Williams & Graham

Denver, Colorado

Top 10 nominee for Best American Bar Team at the 2020 Spirited Awards, regional honoree for Best U.S. Bar Team at the 2023 Spirited Awards, and James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program in 2020.

The bar that launched Denver's speakeasy movement, Williams & Graham hides behind a functioning bookshop door at 3160 Tejon Street and has been executing at an elite level since 2011. The cocktail program runs deep, classic structures built with precision, seasonal menus that rotate quarterly, and a back bar stocked with enough rare spirits to support any off-menu request a knowledgeable drinker might make. The room is handsome, dark, and deliberately old-fashioned, with a full kitchen that sends out food worthy of the drinks. A second location at Denver International Airport extends the brand to departing travelers, but the Highland original remains the definitive experience. Denver's founding cocktail bar, and still one of its best.