Top six Colorado drinks/liquids Hickenlooper should promote instead of fracking fluid

Governor John Hickenlooper is just back from the National Governor's Conference in Washington, where he did not talk about drinking fracking fluid, as he had during Senate testimony two weeks ago. Hick's quip about his sip of frack fluid made headlines, but there are at least six Colorado drinks we'd rather he highlight.

"It was not particularly tasty, but I'm still alive to tell the story," Hickenlooper told the aforementioned Senate committee about his taste of CleanStim, a fracking fluid created by Halliburton that Hickenlooper tried in his office back in November 2011. But if the governor really wants to promote Colorado, this state has many more liquid assets worth pushing. Our top six:

6. Red Zinger Tea

Before the Front Range became known as the Napa Valley of Craft Beer, it was renowned for another liquid: the teas coming out of Celestial Seasonings, which got its start as a hippie-dippy enterprise in Boulder more than forty years ago and grew into a big, big business. Red Zinger was the flavor that put Celestial on the map, though, and was even the name of an iconic bike race that rolled through Colorado decades ago. Next time Hickenlooper starts to spill a confession before Congress, he might want to take a break for a nice cup of tea and some hard thought.

5) Santiago's green chile

Although green chile got its start in New Mexico, it reached its culinary pinnacle in Colorado, which turned the thin brew into a gravy-thick dish of its own. The Santiago's green chile is one of the best in town. This homegrown chain began as a hole-in-the-wall family joint, but its green chile -- both mild and hot ("you got what it takes?" -- won so many fans that Santiago's now has locations across the metro area, and the green chile is not only stocked in grocery stores, but Santiago's will ship it.

4) Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey

Today, Colorado is home to dozens of distilleries, and specialty spirits is a growing business in this state. But Stranahan's, which got its start in the anteroom of a Ballpark neighborhood brewery, was the first to make Colorado whiskey, using hand-crafted distilling techniques and Colorado's finest natural ingredients. And though the company went big-time two years ago, it's still based here.

Tip for the gov: Try a shot of Stranahan's in a cup of Red Zinger.

Continue to keep counting down the top six Colorado drinks/liquids John Hickenlooper should promote.