Colorado’s Mile High City has only one thing in common with tropical paradise: the Island Time cocktail served at The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, a historic downtown Denver landmark. The refreshing rum punch is on the menu at the shipshape Ship Tavern, the oldest restaurant of six on-site food and beverage venues nestled within The Brown Palace, now an Autograph Collection Hotel and a member of the Marriott Bonvoy family. Having opened in 1934 after the repeal of prohibition, it’s an authentically vintage pub with a lively atmosphere fit for sailors of landlubbers alike.
Oh, the stories these wood-paneled walls could tell. Past hotel guests include the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown (she stayed at the hotel only a week after the Titanic disaster), infamous Denver crime boss Jefferson “Soapy” Smith, Denver Socialite Louise Sneed Hill, Queen Marie of Romania, John Wayne, and The Beatles, plus US Presidents William Taft, Warren Harding, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. I can just imagine what it would have been like to bump into those VIPS while enjoying Ship Tavern drinks and nautical décor including a complete mast and crow’s nest, an old ship’s clock, Jamaican rum barrels, and a collection of sailing ship models that the former hotel owner acquired on a visit to Cape Cod.
When you don’t happen to be in Denver, it’s reassuring to know that the Island Time cocktail is a cinch to make at home. It takes just three liquid ingredients (plus the secret ingredient, a sprinkle of cinnamon) though you’ll need Santa Teresa 1796 Rum from Venezuela to enjoy the real deal.
ISLAND TIME
2 oz Santa Teresa 1796 Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
Sprinkle of Cinnamon
Method: Combine all liquid ingredients into a shaker. Shake and Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and garnish with a lime wheel.
