After years of dragging behind all my friends, I am happy to say I have finally turned the corner and become a real adult. Everyone can take me seriously now. I am 21.
I spent most of my birthday weekend in Denver with my boyfriend, whose birthday is the day after mine. Between Friday and Sunday, I had eight drinks, and I am here to rank them and the experiences they came with.
1. The blackberry blush from Sushi Den
My boyfriend treated us to the best sushi I have had in my life with a trip to Sushi Den in Downtown Denver. We shared two sushi rolls and a bento box. Absolutely every bit of it was worth it.
My first beverage there, and the third of my birthday was a cocktail made with cucumber vodka, muddled mint and house-made blackberry simple syrup. I could have chugged it. If you ever have splurge money in Denver, go to Sushi Den.
2. The fruity cougar from HASHTAG
For my boyfriend’s birthday, I took him to breakfast at HASHTAG, my favorite breakfast place in Denver. I figured the best way to start the day was with another cocktail, because yeah, I can drink during the day now.
The Fruity Cougar was a Tito’s base with egg white, muddled berries and kombucha. It was a smooth, foamy delight. The kombucha made me feel like I was actually getting healthier by consuming alcohol at 11 a.m.
3. The banana cream dessert martini at Sushi Den
To be honest, I don’t fully remember what the ingredients of this drink were. It was my fourth and last birthday drink, which I paired with some green tea ice cream.
All I can say is it tasted like 90% vodka, 7% cream and 3% cocoa. The banana was unnoticeable through the liquor in this drink.
I am surprised I made it back to the car without breaking a heel or twisting an ankle. That thing was strong.
4. The pink bliss from Bounce Empire
My sweet boyfriend drove us all the way up to Lafayette on my birthday because I had been dying to go to Bounce Empire, an entire warehouse of indoor inflatables. They had an awesome bar setup, complete with zero-gravity massage chairs.
I tried the pink bliss as my second drink of the day. It was a simple recipe of Breckenridge vodka (are you sensing a theme here?), strawberry puree, lemon juice and simple syrup. I wish it had a little more strawberry, but it was a fruity little drink and made for lots of fun bouncing around.
5. The Seedlip paloma mocktail at 503W
I had dinner with my family the night before my actual birthday, so I had to indulge in a mocktail. The paloma at 503W had Seedlip non-alcoholic tequila in it. I still felt pretty cool drinking it, even though it didn’t help me get silly.
6. The strawberry mojito at Cheesecake Factory
After six months of being a bartender, I thought I would understand alcohol more, but the menu at Cheesecake had too many unknown brands that I didn’t feel like testing. I decided to try a basic drink I was dying to enjoy, a strawberry mojito.
At my job, I make strawberry mojitos with fresh strawberries and Bacardi Dragonberry. They look delicious. This one was not so good. It was just silver rum and some strawberry flavor.
7. The bottle of Bacardi Dragonberry I bought to make up for Cheesecake’s mistakes
As a fresh 21-year-old, I had to try the liquor store just for the experience, which turned out to be terrifying. I wanted to peruse the shelves and find something new and exciting, but after two minutes of walking around, I started to feel like the cashier wouldn’t believe me when I pulled out my ID.
I decided to buy some Bacardi Dragonberry, mostly out of spite for the Cheesecake factory strawberry mojito. As it turns out, it is not as good when you swig it from the bottle as it is dressed in strawberries and mint leaves.
8. The vodka soda at Bounce Empire
Bounce Empire hooked my boyfriend and me up with some free drink tokens for our birthdays. It was my very first alcoholic drink out in the world. I got a vodka soda with lime.
I know what you’re thinking, “Kaylie, acetone and bubbles for your inaugural 21 beverage?” Yes, friends, I cannot drink anything with high fructose corn syrup, and the drink token was only good for a mixed drink from the well. I did what I had to.
Lounging in those massage chairs made it taste a lot better than it was, though. I would consume again in a pinch.