Local pour · checked 2026-09-03

Denver drinks like a mountain city that married a taqueria. The local pour is a pint from a Colorado brewery, then a margarita or paloma made with 100% agave tequila. Both halves have a neighborhood: beer leans RiNo, agave leans the Highlands — and the LoHi rooms on the bridge pour both.

Beer is local infrastructure

Colorado is one of the densest brewing states in the country — the Colorado Brewers Guild tracks hundreds of member breweries statewide — and RiNo is where Denver drinks it. Left Hand RiNo is the Denver outpost of the Longmont brewery, pouring its stouts and ales in the arts district off Larimer. Beer happy hours in this city are usually a dollars-off-draft window, not a ceremony: check the venue page, then show up inside the posted hours.

Agave is the second local language

The Highlands corridor runs on tacos and tequila. Tacos Tequila Whiskey in the Highlands is built around exactly that trio, and Los Chingones RiNo brings Troy Guard's taco-and-tequila room to the downtown/RiNo edge. House rule from our tequila primer: 100% agave on the label is the floor, blanco is what a margarita wants, and mixto tastes like it. The good rooms pour blanco by default.

The bridge rooms

Linger in LoHi — the former mortuary turned street-food hall on the hill above the Platte — is the classic crossover: global small plates, a deep agave list, and a view back at downtown. It is the answer to “we can't agree on beer vs margaritas.” Order one of each and watch the sun drop behind the Highlands.

How to drink it like a local

  • Afternoon: brewery taproom in RiNo (Left Hand) inside the posted window.
  • Golden hour: tacos + blanco margarita in the Highlands (TTW) or RiNo (Los Chingones).
  • View: LoHi crossover at Linger — small plates built for sharing.

Windows and prices move — confirm on the venue's own page via Deals or On now before you go. Home-bar versions of the margarita and paloma are measured out in six cocktail recipes.

Sources

Poured here: Left Hand RiNo · Los Chingones RiNo · Tacos Tequila Whiskey Highlands · Linger