Top Denver bartenders deal with matters of the spirit

From LoDo to RiNo, Uptown to the Golden Triangle, Denver's top cocktail artists make magic at Mile High bars

Alex Daniluk makes a Botanical Sour at Union Lodge No. 1. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

The Denver bar scene has come a long way since the mid-19th century, when thirsty miners and trappers would congregate to quench their thirst with beverages — and companions — of questionable provenance.

The Mile High City is in the middle of a cocktail renaissance, with bartenders who bring conviviality and creativity to the art of the pour.

Here are five Denver bartenders who elevate our spirits with theirs.

So lift a glass and toast them.

Alex Daniluk

Union Lodge No. 1

Daniluk holds court at Union Lodge No. 1, a handsome two-story building at 1543 Champa St. whose name — the same as the bar's — is literally carved in stone above the arched, central second-story window. It's a speakeasy-style place that pays homage to late-19th century bartending and the onset of the nation's fraught experiment with Prohibition.

As the main man behind the pine, Daniluk is a three-year bartending veteran. He is all of 25 but knows how to serve a cocktail.

How he got started: "I just kind of fell into it. Bartending sounded like a fun thing to do while I was in college and going through my undergraduate career."

His first job in the industry: "I started at the Arvada Tavern as a bar-back and moved up."

Favorite cocktail ingredient: "That's a tough one. I don't really have a go-to. But my favorite spirit is gin."

His cocktail:

Botanical Sour

Ingredients

1 egg white

1½ ounces gin

¼ ounce Genepis (a French herbal liqueur)

¾ ounce lemon juice

¾ ounce lavender syrup

2 dashes orange flower water

2 dashes rose water

Directions

Stir and fine strain into a martini or highball glass. Serve up with lime zest for garnish.

Union Lodge No. 1, 1543 Champa St. 720-389-0447. unionlodge1.com

Lauren Lowe

Rino Yacht Club

Arriving here about a year and a half ago from Washington, D.C., Lowe has become a star at RiNo Yacht Club at The Source on Brighton Boulevard. She is known for her Martinez, an elegant twist on the martini served up.

At 32, Lowe has been in the hospitality business for half her life.

How she got started: "I started out at the host stand, moved into waitressing and cocktailing and began bartending after I turned 21."

Last job before moving to Denver: "DC Coast in Washington. You get a lot of politicians in there."

Celebrity sightings of note: "I've seen plenty of interesting things. As far as people I've seen in my bars, there have been Courtney Cox, David Arquette and Val Kilmer in Washington. And last summer Mike Gordon, the bass guitarist for Phish, was in RiNo Yacht Club with his PR agent."

Her cocktail:

The Martinez

Ingredients

1½ ounces gin

1½ ounces sweet vermouth

DENVER, CO - MARCH 25: Top bartenders around Denver on Friday, March 25, 2016. The list includes Alex Daniluk at the Union Lodge No. 1 who made this Botanical Sour in the bar, 1543 Champa Street. (Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon/ The Denver Post) (THE DENVER POST | Cyrus McCrimmon)

1 bar spoon Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Dash orange bitters

Directions

Stir in a pint glass or bar canister with ice, then strain into a martini glass. Serve up.

RiNo Yacht Club, 3350 Brighton Blvd., 720-443-1135. rinoyachtclub.com ^[1]

Andre Dixion

Cuba Cuba Cafe & Bar

Dixion is the strapping presence behind the bar at Cuba Cuba in the Golden Triangle, mixing mojitos and serving as the resident engaging presence. A Denver native who went to Arvada High School, Dixion is also a dedicated barbecue cook and won his in-laws' hearts by cooking a lobster dinner while visiting them in New England.

Restaurant owner Kristy Socarras Bigelow ^[2] is one of his biggest fans.

"We've spent 12 years working side by side, and I have to say there is no one greater to watch when things get busy," she says. "Andre always stays cool as a cucumber. I really do not know any other bartender that could make 10 drinks at once while maintaining two conversations and all that with a beautiful and genuine smile on his face."

His roots: "I grew up in Denver but spent summers in Wisconsin. I graduated from Arvada High School."

How he broke into the business: "I got my start at a place in Glendale where I was a bouncer. But it only took one night to see that the bartenders had more fun."

And after that: "I spent several years at Strings, Noel Cunningham's place on East 17th Avenue, before moving to Cuba Cuba."

His cocktail: Brazil's national cocktail

Caipirinha

Ingredients

5 lime wedges

1 tablespoon white sugar

2½ ounces Cachaça

1 tablespoon simple syrup

Directions

Muddle the lime wedges with the sugar. Pour in the rest of the ingredients, then shake and pour into a rocks glass.

Cuba Cuba Cafe & Bar, 1173 Delaware St. 303-605-2822. cubacubacafe.com ^[3]

Jon Feuersanger

Beast + Bottle

At 24, Feuersanger is a dapper presence behind the bar at Beast + Bottle ^[4], an Uptown restaurant run by siblings Paul and Aileen Reilly. Typically clad in a vest, with an upsweep of thick dark hair, he is equally meticulous building his cocktails, employing eye droppers for adding just the right amount of ingredients.

He is also something of a showman, and has a winning rapport with customers. Feuersanger has been at the "Beast" for 1½ years. Before that he worked for Sage Hospitality Group.

How he entered the business: "I started when I was 15, working for my uncle out East. This was in Sudbury, Mass. I started as a busser, worked in the kitchen, and then went to Johnson & Wales in Providence, R.I."

Why he wound up in Colorado: "I moved here when I was 20. I was just a young pup who came here to ski."

Fast times behind the pine: "I worked at Second Home in Cherry Creek. (The house restaurant for JW Marriott Cherry Creek Denver.) It was kind of a cougar bar, plus you had the hotel guests. It was quite the scene."

His cocktail:

Rumbuzz

Ingredients

1 ounce Mt. Gay silver rum

1 ounce Smith & Cross rum

½ ounce St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

½ ounce simple syrup

1 barspoon carrot sherbet

Nutmeg

Directions

Place all ingredients in a shaker. Strain into a coupe and garnish with a carrot top and a sprinkling of nutmeg.

Beast + Bottle, 719 E. 17th Ave., 303-623-3223. beastandbottle.com

Kevin Burke

Ste. Ellie

Burke grew up in Casper then headed for New York City. He left the Big Apple for the Mile High City in 2007. "I feel like Denver best splits the difference," he says of the experience. He has been at Ste. Ellie about two years; it is something of a spinoff of Colt & Gray, its sister restaurant next door on Platte Street.

"It's a great bar, a small space with just 38 seats," Burke says of Ste. Ellie, which is a swank, below-grade room with a speakeasy vibe.

How he got started: "I've been in the restaurant business well over 10 years and tended bar for the last eight. I started in New York when I was in school at Fordham University. But growing up, I helped a friend run his parents' restaurant in Casper."

Wild times he has witnessed on the job: "Oh, I've seen some things all right. There have been some remarkable nights. But as far as details, well, let's just say that I think a bartender's relationship with his customers should be like that between a priest and his parishioners."

What vibe does Ste. Ellie aspire to: "It really depends on the crowd. There are nights when the whole place is singing along to Bon Jovi. The goal was to have a place where we'd want to hang out, both as restaurant professionals and as people who've been on this block for several years now."

His cocktail: