Allyson Reedy Captures Après Ski in a Glass

Allyson Reedy has spent the better part of two decades telling Denver where to eat. First as The Denver Post’s restaurant critic, now for 5280 magazine. But her latest endeavor has her mixing drinks instead of reviewing them. Alpine Cocktails, out this September from Gibbs Smith, is her fifth cookbook and the follow-up to Beach Cocktails.

The series wasn’t her idea to begin with. “The publisher presented me with their idea to create a really fun, approachable cocktail book series aimed at home bartenders,” Allyson said. Gibbs Smith had already done a Southern-themed volume and wanted to explore more destinations. An alpine theme practically picked itself for a Colorado writer. “I’m well-versed in après-ski living here in Colorado, so it was a great fit.”

Inside are 75 cocktails, mocktails, spritzes, and small bites spread across five sections, from cozy cocktails to lodge nibbles, each recipe credited to the bar or resort that dreamed it up. The list reads like a who’s who of Colorado’s ski towns—Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge— with a handful of international curveballs mixed in, like a cherry-ginger spritz from Rosewood Schloss Fuschl in Salzburg, Austria.

Allyson drew on years of industry connections to build the collection, but even she encountered a few surprises. The yuzu waterfall from Breckenridge Distillery had her skeptical at first. “I don’t typically associate yuzu with the mountains, but when I researched, I learned that the Asian citrus fruit is actually grown in colder mountainous regions,” she explained.

Allyson is quick to point out she’s no cocktail savant, and that’s precisely the point. “I never want to intimidate anyone with scary ingredient lists or special-order gear,” she says. Every recipe includes substitution notes designed to make mixing at home a little easier.

Even the cover has a charmingly DIY origin story. Shot entirely at Allyson’s kitchen table with longtime collaborator and photographer Greg McBoat, the wintry scene came together during a decidedly unwintry Colorado day. “I scoured my house for props like fake fur and plaid scarves, I mixed up the fake snow in one of my mixing bowls, and I donned a sweater and mittens for photos in 90-degree weather last September,” she says.

As for the most Colorado drink in the bunch? Allyson gives that distinction to the shishito toddy, a hot, honeyed pour built on gin from Denver’s The Block Distilling Co. “I feel like we like things spicy here in Colorado,” she said. With shishito peppers in the syrup, this one certainly delivers.

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