Denver

Denver, situated at the confluence of two rivers on a high, arid plain and known as the “mile-high city” due to its 5,280-foot elevation, was officially named by General William Larimer in 1858, the same year gold was discovered in Colorado. The negotiation over who would have the rights to the city was settled on a bridge over the Cherry Creek with the promise of a barrel of whiskey … or a hanging. A fitting beginning as the city’s first permanent structure was a saloon, and today’s most raucous gastronomic trend is small-batch spirits, with Stranahan’s whiskey and Leopold Brother whiskey staking early claims.