Top 5 cocktails at Sevens Restaurant

Nothing hits the spot after a delightfully exhausting day on the spring slopes like a cocktail on a sunny patio. Narrowing down your hankering is the hard part. Will it be something refreshing? Maybe minty? Perhaps with a little kick? How about booze and a meal all in one? If the latter is what you’re leaning toward, you’re unlikely to find one as nourishing as Sevens bacon Bloody Mary.

With its giant patio, spacious dining area, full length bar complete with outdoor express window, Sevens is the scene of the action at Peak 7’s base area, but it also happens to be the place to find some of the freshest ingredients around. The establishment puts great thought and care into each menu item, cocktails first and foremost.

“One thing that sets us apart is that everything we make is made in-house, even all the sauces and dressings,” says Sevens manager Helen Earley. “In our cocktails, you won’t see sweet and sour mix, we do squeezed lime and agave nectar. We’re trying to be as fresh and as organic as possible.”

This goes for the grub as well, from Sevens signature wood-fired pizzas with handmade dough, standard pub fare like stuffed quesadillas with homemade salsa to upscale entrees like the Flatiron steak with wine demi-glace to lighter fare such as the Super Food Salad, chalk full of kale, quinoa and blueberries.

Aiming for the homegrown, Sevens bar is fronted by Colorado brews and you’ll find a rotating handle of the state’s best crafts.

Getting back to cocktails, however, choosing just five from Sevens is not an easy task, Here’s the lineup of faves from the Peak 7 crowd:

1. Backcountry Bacon Bloody Mary:
   As mentioned, this spicy sipper comes with its fair share of vitamins and protein. Even the vodka has been infused with bacon and the tomato and spice mix is dolled up with a lip-smacking rim. It’s stuffed with fresh veggies pickled in-house as well as – you guessed it – a large strip of thick bacon.
2. Cougar Cosmo Martini:
   Definitely more on the classic end of the cocktail spectrum, this upscale Sex in the City spinoff is made with Grey Goose Le Citron, shaken expertly with Grand Marnier and a splash of cran
3. Melted S’more:
   Even on bright spring days, it gets chilly at 10,000 feet. Of Sevens’ sizeable list of hot alcoholic drinks, this is the standout. Going one up on roasting one over a campfire on a stick, this soothing treat is made with Pinnacle Marshmellow vodka blended with hot cocoa and topped with fresh whipped cream and a graham cracker rim.
4. Starry Night
   The prettiest color of the bunch, this liquid work of art combines Pinnacle blueberry vodka with St. Germaine, soda and a splash of fresh pomegranate juice.
5. Breck Burro
   Leaping into the refreshing end of the spectrum, the Burro is one of several Sevens’ cocktails featuring small batch Colorado bourbon. Something of a brother to the Moscow Mule, the Burro is born from Fireside Bourbon sweetened by ginger beer, muddled mint and lime.

— Shauna Farnell