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Stranahan’s whiskey returns to mountain-town roots with new taproom

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey is taking it back to the beginning.The whiskey maker, which was founded in 2004 and has often been billed as the first new distillery to open in Colorado since Prohibition, plans to debut a new tasting room, Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge, sometime this winter in Aspen, according to the company.This “marks our first outpost beyond our Denver distillery and tasting room, and it is being designed to be the ideal environment for fans, already made and new, to experience our award-winning American single malt whiskies – and to say thank you to those who helped start it all,” the company, which is now owned by beverage giant Proximo Spirits, added.Stranahan’s was co-founded by longtime Aspen resident, millionaire, physicist and entrepreneur George Stranahan and former volunteer Aspen firefighter Jess Graber. The story goes that Graber was part of a team that responded to a fire at Stranahan’s barn, and that the two got to know each other af...

“Time Shelter,” by Georgi Gospodinov, and more short book reviews from readers

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected].“Time Shelter,” by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel (Liveright, 2023)“Time Shelter,” by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel (Liveright, 2023)Winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize. The protagonist Gaustine creates a “clinic for the past” for Alzheimer’s patients, with different parts of the facility replicating different decades exactly, down to the smallest detail. The theory: Patients will find peace and calm in some time period of their past. Surprisingly, heal...

133-year-old Indigenous arts supplies store in Lakewood keeps artistic traditions alive for all

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Cecelia Bull Bear has been making quillwork art for as long as she can remember.“I learned from my grandmother, Ethel Black Crow, and my aunt, Rose Spotted Eagle, when I was real young,” the 76-year-old Denver-based Oglala Lakota artist said. “I’ve been doing it all my life.”Quillwork is an art form that uses porcupine quills to embroider clothing and make jewelry, and it is one of the oldest artistic traditions practiced by Indigenous North Americans, mostly in the northern plains of what is now the U.S. and across Canada.To Bull Bear, who is from the Medicine Root District of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, quillwork products are as precious as gemstones.“Quillwork is like wearing diamonds,” Bull Bear said. “Quillwork is sacred. It was here before the beadwork people do now.”Bull Bear is one of many artists who patronize and sell their art at the reopened Orr’s Trading Post, a Native arts supply store that has long been an important community hub for Indigenous people....

This Denver institution makes 18,000 tamales per day — by hand

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).Walking into Tamales by La Casita’s small space, it’s easy to miss how much work is going on behind the swinging kitchen doors.That’s where seven women work tirelessly, making 18,000 tamales from scratch every day between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., and then steaming them in custom-designed steamers. The restaurant, which has been serving some of Denver’s (and my personal) favorite tamales for nearly 50 years, sources its corn husks directly from Mexico and uses 900 pounds of pork and 40 pounds of cheese daily to make its signature dish.Rosa Dias fills a bowl with red chile and pork to make tamales by hand at Tamales by La Casita on November 28, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)Paul Sandoval, a Co...

Denver City Council corrects Fair Elections Fund “rounding error” to save city over $4 million

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

The Denver City Council on Monday unanimously approved a handful of tweaks to the voter-approved Fair Elections Fund, including a change that will save the city an estimated $4.4 million over four years.That doesn’t mean there will be less to go around when candidates next line up to run for City Council, mayor and other municipal offices in 2027 and possibly qualify for public financing to fuel their campaigns.Before Monday, the city’s annual financial obligation to the Fair Elections Fund was poised to ratchet up almost 75% next year to $5 per resident. Now the city’s annual contribution to the fund is expected to rise from $2.88 per Denverite per year to $3.45 in 2025, corresponding with the rate of inflation in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area. It will be adjusted again in 2029.That increase should funnel around $400,000 more into the pot each year than the current annual contribution of $2.1 million, according to the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Off...

Where have all the white tablecloths gone? Fine dining in Denver has a new look

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Caroline Glover doesn’t necessarily consider Annette a fine-dining restaurant because of its bare wooden tables and laid-back atmosphere, but “I do think our style of hospitality is very geared towards fine dining whether or not you realize it while you’re sitting there,” she said.James Beard Award-winning chef Caroline Glover alongside husband and co-owner Nelson Harvey at Annette in Stanley Marketplace in Aurora on Nov. 21, 2023. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)Her customers and fellow restaurant industry folks — not to mention accolades, like the 2022 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mountain Region — definitely realize it.“I absolutely consider Annette fine dining,” said Denise Mickelsen, a former food writer who now works for the Colorado Restaurant Association. “Colorado is known for being rather casual. Even our fine dining restaurants don’t need linens on the table to define themselves as fine dining.”Ten or 15 years ago, fine dining in Denver was...

Colorado’s best winter festivals for 2023-24

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

As Coloradans, we don’t simply endure or tolerate winter. We embrace it.Sure, we could all just hunker down and hibernate through the snow and ice. Instead, we gather with friends around bonfires. We ski. We marvel at ice sculptures. We play games. We watch live music. We climb icy waterfalls.In Colorado, we welcome winter like an old friend. And perhaps nowhere is that sentiment more true than at the many diverse festivals dotting the state from December to April. So, as you make your plans for winter fun, add one or two or more (!) of these beloved annual gatherings to your list.A crowd gathers around a large bonfire at the 56th annual Ullr Fest in Breckenridge. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)Ullr FestDec. 7-9, Breckenridge, gobreck.com/event/ullr-festSome mythical gods can be kinda scary, but not Ullr. Ullr, the Norse god of snow, benevolently dumps powder on Breckenridge’s mountains, thus ensuring that skiers and snowboarders have plenty of fluffy stuff to play in all winter. That...

Suspected DUI crash leaves 2 dead on 5 Fwy; SB lanes closed through Santa Fe Springs

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

A driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI in a crash that left his two passengers dead and the southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway closed through Santa Fe Springs Tuesday morning. The crash was reported at 1:39 a.m. just north of Carmenita Road, according to the California Highway Patrol's traffic incident log. A Honda Accord struck a big rig that was stopped on the shoulder of the freeway, CHP Sgt. Olivera said. Emergency crews respond to a fatal crash in Santa Fe Springs on Dec. 5, 2023. (OnScene.TV)It was unclear why the big rig was stopped but the driver of the Honda drifted onto the shoulder and hit the back of the truck. Three men were inside the Honda at the time of the crash.Two male passengers, including one who was found outside the vehicle, were killed in the collision, Olivera said.“The driver was taken to UCI and he’s been arrested for DUI,” Olivera said.Video from the scene showed the driver conscious and speaking as he was being taken to an ambulance. Emotional vigil...

Best and worst cities for singles ranked. Where does Los Angeles land?

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

WalletHub - Finding love can be tough. While nearly 47% of the U.S. adult population is unmarried (never married, divorced, or widowed), according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 57% of single adults aren’t interested in a relationship or casual dating right now.Finances are often a subject of debate within relationships, especially when it comes to sharing details about balances and transactions with a significant other. For more insight on how Americans share their financial information in a relationship, check out WalletHub’s Financial Secrets Survey.To help America’s singles find love, WalletHub compared more than 182 U.S. cities across 35 key indicators of dating-friendliness. Our data set ranges from the share of the population that is single to the number of online dating opportunities to the average price for a two-person meal.The top five cities for singles, according to the study, were:Seattle, WALas Vegas, NVDenver, COAtlanta, GAAustin, TXLos Angeles r...

What Are The Top Premium WiFi Mesh Routers?

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

WiFi Mesh Routers can cover every corner of your home in a smooth network of WiFi signals. Blazing-fast WiFi mesh speeds are possible, and the latest WiFi 6E and WiFi 7 whole home mesh devices are in demand wherever robust connectivity is expected.Mesh WiFi systems are most popular in homes, although they can be ideal for small businesses also. If you need an internet speed and connection boost for your occupation, education, or leisure time, a WiFi mesh router system could be the answer you are looking for.Here are the top 8 premium WiFi mesh routers on the market today:NETGEAR Orbi 970ASUS ZenWiFi AX XT8NETGEAR Orbi 960 series rbke963Google Nest WiFiAsus ROG Rapture GT6Amazon Eero Pro 6ETP-Link Deco W7200Linksys Velop WiFi 6 AX42001. NETGEAR Orbi 970Not surprisingly, the Orbi 970 whole home mesh router system from NETGEAR is the top pick on our list. NETGEAR is a market leader for all the right reasons, including the 970 series WiFi 7, with speeds up to 27Gbps for unparalleled per...