbons, whiskeys, rye whiskeys and Japanese whisky, plus a handful of options from Colorado distilleries like Leopold Brothers, Mythology, Peach Street Distillers and the Family Jones.

Prohibition
504 East Colfax Avenue
303-832-4840
Located in Capitol Hill, this 1920s-inspired bar has an impressive whiskey menu. Its house barrel-aged take on an Old Fashioned is dubbed the Breaking Bad, while the Whiskey Thyme is a mix of bourbon, thyme tea, lemon juice and agave. Prohibition was also featured on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for its hearty gastropub grub like mac and cheese with short ribs, chicken pot pie, burgers and a pastrami sandwich on a pretzel roll with housemade mustard.  School House Kitchen and Libations
5660 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada
720-639-4213
More than 1,000 whiskeys are available at this Arvada spot housed in a revamped 1882 schoolhouse. The large variety is available by the pour and in several flights organized by origin — Kentucky, Canadian and Irish, for example. The whiskey can also be found in cocktails like the Headmaster’s Manhattan, Teacher’s Helper, Bus Stop Boulevardier and a Breakfast Olde Fashioned with bourbon, Kona Coffee, cocoa and Angostura bitters.

Seven Grand Whiskey Bar
1855 Blake Street
720-863-8975
Located within the Dairy Block in LoDo, Seven Grand is home to more than 700 whiskeys and counting. Options are divided into eight sections: Canadian; Colorado; Irish; Japanese; Bourbon; Rye and American; Scotch; and International, which includes Germany, France, Taiwan, Sweden and more. The Mahogany Room is an intimate backroom bar within Seven Grand that offers a selection of rare and unique bottles and hosts tastings from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday evenings.  Society Sports and Spirits
1434 Blake Street
720-517-7303
This neighborhood bar just happens to house one of the largest selections of Colorado whiskeys in the metro area. It's also a great spot for catching a game, thanks to a plethora of televisions displaying a variety of match-ups. Nachos, Buffalo wings and burgers complete the whiskey and sports viewing experience. 

The Whiskey Biscuit
3299 South Broadway, Englewood
303-386-3334
The Whiskey Biscuit offers a large selection of spirits, including rare and allocated whiskeys. Local whiskey from Distillery 291, Breckenridge Distillery and Bear Creek Distillery are highlighted as well, alongside a hearty food menu that includes all-day breakfast and hearty items like burgers, Cajun shrimp tacos, a fried green tomato BLT, jalapeño popper dip and green chile fries.

Wild Corgi Pub
1223 East 13th Avenue
303-832-7636
In 2018, this bar named for one of the country's most popular dog breeds took over the former Marion Street Tavern. It has a large whiskey menu along with food items like cauliflower wings, totchos (tater tots made into nachos), sandwiches, burgers and plenty of whiskey-friendly desserts like cinnamon churros, caramel fudge cheesecake and fried Oreos. Besides discovering a new whiskey like Sagamore Barley Wine Cask Finish or Howler Head Banana Whiskey, there’s trivia, darts, Texas Hold ’Em, and happy hour specials on food and drinks.  William Oliver’s Publick House
201 North Public Road, Lafayette
720-509-9537
For those north of Denver, William OIiver's, which also has locations in Windsor and Fort Collins, features more than 400 whiskeys and an eclectic food menu with a lot of bacon-centric dishes. While its whiskey come from all over the world, including Israel, Japan, India, Mexico and France, Colorado distillers are behind many of its other spirits, and all of its beers are from local brewers. Flights are the best way to explore the options here, and they are available in a variety of categories like whiskey 101, bourbon, Scotch and rye.

Whiskey Bar
2203 Larimer Street
303-297-0303
This bar's website includes its "current whiskey count," which was at 635 on August 14. This long list of options is grouped by type (single-malt, rye, bourbon and blended) and origin (various regions of Scotland, Kentucky, Japan, Ireland, Canada and Colorado). The bar, where you can also play a game of pool or foosball, occupies the first floor of the former Burlington Hotel, which has a rich history that dates back to 1890.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
2907 Huron Street
303-226-1540
More than ninety whiskeys are divided by sections at this bar and restaurant near Coors Field that also boasts a rooftop patio. In addition to highlighting rye, Irish and Canadian whisky, there's a section specifically for Colorado whiskey featuring Axe and the Oak Distillery, Laws Whiskey House, Peach Street Distillers, Taluna, Downslope and more. Various whiskey flights are available, such as the Mile High Flight or the Scottish Cycle Tour, along with barrel-aged cocktails. The whiskey pairs with WTF's comfort food, including fried chicken, shrimp and grits and Buffalo cauliflower.