With more restaurants per capita than any other city in United States, Santa Fe has a superb collection of bars.  Which means: cocktails.   It’s a blast to do a little Cocktail Concoctor tour around town.  Just remember that the 7,000 feet of altitude affects alcohol tolerance: 2 stiff drinks is enough to get the average person wobbly.

Start at the Secreto Bar, a mysteriously dark bar right off the lobby of the austere Hotel St. Francis.  Chris and Danny meticulously tend bar here, and are both award-winning mixologists.  Chris, who also blogs as the Santa Fe Barman, created several delicious drinks using locally-made, all-natural, hand-crafted flavors from the Bitter End Bitters.

“The cocktail is the first real course, it sets the tone,” he says. The end result was unbelievable: the Halo, with tarragon, lemon, honey absinthe and Plymouth Gin, or the Unnamed Cocktail with thai bitters, Plymouth gin, and elderflower liquor.

Say your thanks, and move on to the Coyote Café, one of the poshest restaurants in town.  Sidle up to the bar, and feast your lips on a cocktail list created by bar manager Quinn. With a laser-focus on presentation, the list includes prickly pear cactus ice cubes, flaming cotton candy, and an Edible Mojito.

At that point, if you are feeling stable, wander down to the Matador, down the stairs at the corner of San Francisco and Galisteo, and revel in the decidedly funky vibe of this dive-y bar.  Take a shot of tequila, and wash it down with a beer.

Ole!