To celebrate Cocktail Week, Eater teamed up with some of our favorite bars around town and asked them to create special drinks. While last year we reached out to no less than twenty watering holes for special drinks, this time we chose only five to feature specially crafted Eater Cocktail Week drinks. The five bartenders who created the drinks are all women and each of them chose one or more Colorado spirits to mix in their beverages. They are not only offering these cocktails at their bars all week, but they also shared the recipes so you can make them yourself.
In the last three days, Allison Widdecombe of Williams & Graham shared Leo's Revenge, Amy Kempster of Colt & Gray the Maeby, and Kyla Ostler the Tartan Spritzer, and now Regan Horacek of ACE serves up the Press & Cask. Before the recipe, we encourage you to go to Williams & Graham, Colt & Gray, the Kitchen, and ACE for those drinks. And while you are out, try the other special Eater cocktail of the week: the Vice President from bartender Alex Parks of Acorn.
Regan Horacek got acquainted with working in restaurants at the young age of 14. Tending bar was something she started in college and she never looked back. The Syracuse, New York native who received a degree in Hospitality Management from Syracuse University arrived in Denver in the summer of 2012 and she is here to stay. Because it is fall and boozy cocktails are fitting, Regan put a twist on a Manhattan with coffee liqueur. The drink features Leopold's Maryland Rye because of its earthy spice and a French Press for its rich flavor but also dryness.
Press & Cask
2oz Leopold Maryland Rye Whiskey
.5 oz Leopold French Press Coffee Liquor
.5 oz Averna Amaro
4 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Hibiki 12 year Whiskey rinse
Rinse a double old fashioned glass with Hibiki. Stir all ingredients and strain over a large ice cube. Garnish with a lemon swath.
· Tartan Spritzer From Kyla Ostler of the Kitchen [EDen]
· Maeby From Amy Kempster of Colt & Gray [EDen]
· Leo's Revenge From Allison Widdecombe of Williams & Graham [EDen]
· The Cocktail Heatmap: A Guide to Where to Drink Now [EDen]
· Lucinda Sterling on Transcontinental Bartending, Scrutiny Behind The Bar, [EDen]
· All Cocktail Week 2013 Coverage [EDen]