The summers are unbelievable in the state of Utah. Mountain biking, hiking, road biking, swimming, sailing—this state is your oyster, and it offers it all with endless sunshine and perfect temperatures. And as your resident après-everything writer at Ski Utah, I highly recommend checking out some of the best wine bars, cheap eats and resort watering holes around the state to pair with those activities.
But sometimes you’d rather lounge in the backyard with a nice cocktail after your activity of choice, or perhaps you live in another state or country. So head to the local liquor store, snag a few ingredients and shake up a few cocktails inspired by some of my favorite spots in Park City and Heber Valley.
High West Distillery and Saloon
You may have had High West whiskey in the past, but have you been to their saloon or distillery? Because their cocktails are good. They regularly change up their list, and they use fresh and local ingredients to make cocktails that spread from the tiki-inspired to spirit-forward classics. Their beverage director, Steve Walton, gave us two recommendations: one for warm evenings when you need something light and refreshing and one for those cloudy days when you need something with a little kick.Tall Stranger
1 oz High West Double Rye!
0.75 oz Amontillado sherry
0.25 oz Falernum
0.75 oz lemon juice
0.75 oz pineapple juice
0.5 oz tamarind simple syrup
3 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Fever Tree club soda
1 star anise
Add all ingredients except soda water into a cocktail shaker. Double strain into a collins glass with pebble ice and top with soda water. Garnish with the star anise.
Parley’s Pick Up
1.5 oz High West Double Rye!
1.5 oz cold brew coffee
0.5 oz Amontillado sherry
0.25 oz Banane du Bresil
0.25 oz Creme de Cacao
0.25 oz cinnamon simple syrup
1 healthy dash of chocolate bitters
Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Afterword Restaurant
I intended to write this whole article about Park City restaurants, but one of my favorite spots in town, Tupelo, reincarnated last year as Afterword in Heber. It’s just as good, if not better. After a bike ride on the Dutch Hollow trails or boating on the Jordanelle, stop by their magnificent patio bar for a cocktail. The directions for this drink look complicated, but I promise it’s easy to make and absolutely delicious.
Amaro Sour
1.5 oz Meletti amaro
.75 oz rye whiskey
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz rosemary syrup
Egg white
Garnish with a Luxardo cherry
To start, build the cocktail: Measure the amaro, rye, lemon juice, rosemary syrup and egg white into a cocktail shaker. Do not add ice yet.
Next, dry shake the cocktail: Seal the cocktail shaker tins together and begin shaking vigorously for 10-15 seconds. (The shaker may create a vacuum so use caution when opening!)
Shake again but with ice: Add ice to the bottom shaker, seal, and shake vigorously for another 10-15 seconds.
Strain the cocktail: Using a Hawthorne strainer fit tightly over the top of the shaker, pour the cocktail through a fine mesh strainer into a coupe glass. (This technique is referred to as “double straining” and is used to catch ice shards or pulp from the lemon juice.)
Lastly, garnish and serve: Skewer a Luxardo cherry, add it on top and enjoy!
The St. Regis Deer Valley
Any time I bring out-of-towners to Deer Valley Resort, I mandate a stop on St. Regis patio for their famous bloody mary after skiing, biking, hiking or just wandering around Park City. My backyard may not be quite as gorgeous as the Regis’ view over the mountains, but it’ll do in a pinch when I want one of their bloodies at home. I had to add "espuma" to my vocabulary for this cocktail—it's Spanish for froth or foam.
7452 Bloody Mary (makes four glasses)
6 oz High West vodka
16 oz tomato juice
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup cornichon juice
2 tsp horseradish
1 tsp sriracha chile sauce
½ tsp fine ground black pepper
1 tsp celery salt
Wasabi Celery Espuma
60 g celery juice
30 g green apple juice
2 g wasabi powder
A few parsley leaves
1 tbsp lime juice
Dash of salt
Dash of xanthan
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine the first set of ingredients and pour into glasses. Combine the second set of ingredients (except for the cayenne pepper) to make the espuma. Blend until frothy. Top the bloody mary mixture with the wasabi espuma, then sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
(Sourcing credit for this cocktail goes to Park City Magazine.)
Hearth and Hill
Park City was badly missing a higher-end restaurant in the Kimball Junction area. While there are awesome pizza joints and breweries, we needed a spot for delicious cocktails and shared plates. Enter Hearth & Hill. The restaurant prides itself on embodying Park City spirit and acting as a “gathering spot” for locals and visitors alike.
Paradise Mountain
1.5 oz Antelope Island Rum
.75 oz Giffard Banane Du Bresil
.75 oz Som Tamarind Shrub
.75 oz orange juice
.75 oz pineapple juice
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, and shake until creamy. Pour into glass and garnish with fresh fruit.
Blind Dog
A hidden gem in Park City, Blind Dog offers a killer happy hour (half-priced sushi! $1 oysters!) and one of the best patios in town. And their cocktails are fabulous, as well. So when you pick up oysters at Whole Foods to shuck yourself and find yourself craving one of their drinks, here's a new cocktail on their list to whip up yourself.
Summer Breeze
1½ oz Hendricks gin
½ oz Amsterdam gin
1½ oz fresh watermelon juice
¾ oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
4 basil leaves
¾ oz simple syrup
Muddle three basil leaves with ice and simple syrup. Add both gins, watermelon juice and lime juice. Stir with ice, garnish with a watermelon triangle, the remaining basil leaf and serve up in a martini glass.
It’s 75 degrees outside as I write this and nearing 5 pm, so I’m getting ready to snag a shaker and a few bottles to start stirring up these Park City-inspired cocktails. See you at happy hour, and always remember to drink responsibly!
