The High-Country High Life

The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek Mountain luxury doesn’t come more majestic than this 180-room hotel tucked into an exclusive enclave between Beaver Creek and Arrowhead on Beaver Creek Mountain. Exquisite carpentry and stonework combine with high-end finishes and furnishings to create a refined atmosphere, while the spacious rooms exude luxury through their thoughtful design and … Read more

Craig Stadler: Living Large in Evergreen

As the Substantial wooden door to Craig Stadler’s home opens, the jangle of sleigh bells sound more like Christmas than the last day of June.  The cool brume shrouding the tall pines outside the house reinforces the unseasonal suggestion, as does the sight of a stocky white-bearded gentleman welcoming me inside. Casually clad in a … Read more

To Club or Cuvée?

As the world becomes more complicated, so do our options for traveling it. VRBO, AirBnB and countless travel booking sites create endless choices. “I feel like I spend as much time hunting for deals as I do on the actual vacation,” says frequent traveler Joseph Grant of Denver, who likens his behavior to that of … Read more

Carving a Niche: The Best in Denver Steakhouses

Shanahan’s Steakhouse The opulent surroundings at Shanahan’s—named for and co-owned by former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan—rate as eye-popping, from a bar area teeming with glassware to a 25-foot-tall granite fireplace to abundant dark wood and leather pizzazz everywhere. The kitchen expertise is applied to Shanahan’s signature bone-in steaks—the meat next to the bone … Read more

Local Customs at Carbon Putters

Golf’s a game of opposites. Hit down on the ball to get it up; swing easier to hit it further. Maybe this explains why a putter designed and manufactured by a small, family-owned Colorado company finished at the very top of MyGolfSpy.com’s list as “Most Wanted Blade Putter,” beating out heavily marketed models from TaylorMade, PING, … Read more

Spirited Away: Comparing seven popular categories

Chances are, you wouldn’t pay $3.5 million for a diamond-encrusted bottle of tequila or even $7,200 for a bear-shaped flagon of vodka. However, there are rare liquors worth seeking out and showing off—and those worth sharing with pride. The chart below, sourced from numerous experts, makes that distinction in seven popular categories of spirits. It … Read more

The Wide World of Wine

A Week in Provence Sommelier Michaela Hightower teaches wine classes at Soirée, the event center she owns in Colorado Springs. It’s fair to say that her Curious Palate program isn’t as intensive as the five-day Chêne Bleu Extreme Wine Experience she and her friend Ana Kress attended in France in June. “I’ve never worked harder … Read more

Driving for Dough: Luxury Autos

This article appears in the August 2016 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer. Subscribe today! Bentley Bentayga Just when you thought the crossover had reached its apogee, along comes a game-changing off-roader that vividly illustrates the extraordinary levels one-upmanship can go. Completely sold out at a cool quarter mil each and blessed with a superbly engineered chassis … Read more

Private Jets are Time Machines

Ontario-to-Buffalo is six minutes by car—unless, however, you’re talking about California’s Ontario Airport and Buffalo, Wyoming. Emergency physician Brian J. Bearie made that trip with his wife and six children last year by plane, flying commercially to spend a week at Paradise Ranch, a dude ranch outside Buffalo. Between stops and layovers, the Bearies spent … Read more