Bezel, a sophisticated watering hole in the heart of downtown Denver, is celebrating the season with a festive pop-up bar serving cold-weather cocktails, such as the Clarified Peppermint Cocoa. The concoction takes three days to make, so plan ahead to be sure it’s ready to fill the punch bowl at your annual holiday party.
“Growing up, I always loved drinking hot chocolate around the holidays. For Bezel’s pop-up holiday bar, I wanted to do an adult take on the classic.”—Ravin Buzzell, general manager, Bezel Denver
Bezel Peppermint Tea
Ingredients
2 cinnamon sticks 1 star anise 5 cardamom pods 5 all spice pods 3 whole cloves 1 whole nutmeg 3 oz. sugar 1 peel of whole orange plus juice 1 peel of whole lemon plus juice 1 peppermint tea bag 12 oz. water 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract
Directions
In a dry pan, roast all the spices then add to a container. Add sugar, citrus peels, citrus juice and peppermint extract. Steep one tea bag in 12 oz. of water, then add tea to spices in the container. Stir the batch, cover and store in a refrigerated overnight. In the morning, stir the batch and remove spices and peels.
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Cocoa Mixture
Ingredients
3 oz. cocoa powder 12 oz. whole milk 1 tbs. lemon juice dash orange juice
Directions
Bring milk and cocoa powder to a steady boil. Remove from heat and add citrus juice before adding to the tea batch. Stir and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain through layered cheese cloth to remove curdled milk solids. Cover and store refrigerated and allow to settle.
8 oz. apple brandy
batch Bezel peppermint tea
batch cocoa mixture
Directions
Combine the batches of Bezel peppermint tea and cocoa mixture, then add 8 oz. of apple brandy. Pour into eight glasses. Serve in a rocks glass, poured over a single large ice cube.
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Kayti Fan Design’s favorite element in the space is the Miro bed by Design Within Reach. They love the simplicity of the design, as well as the soft leather headboard and slightly oversized bed base that doubles as a platform for seating. So functional and pleasant to look at.
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What can a homeowner incorporate to make their laundry room have the look and feel your space has?
A small and highly functional space, like a laundry room, should be fun! Go bold with your paint color and usage. Small spaces can handle the saturation well. Add wallpaper to create energy where you can. This paper is both playful and soothing, like a field of wildflowers. A big design takeaway from a space like this is to make it functional first. The built-ins are simple but functional, making the chore of laundry more pleasant. Open storage is a good way to keep the space tidier and make you less likely to stash the ironing pile away for perpetuity. Simple hanging bars on the wall mean you can handle laundry as you go.
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The ceiling-hung drying rack was found a while back and is simply a fabulous concept. A well- designed space takes every surface and space available into account. Wall-mounted drying racks, or worse, free-standing racks, take up a substantial amount of room.
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Studio LW’s favorite element in the space is the wallpaper. The contrast of the black and white pattern draws your eye to the designed wall, and pops against the room’s subtle colors. It brings a fresh and youthful element to the room.
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It is important to install “fixed” items such as wallcoverings and window treatments to achieve a higher level of creativity and visual appeal. These items make a permanent statement to the design of the home. The furniture can be swapped out for different pieces, but the fixed design features are what will define the style of the room.
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To incorporate the feel into your space, look and see what natural elements are in the surrounding environment. For example, Colorado has many beautiful trees and mountains, so although there is a Mediterranean scheme to the home’s architecture, they wanted to pay homage to the actual area by including the mountains in the headboard with warm tones known to Mediterranean décor.
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