Colorado and drinking are often linked. It dates back to the grizzled fur trapping, mountain man days of the 1840s, when some of the state's pioneers would hole up in Bent's Fort and drink themselves blind with earthen jugs of "trade whiskey' - a dubious combination of "red eye" whiskey, hot chili peppers, plug tobacco and gunpowder. A gourmet recreation of the drink can still be sampled at The Fort Restaurant (http://www.thefort.com, in Morrison, Colorado).
Colorado is considered to be the microbrew capital of the United States. Denver is sometimes referred to as the, "Napa Valley of Microbreweries". The magazine "Modern Drunkard" is headquartered in Denver. Brewpubs are open in almost every town.
One of the most popular adult tourist activities in Colorado is the Brewery Tour circuit. From the megabrewer Coors in Golden, to the refined tastes of New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, the Front Range of Colorado offers many opportunities to see beer being made.
Denver also hosts the Great American Beer Festival (http://www.beertown.org/e...) every Fall. This three day bacchanal celebrates micro, medium and mega brews from across the country with awards handed out to the judges picks for best brews.
There are also less celebrated, but equally worthy, meaderies and vineyards throughout the state. Colorado's nascent wine industry has exploded in the last 20 years. While there are now over 70 wineries in Colorado, ranging from the mountains to the plains, the communities of Grand Junction and Palisade on the Western Slope rightly label themselves as, Colorado's Wine Country. (http://www.palisadecoc.co...) The high desert farming town of Palisade witnessed the birth of the state's modern vineyards in the '70s and early '80s. Even today, a majority of the state's wine grapes are grown in this tiny Victorian town in the federally-designated Grand Valley AmericanViticultural Area. AVA. Palisade also hosts the Colorado Mountain Winefest (http://www.coloradowinefe...) every September at harvest time.
The earliest history of wine in Colorado, however, dates back to the nineteenth century. The first recorded wine production in Colorado was 1899. It was Colorado Governor George A. Crawford, the founder of Grand Junction in 1881, who first saw the Grand Valleyâs potential for grape production. Crawford planted 60 acres of wine grapes and other fruit on Rapid Creek above Palisade.
Unfortunately, these early forays into viticulture ended with Prohibition in 1916. The General Assembly of Colorado enacted a statute and Colorado went "dry" four years before the passage of the 18th Amendment, which created national prohibition. Commercial winemaking ceased in Colorado and Palisade's grape vines were ripped out of the ground by authorities. It took over 70 years for the state's wine industry to reestablish itself.
Newer to the scene are Colorado's hard liquor and spirits distillers. A handful of artisan distillers such as Stranahan's in Denver and Peach Street Distillers in Palisade are creating bourbon, whiskey, gin and other flavored hard grained alcoholic beverages in limited batches.
One note of caution - some people find that their alcohol tolerance is lower at higher altitudes. Drink slowly until you acclimate.
