This Denver Distillery Cocktail Bar Feels Like Home

This story was originally published in December 2019; offerings and opening times may be different due to COVID-related restrictions, so check in advance of a visit.

The best bars create an atmosphere of hospitality so comfortable that it’s like being at home, but The Family Jones takes it one step further, turning its menus into albums stuffed with vintage family photos—including some of its employees. Dedicated to seasonality—and limited to offering only spirits that it produces—The Family Jones makes almost every ingredient in-house, from the rosemary amaretto in the Colorado Sour to the spiced house blanc, a white vermouth-inspired botanical liqueur used in the Salted Grapefruit Spritz. Food and beverage menus change seasonally, so there’s always something new to enjoy—but if that’s not enough, there’s the “Bitchen Creation: You pick it, we mix it” customizable cocktail option.

The Automatic Jones cocktail at The Family Jones Spirit House

The Automatic Jones cocktail (Photo by Adam Larkey)

Besides its vodkas, gins, rum, and Stopgap Jones rye and bourbon (sourced from Ohio and Tennessee while the company’s own whiskey, made primarily at its distillery in Loveland, Colorado, ages), The Family Jones offers aquavit and pechuga rum, distilled with tropical fruits, spices, and smoked pork. The distillery-bar’s vaulted space has the feel of an upscale ski lodge, with velvety upholstered couches and stools and modernist cinderblock sconces, often decorated with evergreen boughs. Directly above the horseshoe bar, a mezzanine with a tiny 700-liter still setup overlooks the diners and drinkers below.

Because everyone here is family, there are plenty of reasons to get together: weekly Sunday Suppers (three courses for $25), quarterly Distiller’s Dinners (five courses with cocktail and spirits pairings), cocktail classes, and more events. Forget Olive Garden—this is where you want to be considered family.

Must-Drink Cocktail: Automatic Jones, a house-made Rock and Rye combining spices, citrus peel, stone fruit, gentian, and Stopgap Rye
Don’t Miss: The $5 bar snacks, which include smoked salmon crostini and carrot spaetzle with fondue sauce

More of the Best Distillery Cocktail Bars

More From Bars