Last Updated on January 2, 2025
If you are a skier – or just someone who enjoys a cocktail and camaraderie in the late afternoon on your mountain vacation – then you know all about après-ski. It’s the time-honored tradition of celebrating the end of a day on the slopes where friends and family can gather, relax and recall the experience.
It often involves quenching thirst with a favorite brew, glass of wine, spirits, or craft cocktail, some well-earned food, and maybe live music. Or, it’s just the prelude to a night that includes a great meal and more celebrating at another bar or club.
Colorado’s Summit County is one of the most celebrated places for après-ski. Its abundance of bars and restaurants please skiers who have played hard throughout the day on the resort runs and want to take it easy. Where are the best places to go? If you’re in the county’s largest town, Breckenridge, you’ll be pleased to know plenty of options exist to soothe muscles tired from moguls or steep grades.
I visited four on a winter 2024 trip to Breck. Each has a different atmosphere, and your mood and preferences will determine your choice. One thing is for certain, you’ll enjoy any of these places after a vigorous, fun day skiing.
Broken Compass Brewing
Unless you stumbled upon this unassuming craft brewery in an office complex north of downtown, you likely wouldn’t know it existed. Don’t let that deter you. Seek out this bright, casual, locals favorite if you want a no-frills environment with a standard selection of brews and intriguing seasonal options.
With its sliding garage glass doors offering a view of the mountains, picnic bench tables and colorful décor, you’ll feel as relaxed as you would at a backyard barbecue.
My husband and I tried a six-flavor sampler of beers: Czech Pilsner, Breck Coffee Stout, Beery Joel, Ginger Pale Ale, Coconut Porter, and Isaac’s IPA. The standouts in this selection were ones I usually wouldn’t choose, like the stout, porter, pale ale, and Beery Joel. Each brew might seem excessively hearty, spicy, or even sweet, but they struck a perfect balance with the hops and other grains, leaving me wanting more than the three-ounce tasting glass.
Breckenridge Distillery
Billed as the “highest distillery in the country” due to Breckenridge’s 9,000-plus-feet altitude, this spacious venue resembles a weathered slate gray barn on the outside, warm and polished inside. Entering through the tasting room, similar to their downtown Main Street location, we glanced at the extensive collection of whiskey, bourbon and other spirits along illuminated shelves on one side and a room-length polished wooden bar on the other.
While you can try any of the more than two dozen kinds of liquors, you can also partake in happy hour, coinciding with après-ski time, or make a reservation for dinner.
Its signature bourbon whiskey imparted a wonderful buttery taste with a citrusy finish and just a hint of vanilla, perfect for the holidays. We both tried the Obi-Wan old fashioned, made with Port Cask Finish Whiskey, simple syrup, barrel-aged whiskey bitters, and topped with an orange twist and a brandied cherry.
The cocktail was smooth, with a note of maple syrup and a slight sweetness from the cherry. Since we needed food to accompany the drink, we opted for perfectly crispy and tender fries.
Aurum
This restaurant, a few blocks from Main Street, has the same upscale atmosphere as Breckenridge Distillery and a cozy, intimate elegance. Aurum occupies a former cottage-sized residence, like many of the businesses in town. Even with that smaller space, the restaurant’s front bar has an open, airy feel, with cathedral ceilings, honey-colored wood beams, and an accent wall holding the liquor shelves.
Sitting at the bar, I chose Dr. Jones, with Dewar’s scotch, Harvey’s Bristol cream, pineapple and lemon juice, sweetened with demerara syrup. As much as I loved the beers and old-fashioned, this mixture was my favorite cocktail on this après-ski quest. Creamy yet tart, it wasn’t too strong even with aged scotch.
My husband opted for a personal favorite, Avalanche Amber Ale from Breckenridge Brewery. To balance out these drinks, we enjoyed a platter of Korean fried chicken, a sweet, spicy and juicy dish tempered with pickled cucumbers and buttermilk ranch dressing.
Horseshoe
Located right on Main Street, this “Brex-Mex” place was already busy with the après crowd when we arrived. Luckily, we snagged a table near the bar. With its Mexican-inspired menu, we easily found something to enjoy, as tequila cocktails are our favorites.
What’s most interesting about Horseshoe is the interior. A curved stairway from the mahogany bar leads to an upstairs dining area, suggesting it had an earlier life as a finer dining establishment, and indeed, it was once the popular modern American cuisine restaurant Modis.
We chose the Horseshoe Rocks Marg with blue agave, triple sec, and fresh lime juice, and the amusingly labeled You’re So Purdy, mixed with reposado tequila, Campari, lime and grapefruit juices, cinnamon syrup, and dehydrated lime. Mexican street corn and chicken dip and chips accompanied our drinks.
The unexpected mix of flavors – the amber tequila notes, the slight sourness of the Campari and grapefruit, the syrup’s sweetness – made for a nearly perfect cocktail. The elote-like dip provided a superb pairing.
