This is one of those classic Boulder origin tales: a story with a natural foods flare, a pandemic twist and a happy ending. It should really be read while sipping a cocktail. And it starts when Crystal Sagan pulled into town in 2006.
“I didn’t really know anyone in Boulder, so I got a bartending job just to meet people,” says Sagan, founder and owner of Boulder’s Cocktail Caravan. “After doing that a while, I woke up one day and said, ‘What am I doing with my life?’”
She found a job in publishing, but mixology never quite left her mind. “I still loved bartending, so I told my friends: ‘If you know anyone having a party, I’ll bartend on the side,’” Sagan says. “People just started calling.”
Sagan launched Cocktail Caravan in 2016 as a boutique mobile cocktail caterer focused on using fresh, local ingredients. “The business was great and then the pandemic hit,” she says. “I [had] my existential life crisis and [thought]: ‘What am I doing with my life?’ That lasted a day until I saw the silver lining.”
Cocktail Caravan’s bartenders started bottling and delivering the brand’s mixers. “We called it ‘Community Supported Cocktails,’ modeled after farm share CSAs,” Sagan says.
Boulder has gone back to partying in person in a big way, maybe making up for the happy hours it lost. Boutique mobile bartending is booming along with demand for bar-quality mixers for home use, according to Sagan.
One sobering statistic: Many of the mixers are being enjoyed as non-alcoholic mocktails and spritzers.
“There’s a big movement for mocktails because not everyone’s drinking, or not all the time,” Sagan says. “They still want a satisfying beverage. I’m the mother of a 2-year-old now. I drink very little at this point.”
Besides offering its changing menu of mixers at the Boulder Farmers Market, Cocktail Caravan has launched a new Cocktail (and Mocktail) Club starting Oct. 1. Members get two bottles of cocktail mix per month for three months with a changing seasonal menu. The frozen mixers are available for Boulder pickup or delivery. At home, members add their favorite spirit or sparkling water.
“Fresh squeezing juices and freezing them is the reason the flavors are so bright and vibrant,” Sagan says. “Anything you buy at the liquor store has been heated up to be pasteurized.”
Ingredients like cucumber, mint, basil, serrano pepper, peach and rhubarb are sourced from Oxford Gardens (Longmont), Black Cat Farm (Boulder), First Fruits (Paonia) and Ollin Farms (Longmont).
Cocktail Caravan varieties range from the Q Sour (orange, rosemary and maple) to the Palisade Pleaser (peach, thyme, lemon) to the Queenstown Margarita.
“These are designed with a bitter element and a sweet element so they have legs — they hold up when they’re mixed,” Sagan says.
There is a simple reason that homemade cocktails and mocktails don’t taste as good as those composed by a mixologist at a bar.
“It’s kind of a pain in the butt to do it right, especially if you’re only making a couple of cocktails,” Sagan says. “I don’t necessarily want to peel, slice and muddle the cucumber, then do the lemons and make simple syrup every time.”
Michelin Awards Arrive in Boulder
The Front Range figured prominently when the inaugural Colorado Bib Gourmand awards were announced. On the list is chef Kelly Whitaker’s Basta in Boulder, “where family-style, contemporary Italian-American cooking is the name of the game,” Michelin noted.
Denver’s Ginger Pig, which started as a Boulder food truck, was also honored. “I am still in shock! It is amazing,” says chef Natascha Hess, who will come back to Boulder when a second Ginger Pig opens on The Hill later in September. (New on the menu: Hong Kong French Toast.)
Other winners include Denver’s Tavernetta, a sister eatery to Boulder’s Frasca Food and Wine and Pizzeria Alberico, and Ash’Kara in Denver. The Boulder Ash’Kara location recently closed.
According to the Michelin Guide, Bib Gourmand eateries offer “a meal of good quality at a good value.” They define value as two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for about $50, tax and tip not included.
We can quibble about Michelin’s definition of “value” and why the Bib Gourmand list was limited to a measly nine restaurants, mainly in Denver, for a purported statewide guide. Michelin earlier announced it would limit awards only to restaurants in Denver, Boulder County, Aspen, Vail and Beaver Creek. A lot of great restaurants got left out as a result.
Other Bib Gourmand winners are AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, Glo Noodle House, Hop Alley, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal, and Mister Oso, all in Denver.
The coveted Michelin star-winning restaurants will be announced on Sept. 12. Several Boulder eateries should be in the mix.
What do you think of the Bib Gourmand choices? Comments: [email protected].
Local Food News: New Arrivals, Closings
Murphy’s South restaurant closed Sept. 3 in the Table Mesa Shopping Center (657 S. Broadway, Boulder). “Sales had been flat for a while. With inflation and COVID it was a little too much. It’s sad to be leaving Boulder but our Louisville locale is thriving,” says Adam Perkins, general manager and owner of Murphy’s Tap House in Louisville. An Illegal Pete’s eatery will open in the Murphy’s South space. The original Murphy’s opened in north Boulder in 1984 and closed during the pandemic.
Heaven Creamery is open at 2525 Arapahoe Ave., serving all-natural artisan ice cream, gelato, sorbet and fruit pops made from scratch with dairy-free, vegan and gluten-free options.
Alice and Rose, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired all-day cafe, is open at 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., Boulder, formerly Innisfree Poetry Bookstore.
A long-time Lafayette favorite, Ting’s Place Chinese Restaurant, has closed at 1265 S. Public Road.
Coming soon: The Sophomore, 1043 Pearl St., Boulder, former location of Ash’Kara.
Culinary Calendar: Baklava and Salsa Tasting
The Colorado Romanian Festival Sept. 10 in Lakewood offers European fare such as cabbage rolls, polenta with sour cream, sausage with beans, Moldavian cheese pie, sweet bread with walnuts and apple pastry.
Baklava and treats from Iraq, Lebanon and Syria are on the menu at the Taste of the Middle East Festival Sept. 9 in Aurora.
Words to Chew On: Cheeseburger in Paradise
“I like mine with lettuce and tomato / Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes / Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer / Well good god almighty which way do I steer for my / Cheeseburger in paradise.”
— The late Jimmy Buffett
John Lehndorff hosts Kitchen Table Talk with chef Dan Asher and guests 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Sept. 7 on KGNU-FM, streaming at kgnu.org.
