Beverage Director of OAK at Fourteenth, Collin Griffith, had sights set on pursuing an environmental-related profession early on in life.
As he studied his first ambition in faculty, he labored facet gigs within the meals and beverage business to maintain himself financially. The extra time he spent within the restaurant enterprise, it turned more and more clear that he was meant to be part of it in the long term. Particularly, the beverage-making facet of the spectrum fascinated him.
“There’s a form of folklore and storytelling that comes together with the commerce. I began to chop my chops behind the bar on the Boulder Theater the place I labored on and off for 10 years. I at all times search enchancment and schooling so after doing excessive quantity for a while, I made a decision to pursue high quality eating cocktail bartending due to the craft,” added Griffith.
From that time on, Collin constructed his skillset and expertise at a number of notable institutions, every of which taught him one thing new.
“I began working for Bryan Dayton in 2015 at Denver’s Acorn and actually began to dig into the craft cocktail facet of issues. It gave me a profound appreciation of consideration to element and pleasure in craft. I labored my method by way of that program over 4 years. At this level, I made a decision to get some new expertise and labored at Beast and Bottle because the lead bartender. From there, I left to open a neighborhood idea referred to as Northside Eatery + Market. This was my first time having full autonomy over the beverage program from programs, shopping for, and administration.”
All of the experience developed by way of Collin’s dedication to the craft introduced him to the place he proudly holds at this time. In March of 2023, Half Eaten Cookie Hospitality named him Beverage Director of OAK at Fourteenth.
OAK gives one of the best of American delicacies: wood-fired, seasonal, American meals, positioned within the coronary heart of Boulder.
“OAK at Fourteenth is among the causes I fell in love with hospitality to start with. It’s such a enjoyable program that has been led by a number of the greatest within the enterprise through the years. Due to the brand new American delicacies, it permits for a really numerous cocktail program that breeds creativity. The bar program is completely complemented by a various and nice wine checklist,” mentioned Collin.
The beverage program at OAK is everywhere in the map, in one of the best ways. They draw on many influences from rising tendencies nonetheless rooted in basic cocktail preparation and have a ton of enjoyable creating.
One of many fan favorites of the drink menu is “The Throughout the Atlantic,” a drink developed by Bryan Dayton that pays homage to the sources of its components. They begin with an American Rye whiskey after which journey “throughout the Atlantic” to France with the addition of Lillet Rouge and D.O.M. Benedictine, then add a contact of honey and a pair dashes of Oak Fragrant bitters from Cocktail Punk.
Griffith accredits quite a lot of OAK’s beverage program success to his stable crew. “It’s all a few good crew. This system is actually all a few group of individuals working with the identical aim in thoughts. It’s about consistency and constructing programs that make issues run easily. We glance to create cocktails that inform a narrative, elicit emotions, and sensations of nostalgia.”
