Tatarian Will Pour Tree-Themed Cocktails Starting Tuesday on Tennyson

Christmas comes late this year on Berkeley’s Tennyson Street, where a highly specialized cocktail bar run by highly regarded Denver bar operators is opening Tuesday, December 26. Tatarian, the latest by the owners of cocktail bars Union Lodge No. 1 and Arvada Tavern, will feature tree-themed drinks made with spices, roots, and herbs from around the world. The bar’s name comes from a variety of maple tree that has shaded this corner of Northwest Denver for over a century.

On first thought, it’s an odd twist for a neighborhood bar. But husband-and-wife owners Mike Huggins and Lenka Juchelkova have already brought back the tiki night at their beloved Arvada Tavern, and, at Union Lodge No. 1, they’ve successfully worked to reintroduce historical cocktail relics. (On New Year’s Eve, Union Lodge’s managing partner Jason Patz will debut a more obscure throwback drinks menu.) For Tatarian, Huggins and Juchelkova have tapped Tavern alumnus Josh Sevy as bar manager. Sevy describes Tatarian’s upcoming beverage program as “adventurous,” “earthy,” and “vegetative.”

“I am actually finding a lot more inspiration in cookbooks rather than from cocktail bars, and by discovering interesting and new flavor profiles from chefs,” Sevy says. Drink names include Methuselah — the ancient bristlecone pine in California — and Arbol del Tule, which is a Montezuma cypress growing in a churchyard in Oaxaca (See Tequila and Mezcal old fashioned?). No word yet on any food accompaniments in the 900-square-foot space. If bark and leaves are on the menu at 4024 Tennyson Street, they will also be worth an order.

Courtesy Tatarian

Courtesy Tatarian

Courtesy Tatarian

• Arvada Tavern and Union Lodge 1 Owners Unveil Tatarian [EDEN]
• Denver’s 10 Best Neighborhood Bars for the Holidays [EDEN]
• Barman Jason Patz Joins Union Lodge 1 as Managing Partner [EDEN]