As Told By

My path into spirits started the way most good things do: with a simple act of hospitality. I was mixing drinks at home for friends, trying to make people feel welcome. I had no idea that impulse would become a career, let alone take me around the world. But that’s the thing about craft. When you follow it honestly, it tends to surprise you.

What I do now is hard to summarize. I write, I create, I educate, I consult. At The Apartment Creative Studio in Denver, we’ve built a space dedicated to creativity, community, and culture. My book, Let’s Do Drinks, is an invitation for anyone who wants to build not just a bar, but a sense of confidence and curiosity in the craft. At its core, all of it comes back to the same thing it started with: making people feel like they belong somewhere.

Denver is the right city for that kind of work. There’s no one version of this place, and that’s what I love most about it. You can have an incredible fine dining experience one night, wake up early for a mountain adventure, spend the afternoon at a brewery or a dive bar, catch a game, and still make it to a workout class the next morning. I always tell people: don’t try to experience just one side of Denver. In a single weekend, you can get a little bit of everything.

The details around a drink are where the best stories to share. An ingredient might trace back to a grower. A technique connects to a learning experience. A spirit takes you down memory lane to a place you once visited. The drink is simply the entry point. What you’re really doing is creating a moment of connection between people and the environment around them.

Honestly, when people ask me what part of the city feels most like home, my answer surprises them. It’s Arvada. That’s where my family has laid down roots. But the more I think about it, home is less about a specific place and more about who you’re with. A good drink, good conversation, good people around the table. That’s the feeling I chase, whether I’m behind a bar or sitting at one.

If I had to distill Denver into a single order, it wouldn’t be something complicated. It would be a really well-made Old Fashioned. Simple, timeless, and honest about what it is. That’s the city, too, if you let it be.