Four years ago, Family Jones distiller Rob Masters was filling barrels with his distillery s first rye whiskey when a friend and co-worker pointed out that it was Inauguration Day. I started thinking that I should sit on a barrel for a while, Masters recalls.
Four years later, you ll be able to taste the result: Inauguration Rye is now on sale on the Family Jones website, and it will be bottled and handed out on January 20, 2021, the day that President-elect Joe Biden takes his oath of office.
The Family Jones Spirit House didn t open its distillery/restaurant at 3245 Osage Street until November 2017, but the company had already opened its main production facility in Loveland, so a small amount of rye has been in barrels for a full four years. That s the amount of time required if a distillery wants to label its whiskey bottled in bond, Masters points out and it s the same length as a presidential term, making Family Jones Inaugural Rye the perfect choice for the distillery s
Throughout this pandemic, we have had to walk a difficult line between the public health crisis and the economic crisis. In reviewing the data today, Colorado has been in a sustained decline for 13 days, and only 73% of ICU beds statewide are in use. This is a direct result of Coloradans stepping up and taking the steps to protect themselves and others. In light of this and based on the data, I m asking CDPHE to move counties in Red on the dial to Orange, effective Monday, January 4, 2021.
This only applies to counties in Red, which is the category designed to prevent us from having to lockdown in “purple”. And I’m excited we have thus far successfully avoided another lockdown. To save lives, maybe even your own, it is more important than ever that Coloradans not gather outside their household to celebrate the New Year, and to continue to take the basic steps to protect themselves and others, like wearing masks, only interacting with their own households, and staying 6ft apart
Two restaurants in Uptown operated by Aileen Reilly, chef Paul Reilly and JP Taylor are closing temporarily, joining many other eateries that are taking weeks or the entire winter off. After much consideration, we have made the decision to temporarily close both Beast + Bottle and Coperta, Paul Reilly wrote in an email announcing the move. The current restrictions are just not sustainable, and for the health of our long-term business, we are hibernating the restaurants until indoor dining, guest confidence and a more plausible stimulus package are in place.
Congress passed a new stimulus package before Christmas, and President Donald Trump finally signed it on December 28, so the Paycheck Protection Program that helped restaurants reopen last spring will soon begin again this time with better provisions for the hospitality industry.
The First COVID Dining Room Lockdown
In early March, the seriousness of the looming pandemic became more obvious as COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths began to mount. Some restaurants began closing to protect their employees and customers even before it was mandated, but on March 17, Governor Jared Polis ordered every bar and restaurant in Colorado to suspend in-house dining, with only takeout and delivery sales allowed. That model continued until May 26, when businesses were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity.
Tavernetta has been packaging a rainbow of cocktail choices for takeout customer for most of 2020.
Tavernetta
Liquor To Go In a pandemic-inspired move that may stick around long after we ve dropped our masks, in March Governor Polis issued an executive order allowing takeout and delivery of alcoholic beverages
We haven t even reached the end of 2020 and things are already looking up for 2021 at least in the Barnum neighborhood. Bounded by Federal Boulevard, West Alameda Avenue, Perry Street and Sixth Avenue, this mostly residential area isn t known as a restaurant destination, though you ll find a few gems like Grandpa s Burger Haven and El Coco Pirata here. And if things go according to plan for Jordain Parker, Barnum could be home to Denver s first new restaurant of the new year.
Parker has been working on opening Knox Pizza & Tap at 100 Knox Court since August, when she took over the former home of Los Molcajetes Mexican Restaurant. For the past ten years, the new restaurant owner has been working for Chuey Fu s Latin-Asian Grub, and now she s branching out with her own project. Parker started out helping Chuey Fu s owner, Joe Knoblich, operate his food truck, and she stuck with the company to help run the restaurants as they opened on Santa Fe Drive and South Broadway.