As we round out another year , it ’s safe to say that Denver ’s cocktail scene has never been stronger . While we ’ve been major players in the beer plot for decades , we ’ve finally solidified ourselves as a well - round drinking metropolis . postulate evidence ? Pop into one of the scads of cocktail - driven joint that have open up in the last twelvemonth or so . Behind a enceinte bar , however , is a passionate , driven individual who balances noesis and craft with hospitality and accessibility . Anyone can make a Negroni ; it take a professional person to subdue it . So allow us raise a glass and observe Denver ’s top ' tenders of 2016 .
Haylee Ortiz
Mister Tuna
Like many on this lean , Haylee Ortiz has deep experience in the Denver bar scene . A current plug-in member of the Colorado Bartenders ' Guild , Ortiz has racked up laurels for her piece of work behind the streak at some of the area ’s finest establishment , admit OAK at Fourteenth , Session Kitchen , and Baur ’s . At the latter two , she dish as bar coach . These day , you could discover Ortiz at Mister Tuna , Troy Guard ’s latest and majuscule restaurant and bar . Not only does the cocktail menu at the Hawaiian - regulate construct challenge and excite , it emphasizes armed service . And Ortiz plays her part , as exemplify in her “ black script , ” where she keeps guests ’ favored drinks for comeback reference .
When did you start bartending?
Haylee Ortiz : I started as a host and have always been ghost with the flavors , textures , and subtlety of a groovy streak program . I tried to move into bartending several times before I end up in a flooring management situation , and then segued into kitchen direction . I really loved that – I chance a recession cookery and heart and soul press cutting but I missed direct guest fundamental interaction and felt the pull to be back out front . Bartending is a good marriage of both . I still manage , consult , and have a go at it to cook , but I do n’t think I could ever stop being a barkeep .
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Ortiz : My guests and my team . It ’s almost unjust to call bartending a " job . " It ’s too much playfulness ! I love taking care of people , sharing part of myself and share my drink knowledge . It ’s my passion .
What’s your favorite drink to mix up?
Ortiz : Ha ! What ’s your favorite drink to drink in ? That ’s my favored drinking to make .
It’s your last meal. What are you drinking?
Ortiz : I hope I ’m eat moose steak in a logarithm cabin , in a red-hot tub while sipping some unicorn Scotch from a feeding bottle cover in rubble with friends in a blizzard with a great roaring fire lead . Or maybe we are sitting in a obsessed subroutine library and that scene fromGhostbustersis happening ( the Scotch part does n’t change though ) .
Merlin Mitchell
Green Russell
To call Merlin Mitchell a wizard is no understatement . in the beginning from Tallahassee , Florida , Mitchell advert the University of North Carolina at Charlotte , where he earn his mechanically skillful engineering degree and occupy up bartending . Since relocate to Denver in 2014 , he has work at precisely one positioning – the Green Russell , Frank Bonanno ’s chef - driven bar in Larimer Square . After nearly two class behind the bar there , Mitchell took over as saloon coach in August . Since then , he has carry the proverbial torch of the reputable speakeasy . Need grounds ? Pop in for a taste of the lately update surrender computer menu and have Mitchell and his team point you in the direction of your unexampled favored cocktail .
Merlin Mitchell : After finish up engineering schooling . I was unemployed and drinking at my local pub ( bid Sanctuary ) and they had me doing jack of all trades maintenance around the place . That led to barbacking and after about two years of that I transitioned to bartending . So ultimately I got into it by accident .
Mitchell : Having the opportunity to change someone ’s mind about a disembodied spirit or what ’s potential behind the saloon .
Green Russell|Ryan Fitzgerald
Margaret Mitchell : A Mai Tai . They ’re delicious , beautiful , and have enough history to allow me to gratify my privileged geek .
Mitchell : senior rhum from Martinique .
Jack Bethel
The Nickel
Although he pass one-half of this year managing the saloon programme at Downtown ’s Squeaky Bean – which has racked up accolades for its cocktail program – Jack Bethel presently works at as the assistant food and beverage procedure manager for the Hotel Teatro and adjoining Nickel eating place . And while many Edgar Albert Guest became intimate with Bethel ’s endlessly creative mind and gregarious inclination while sit down in a barstool at the Bean , his next step makes complete sense . At the core of his philosophy he believes that there is “ a potable for every temperament , ” and he fearlessly top his Teatro team to excel in all thing hospitality . While Bethel ’s concoctions have always employ the most clipping - edge of culinary techniques and fluid sciences , his accent on the last product include stripping away all pretense and presenting an reachable – and delightful – potable for your intake .
Jack Bethel : In college . I want some fast hard cash , and the local nosedive ask a pair of hand . We did n’t have pour spout or pony , and I do n’t think anybody ( include myself ) had ever find out of Angostura . We catapult domestic beers , and a heck of a lot of Black Velvet and Kessler ’s .
Bethel : The feeling of face over a clear and empty restaurant at the end of the nighttime , and knowing that we made people happy . I move around the light off and model there in the perfect silence for a minute .
Courtesy of Haylee Ortiz
Bethel : The one the guest enjoys best . I like fun tone and unexpected combinations , but that does n’t intend my node always does . I also like crude temper , so anytime we can work that in , it ’s a plus .
Bethel : It ’s my last repast ? Dang , where did I screw up ? I guess I ’ll have a Smith & Cross daiquiri . And a High Life . And a chicken feed of amontillado . Is that cheating ?
Chad Michael George
The Way Back
Chad Michael George is no stranger to the Denver bar scenery , or to laurels . George has work in the industry for more than 17 years , and cut off his teeth in town at the fabled Williams & Graham . This year , however , has arguably been his biggest year to particular date , between the opening of his own bar and his mention as one ofFood & Wine ’s “ Best New Mixologists . ” Inarguably one of Denver ’s preeminent talents , George ’s acquirement and passion is manifested in The Way Back , his stylish , sexy streak and restaurant that open in March . The Highland haunt , which is co - owned by Kade Gianinetti ( of Method Coffee Roasters ) and Jared Schwartz ( of American Grind food truck ) , epitomize the Denver food and beverage scene as of late . Much like George himself , The Way Back pay faithful attending to cordial reception . Or in other words , the little thing that make going out enjoyable in the first post .
Chad Michael George : I was the adjunct GM & wine director at a endearing place in St. Louis called Monarch . Our bar manager , Ted Kilgore , is someone I often liken to the encyclopaedic David Wondrich when it comes to spirits and cocktail history and yield . I became obsessed with absorbing as much cognition as he could bestow on me . I had bartended in the past times , but this was a whole new level .
George : Giving someone an experience they ’ll never forget . My business is to give each someone the experience they ’re looking for . When guests leave The Way Back , there ’s no not bad compliment than the actual agitation and happiness I get to see on our invitee ' faces nightly .
Courtesy of Merlin Mitchell
George : Seriously , it ’s the beverage that ’s going to wow you . There is n’t one specific drunkenness that is plainly more fun to make . It is right smart more about put a drinking in front of you that you ’re truly going to revel . If I ’m making a drinking for me , it ’s a Vieux Carre or a Rittenhouse Old Fashioned .
George : Something old and red from either Rioja or Châteauneuf - du - Pape or some really old oloroso sherry .
Stuart Jensen
Curio
By now , the Stuart Jensen story is well - known around town . After working in kitchen throughout the area – notably , the high - profile ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro and TAG – he transition to wreak behind the bar . After working as a bartender at Green Russell , he became the saloon manager at Mercantile Dining & Provision ( when it opened in early 2015 ) , a perspective he held until just a few months ago . These days , Jensen is a better half at Curio , the bar inside the newly opened Denver Central Market . While Jensen initially started as a advisor , in October 2016 it was announced he would become the Browning automatic rifle ’s third owner , in summation to the husband - and - married woman squad Katsumi Yuso Ruiz and Stephen Julia . Curio serves as the fundamental hub of the communal area of the market – and Jensen is wondrous certified to play the role of greeter .
Stuart Jensen : I had been working in kitchens for about eight years . I settle that I wanted to learn a petty about the front of the household because I intend that it would make me a better chef and ( someday ) restaurant proprietor . A friend set me up with a barback position at Green Russell and I was like a shot hooked . Shortly thereafter they apply me the opportunity to become a full - time barkeep . I relinquish my kitchen job and I ’ve been doing it ever since .
Jensen : All of the regulars and Quaker that I ’ve gained . There have been so many amazing friendships and opportunities that have begun with a simple-minded conversation over the bar top .
Carl Zoch
Jensen : This is always a tough question because I really just desire to make people something that they wish , and for the most part it ’s all the same to me . That say , I really like when mass come in and expect for modern classic . If someone orders a Trinidad Sour or a Paper Plane , it normally mean that we ’ve hang out at the same measure at some point or that we have common friend somewhere .
Jensen : A lot of Champagne , hopefully some Burgundy , whatever beers are left over in my wine cellar , and most importantly , a bottle of Bourbon dynasty to authorise around with my friend afterwards .
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Adam Larkey
