Sampling the local spirits

December 8

Whiskey is now being made in Colorado — for the first time since Prohibition according to a bartender at Elway’s in Cherry Creek. It's called Stranahan’s, it’s based in Denver and I had it in the Denver Club Cocktail.
I won over a couple of the servers when the bartender asked me how I liked it and I said it tasted like the Western Slope in autumn.
That would be the western slope of the Rocky Mountains.
I wanted to write down the ingredients, but instead the bartender actually printed out the recipe, to wit:

In a shaker glass filled with ice, add two ounces Stranahan’s, one ounce sage syrup [I assume that’s made by steeping sage in sugar water], half an ounce of lemon juice and a dash of Angostura orange bitters.
Shake and strain into a highball over fresh ice.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
Historical note (this was printed out with the recipe, too; I have edited it a bit because I can’t help myself): The Denver Club was Denver and the mountain west's premier private club, established in 1880 in a mansion that was located on Glenarm Pl. and 17th St. in Downtown Denver. The mansion was demolished in 1953 and replaced by a high-rise office building, with the club located on the top three floors. The club’s popularity and prestige dwindled soon thereafter.