Establishment: Water Witch— 163 W. 900 South, SLC
Bartender: Dawson Jenkins
Cocktail Name: Sack Lunch
Dawson is a local boy who has been tending bar since he turned 21. It’s no wonder that his cocktail was inspired by a sack lunch like your momma used to make for you. Think recess vibes.
Don’t mistake youth for a lack of maturity though. With Waterpocket Snow Angel Aquavit, fino sherry, homemade peach burrata and locally produced bitters, this is not your kindergarten juice box.
Dawson loves whipping up egg white cocktails, as befits a guy who is always thinking about the chemistry of what he’s stirring and the idea of understanding what flavors exist
in Utah’s biome.
Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.
“What grows together, goes together, and we grow here.” Bartending in Utah is especially fun because he gets to subvert the expectations that our drinks will suck. “It makes me a little oppositional defiant …I have the most fun job in the world. There’s so much more going on than making drinks … hosting a vibe, making sure that everybody’s having a good time and facilitating connections.”
Dawson used to be skeptical about the hair-of-the-dog hangover cure. “I thought ‘you guys are just looking for an excuse to drink again.’ It works, a little bit. So maybe an Underberg after a breakfast sandwich.”
Sack Lunch
1 oz Waterpocket aquavit
.5 oz cappaletti
.5 oz fino Sherry
.75 oz acid-corrected apple juice
.5 oz whey
A bar spoon of Maenad
1 sleeve bitters blend
Shake and strain onto ice
Garnish:
Garnish with two crescent apple slices and a ball of housemade peach burrata. Bitters Blend: Mix equal parts Angostura and Waterpocket Notom.
Acid Corrected Apple Juice:
Juice green apples and add 4g of citric and 4g of malic acid to every 500g of apple juice
Whey and Peach Burrata:
Bring whole milk just below a boil and slowly add 1 cup of white vinegar per gallon of milk till the mixture curdles. Set aside for 20 minutes and blend the peaches. (You can use whey to begin the blending if peaches are less juicy).
Set aside the whey to cool. Take milk solids (curds) and incorporate peaches. Add salt and sugar to taste and strain this wet mess in a cheesecloth. Suspend the cheesecloth in the fridge overnight to solidify and form into pearls once the cheese has set.
Explore the cocktail trail and vote for your favorite cocktail in the 2025 Salt Lake Magazine Farm-To-Glass Cocktail Contest.
About the 2025 Salt Lake Magazine Farm-To-Glass Cocktail Contest
23 bars from across the state present delicious cocktail creations and compete for the best in Utah. This year’s contest cocktails shine with all Utah has to offer, embodying the farm-to-glass ethos by incorporating the bountiful range of Utah’s native herbs, homegrown produce and locally distilled spirits. Celebrate the bartenders’ hard work throughout from Sept. 1–Oct. 1 by visiting participating bars, trying their unique cocktail concoctions and voting for your favorite on saltlakemagazine.com.
