Colorado’s First ROOT Cocktail Competition at The Squeaky Bean, Denver

One thing is certain- when Art in the Age comes to town, there’s going to be a fantastic party! I had the honor and pleasure to attend the first ROOT cocktail competition in Colorado at The Squeaky Bean in Denver and had such a good time, all I can say is, “man… you should have been there!”

I went with Courtney, my friend and newest tour guide for Local Table Tours. We braved a snow storm and walked into a packed house for Art in the Age’s private event at The Squeaky Bean. When I say packed house, I mean P.A.C.K.E.D. No snow storm was going to keep the Denver crowd from a ROOT cocktail competition.

I started off with a Gooch, which was one of the featured cocktails of the evening, made with ROOT, apple jack, rye, and a hint of orange. I just love rye… love ROOT… what a great combination.

Sean Kenyon manned the bar all night at The Squeaky Bean and kept the packed house happy. Courtney and I got right up to the front for the cocktail competition. The only person closer was illustrious photographer Ryan Olsen. If you’d like to see REAL photos, and not iphone photos, definitely check out Ryan’s images. I am not embarrassed to admit that they are better than mine. But, I was right behind him, tripping him up all night… getting in his way, perhaps, just to capture some blurry images for this post.

Some of the best mixologists in the Denver area created some deliciously interesting cocktails throughout the evening. I am not sure of everyone’s name in my photos, so if you know them, or it happens to be you, please let me know so I can edit my post.

I know this guy here is Tyler French from TAG in Denver. His cocktail was called the Dark and Rooted, and had:

1.5 parts ROOT

.5 part Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

.25 part Domain de Canton

2 scoops homemade cinnamon ginger ice cream.

The judges enjoyed themselves! Boulder’s very own Matthew Jansen, chef/owner of Mateo can barely be seen on the very right of the judges table. He was so nice to Courtney and me and shared every one of the competitors’ drinks with us, so we got a really good taste of what was going on that night.

Suzanne Livingston of The Corner Office played with fire with her ROOT Brulee.

The judges had the cocktail menu to peruse, so I snapped a quick photo.

And the night just went on and on with cocktail after cocktail. So much fun!

We are lucky to live in a culinary metro area where the art of the cocktail has resurged.

Along with the cocktail comes the unique mixologist image. Check out Steuben’s Bar Manager, Randy Layman, in his plaid shirt with those suspenders and that fabulous mustache. You can tell he takes his drinks seriously. His cocktail, named Young Americans, was:

1 oz ROOT

1 oz El Tesoro Platinum

.5 oz Lillet Blanc

.25 oz Campari

Stir and strain into chilled glass…

And the winner of the night’s competition was The Squeaky Bean’s own Sean Kenyon with his creation: The General, made of:

1 part ROOT

1 part Four Roses Bourbon

.5 part Cherry Heering

.5 partt Dimi Liquore di Milano

2 dashes Bitter Truth Orange Bitters

If you are like me, you not only DO NOT have those ingredients in your home, you’ve never heard of half of them. But, that’s OK. Sean’s at The Squeaky Bean and I’m sure he’d be delighted to make you a cocktail.

So, the first time Art in the Age came to town was a blast at The Bitter Bar. The second time was Colorado’s First Root Cocktail Competition at The Squeaky Bean. I am eagerly awaiting their next arrival! As long as there are cocktails, I will be there.