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Discover Salt Lake Magazine’s Utah nightlife Coverage. Here you’ll find reviews of the Best Utah Bars in Salt Lake City, along the Wasatch Front and Back, and around Utah to help you discover amazing Dining and Nightlife Experiences at Utah Restaurants and Utah Bars. And check out our Dining Guide, for an online collection of reviews and information about Utah Restaurants from the editors of Salt Lake Magazine.

Oct 16
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The Best Halloween Bars in Salt Lake City This Year

By After Dark

Despite the snowcapped Wasatch Range and garish Christmas merchandise infesting retail shops and grocery stores—there’s still plenty of time to get in the Halloween spirit. Grab your ghouls and hit one of these Salt Lake City bars that are embracing the season with themed brews, booze and boos. 

Full-Blown Experiences 

The Fright Club at Varley 
The sleek downtown bar has transformed into an enticingly eerie speakeasy with all the promise of Halloween revelry. Dressed in dimly lit lightscapes and moody tones, the bar has concocted a range of spooky cocktails from blood-bag-filled sours to doll-head tiki drinks. On Thursdays, Varley teams up with The Fear Factory to present a special evening of guest DJs, dancing and giveaway opportunities for VIP tickets to the haunted attraction. 

@varleyslc | 55 W 100 South, SLC 

Quarters Sugarhouse
The arcade bar’s year-round mascot, a giant skeleton, is joined this month by a barrage of classic All Hallows Eve totems. We’re talking spider webs, haunted circus clowns and jack-o-lanterns. This year, the Sugar House watering hole is going all out with a weekly event series, Terror Tuesdays, a free classic horror movie screening, along with a Zombie Prom, Monster Bash, and a walk-through haunted house pop-up on the outdoor patio. Scared yet? 

@quarterssugarhouse | 1045 E 2100 South, SLC 

Toned-down Halloween vibes 

Thieves Guild 
The Dungeons & Dragons bar on 9th South has released a new selection of potions for your autumnal sipping pleasure. The fantasy bar is already adorned with whimsical furnishings and flair, so it doesn’t take much suspension of belief to feel transported to a Halloween town tavern. The bar is also hosting a variety of events this October, like pumpkin carving on Oct. 20, and the Apples & Daggers festival—a one-of-a-kind anniversary party featuring smoked turkey legs, prize quests and even armored combat by professionals. 

@thievesguildcidery | 117 W 900 South, SLC

Melancholy
A cozy wine bar in the Post District, Melancholy is a dark academia novel come to life. Thoughtfully decorated with vintage furnishings and eclectic decor, the bar has sprinkled in a healthy dose of Halloween pieces that maintain the sophisticated vibe. Stop by for one of their many cocktail education classes or tarot readings, and don’t forget to pick the bartender’s brain about their constantly rotating wine menu. 

@melancholyslc | 556 S Gale Street, SLC 

Social Axe Throwing
Axe throwing, local brews on tap and spooky decor? Jason Voorhies, eat your heart out. Utah’s premier axe-throwing bar is decked out for the season, and they’re even throwing a Halloween party on October 23rd. The event brings in representatives from the city’s leading breweries for an axe-throwing competition, local food vendors and a costume party. 

@socialaxethrowing | 1154 S 300 West, SLC 

Duffy’s Tavern 
An industry favorite, Duffy’s Tavern is serving up damn good sandwiches and dive bar vibes with an October twist. Spider webs on the ceiling, skellies on the back patio and most horrifying of all—karaoke on the weekends. 

@duffystavernslc | 932 South Main Street, SLC 

SLC Pub
Occupying the former Good Grammar space, SLC Pub is a new movie-focused bar that screens classic and occult films. The interiors are plastered with punk movie posters, graphic art and lounge spaces. Stop by during the week for screenings of Halloween favorites, like the Alien series and the horror-comedy Troll 2.

@slcpub | 69 E Gallivan Ave, SLC 

Get the latest on Salt Lake nightlife, and find all our Food and Drink coverage.  And while you’re here, subscribe and get six issues of Salt Lake magazine, your curated guide to the best of life in Utah.

Oct 02
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Salt Lake Cocktail Contest Final Leaderboard Results

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

And just like that…our 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest comes to a close. This year, the public has been casting their votes in droves—tallying a grand total of 25,850 votes! The surge in community support is a direct reflection of Utah’s evolving mixology industry, and we’re so glad our incredible bartenders are receiving the recognition they deserve. This year’s competition saw a range of high-concept concoctions and fresh takes on the “Farm-to-Glass” prompt. Some bartenders looked to their roots for nostalgic flavors and feelings, and others organized community-wide collaborations that took the idea of a cocktail and transformed it into a performance art piece.

Our judges are still deliberating awards, but rest assured there is a lot of love to go around. Keep an eye out for our big reveal on October 21st after our invite-only awards ceremony.

Cheers, until next year!

Water Witch— 8,767 votes

Dawson Jenkins, Water Witch. Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

Dawson Jenkins • Sack Lunch

About the Bartender: 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. 

Palomino— 6,825 Votes

Mariano Agustin Forza, Palomino. Photo by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography

Mariano Agustin Forza • Smoked Orchard
About the Bartender: Mariano is from a place where food, fire and gathering are a way of life—Argentina. The keyword is asado, the social ritual that comes with grilling meat over an open fire. It’s a barbeque with the soul of a tango. That spirit is what Mariano wanted to bring to his cocktail, the “Smoked Orchard,” which uses local pears smoked over oak with local bourbon and a dash of ginger bitters

Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club — 6,537 Votes

Leo Rosas, Flanker. Photo by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

Leo Rosas • Garden Bliss
About the Cocktail: Garden Bliss is a fresh celebration of Utah’s local farms and natural beauty. It features crisp Alpine Gin and bright, floral notes from St-Germain and Angel Vert, perfectly balanced with a house-made strawberry, basil, and honey syrup crafted from ingredients sourced right here in Utah’s mountains and fields. This cocktail captures the vibrant flavors of the region in every sip, a true farm-to-glass experience that honors our local growers and brings the spirit of the land to your glass.

See the Final Leaderboard Below


Find all our Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest stories, and enjoy more Food and Drink coverage. And while you’re here, subscribe to Salt Lake magazine to receive six beautiful print issues a year!

Sep 25
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Making sense of Utah’s Alcohol Laws with the Liquor Lawyer

By After Dark

“Every state has a weird liquor law or two. Utah just happens to have all of them.”

Tanner Lenart, better known as the Utah Liquor Lawyer, has been helping businesses navigate our state’s tedious alcohol regulations for more than 13 years. From handling license transfers to negotiating fines for violations, Tanner’s main goal is simple: keep businesses up and running. Lenart took a shine to the field of beverage law early on in her career. “I remember thinking, ‘gosh, this is so great,'” she says. “So much better than dealing with death, destruction or divorce.”

Her work in the field ranges from assisting expanding franchise hotels with license applications to ensuring manufacturers operate within statutes and negotiating with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) over compliance violations. “I even have clients that plan to launch their business within the next two years and just want to understand the legal landscape,” she says. “Other businesses I work with have been operating for decades with a clean history, but they all of a sudden get a violation and I help negotiate settlements with the Attorney General’s Office.”

Tanner Lenart has developed a reputation as the Utah Liquor Lawyer. She helps booze related business with license transfers, detailed negotiations and general DABS relations. Photo by Adam Finkle

The scope of Lenart’s work is no surprise when you consider Utah’s militant liquor regulations–statutes that change frequently and impact each type of license differently. the transfer of licenses, for example, has undergone a pendulum-swing of changes over the years that confuse both resident and transplant business owners.

“For a while, you couldn’t transfer your liquor license, but you could sell it,” Lenart explains.

As of 2022, a new law eliminated the market value of licenses, forcing businesses to apply for new licenses awarded by the DABS commission or undergo a tedious process of restructuring. Another change DABS introduced in recent years allows customers to carry their drinks when moving from a waiting lounge to a tale. Before, 2023, your cocktail required an official babysitter to relocate 15 feet. Every so often, new laws will move toward easing restrictions, but that doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all in the beverage industry. Utah operates under an Express Language Clause, which basically says: unless it is expressly permitted in a DABS statute, go ahead and assume it’s prohibited.

With so many hair-splitting laws, the odds of a bar, restaurant or any beverage-related operation receiving a compliance violation are high. “I can say that my practice in the violation are has grown,” Lenart says.

Whether that increase is due to a crackdown in DABS enforcement or her reputation growing in the community, Lenart can’t say. Though she does acknowledge a change in how DABS is approaching compliance missteps. DABS’ undercover operations used to primarily focus on the CUBS program (Covert Underage Buyers), in which 19-year-olds use their real underage IDs and attempt to purchase alcohol at bars, restaurants, etc.

“They still do that, but I’m seeing a lot more manpower being used on DABS agents going in to look for other violations like having too many drinks in front of customers at a time,” says Lenart. Minor infractions like bartending without a name tag, can result in a written warning.

But even those violations can stack up, and that’s where Lenart can help. “There are statutes and administrative rules with select penalties, but those penalties range,” she explains.

Lenart can facilitate negotiations between businesses and DABS, using factors like violation history and level of cooperation, to her clients’ advantage. Best-case penalties may include warnings and small fines, but extreme cases can be devastating.

“I remember a male revue show coming into town selling alcohol on their premises, while doing full nudity,” Lenart recalls in disbelief. “That resulted in full suspension of there license an a five-figure fine, and that’s just a first offense.”

The fast-paced nature of Utah’s liquor landscape can be an intimidating reality for both new and legacy businesses, but its advocates like Tanner who are guiding Utahns toward continued success.

Want to stay in the loop on all things liquor law? Check out Lenart’s X (formerly Twitter) @UTliquorlawyer, where she breaks down the legal stuff into easy-to-get updates you’ll actually want to read.

Strange Changes to UT Liquor Laws 

  • Good: Straw Tasting
    As of May 2025, Utah bartenders can officially straw taste their cocktails. It’s a standard industry practice akin to a chef tasting a sauce; the technique was previously considered “illegal consumption of liquor on the job.” Now, bartenders can get high on their own supply, a few drops at a time. (They don’t.)
  • Tricky: ID Checks for All
    A huge change is coming for Utah in 2026. H.B. 437 mandates a 100% ID check for alcohol sales, regardless of age. “I can see someone in their 70s ordering a $500 bottle of wine at a resort pool in Park City getting feisty over this one,” Lenart remarks. 
  • Umm: Interdicted Person Identifier
    Starting in January 2026, Individuals with extreme DUIs, or otherwise restricted from purchasing alcohol for a set period, will surrender their license to the DMV in exchange for a replacement ID displaying a big red stripe and the words “NO ALCOHOL SALE.” It’s unclear how DABS will provide training on how to verify the interdicted status, if ID scanners will be used to identify out-of-state restrictions, and how to address interdicted individuals who are using a passport.

Get the latest on Salt Lake nightlife, and find all our Food and Drink coverage.  And while you’re here, subscribe and get six issues of Salt Lake magazine, your curated guide to the best of life in Utah.

Sep 09
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Sugar House Station Brings Some of SLC’s Best Food, Drinks, and Distilleries Under One Roof

By After Dark

The historic Post Office building off 2100 South in Sugar House has been a drug store, an ice cream shop, a seafood restaurant, and now, the 1930s landmark is the home of Utah’s very first “bar hall”. Sugar House Station is the latest endeavor from Pago Group’s Scott Evans, who has partnered with local distilling vanguards James Fowler and Alan Scott of Sugar House Distillery and Waterpocket Distillery, respectively, to bring the building into a new era of business. 

Salt Lake City Bars
(From left to right) Waterpocket’s Alan Scott, Sugar House Distillery’s James Fowler and Pago’s Scott Evans. Photo by Adam Finkle.

“One of our main goals was to offer those visiting Salt Lake City a one-stop shop for what our city has to offer in terms of food and beverage,” Evans says. The 10,000 sq. foot bar hall certainly hits that mark, housing 11 unique stalls where customers can enjoy everything from fried chicken to gyros, to smashburgers and bolognese. Diehard Aristos and Cannella’s fans were undoubtedly thrilled when Sugar House Station announced both establishments would come out of retirement for the project. Joining those legacy restaurateurs are Birdhouse, Pizza Bar, Proper Burger & Brewing, Publik Coffee and Santo Taco. Unlike other food halls, Sugar House Station offers tableside service and walk-up ordering for a balanced dining experience. “It’s a totally different concept, there’s nothing like it in Utah, the way we are operating it,” Evans remarks.

Sugar House Station’s well-rounded food program has been praised by the community, but it’s their bar collaborations that have this writer even more excited. In addition to the two main bars in the center of Sugar House Station, three entity-specific bars line the north side of the space: a new outlet for the excellent Casot wine bar, as well as spaces for Waterpocket and Sugar House Distillery. Serving as their first brick-and-mortar bars (outside of distillery tasting rooms), Waterpocket and Sugar House finally have a dedicated space to showcase their product. These grain-to-glass distillers represent exactly the sort of high-quality, intentional epicureans that Evans wants to put on the forefront of our community’s tastebuds. “We want to showcase what these spirits are capable of,” he says. Bartenders from Waterpocket and Sugar House have collaborated on ten classic cocktails featuring their products, as well as five unique drinks. Throughout the hall, customers can order from one master bar menu, but each dedicated bar stall has its own unique offerings. To accompany the spirit-forward menu items, beer from Proper Brewing contributes a rotating lineup of house-brewed beer. 

Of course, would this even be a Pago concept without an emphasis on wine? Evans has curated an exceptional by-the-glass lineup, focusing particularly on bubbles. “My goal with the Casot stall is to have the largest sparkling wine program by the glass in the state,” he says. Investing in special Coravin wine preservation systems, Casot can sell high-end pours at an affordable price. “I want to give Salt Lakers the chance to taste these reputable, famous sparkling wines without having to spend $500 on a bottle.” From all of us “value vino” enthusiasts, we thank you, Scott! 

With so many great minds in one space, Evans is excited about the collaborations to come. Expect special releases like barrel-aged Negronis and Manhattans, and an ever-evolving bar menu that touches on products from on-site purveyors. Sugar House Station also hosts live music and special events throughout the week. Check their site and socials for the most up-to-date calendar.  

When You Go

Sugar House Station

2155 S. Highland Dr., SLC
sugarhousestation.com | @sugarhousestation.slc

See more stories like this and all of our Food and Drink coverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best life in Utah?

Sep 01
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Mar | Muntanya 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest Entry

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

Establishment: Mar | Muntanya — 170 S. West Temple St., SLC
Bartender: Keslee Smith
Cocktail Name: Raspberry Days Gimlet

Keslee Smith has been behind the bar for close to two decades in Utah and she loves to bring the local flavor. That’s why she uses raspberries from the Salt Lake farmer’s market for her cocktail that pays homage to Bear Lake’s Raspberry Days festival. Mixed with gin from Alpine Distillery, it’s Utah’s mountains in a glass. 

Keslee has worked extensively with the chef Tyson Peterson at Mar | Muntanya to craft drinks that complement the food coming out of the kitchen.”I just love creating and finding the flavors that work together—sweet, savory, bitter, citrus, etc.”

Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

Her favorite thing about bartending in Utah? Using those clicker devices that measure out alcohol, which bartenders call “bergs” after the company that makes them. “I’m explaining the laws more than I’m making drinks sometimes.” With all her experience, what was the worst drink she was asked to make? “A virgin mojito. Just get a Sprite.”

Keslee’s after-shift drink is a glass of wine and a shot of tequila. “Quality tequila. I’ve had enough bad tequila. I have my standards now.” And for the next morning? A cheeseburger and a mimosa. 

Raspberry Days Gimlet

1.5​ oz​ Alpine Collab Spruce Tip Infused Gin
.75 ​oz​ Alpine Preserve Cordial
.25 ​oz​ Empress Rose Gin
1 ​oz​  Acid Adjusted Raspberry Juice
1​ oz Cox Honey Syrup

Garnish:

1​ oz  Raspberry Leaf Espuma
1 ​Fresh Raspberry Leaf
1 ​Freeze-dried local raspberry
1​ Freeze-dried spruce tip

Shake with ice and strain into Nick & Nora. Top with chilled espuma. Place a large, clean raspberry leaf on top of the foam. Stuff a freeze-dried raspberry with a freeze-dried spruce tip and place on top of the raspberry leaf. 

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.

Sep 01
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Copper Common 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest Entry

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

Establishment: Copper Common — 111 E. Broadway, SLC
Bartender: Spencer Jensen
Cocktail Name: Tomato Boiii

Spencer Jensen wins the award for the most Utah name in our contest! He first got into bartending so that he could have his days free to hit the slopes during the winter, but soon became passionate about classic cocktails. He’s stuck with it because of the community.

“Making someone a cocktail and watching their face light up when they first taste it makes me immensely happy.” His cocktail is called the “Tomato Boiii.” The “yeah” is optional.

Tomato Boiii

1 oz lemon
.75 oz Beehive Decade Dry Gin
.75 oz Wahaka Espadín Mezcal
.75 oz Heirloom tomato & parsley simple
.5 oz Fino Sherry
Combine ingredients in a shaker tin, shake, strain into a stemmed wine glass. Add ice, top with tomato soda.

Garnish with a parsley bouquet and a dehydrated heirloom tomato slice.

Heirloom tomato & parsley simple:
Chop heirloom tomatoes, and add equal parts by weight of white sugar. (I.E. 500 g tomatoes + 500 g sugar.) Add parsley leaves (roughly 6 or so leaves per tomato) as well as a pinch of salt, and blend well until all of the sugar has dissolved. Strain through cheesecloth, and store refrigerated.

Tomato soda:
Chop and blend Roma tomatoes with a little water and a little salt until the tomatoes are good and broken apart. Fine strain through cheesecloth. Add tomato water to an ISI canister and charge once with CO2. Shake a bit, then add a second CO2 charge, and refrigerate for several hours until very cold. The soda should be very very bubbly and form a foam that layers on top of the cocktail.

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.

Sep 01
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Flanker 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest Entry

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

Establishment: Flanker — 6 N. Rio Grande St., SLC
Bartender: Leo Rosas
Cocktail Name: Garden Bliss

Leo stumbled into bartending in 2015 and never looked back. “That first cocktail I made lit a fire in me; it wasn’t just a drink, it was an experience.” For more than 10 years, he’s been crafting cocktails with purpose and flair, specializing in fine dining and craft bars. 

Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

Farm to glass means something personal to him—he’s lived in some of Utah’s most rural areas. “For someone like me who actually grew up in the countryside, it means home and my heritage.” Not that he hasn’t also enjoyed city life—his experiences in Vegas and LA inform his work. He wants to bring some of the showmanship of those places home to Salt Lake. Bartending for him is part craft, part theater and all heart.

Like all good bartenders, Leo understands why people sometimes order bad drinks. He’ll serve you a Jack and Coke with a smile, but he’d much prefer to take that whiskey, make it into something beautiful and then talk about what’s going on in your life. “What are you going to do with your day?” he might ask a guest. “Talk to me and then I’ll recommend something.” The ethic of care is at the core of his work

Garden Bliss

1 oz Alpine Gin
1 oz Angel Vert Apéritif
.5 oz St-Germain Liqueur
1 oz Verjus Blanc
.5 oz house-made syrup with local strawberries basil-honey

Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain over a large ice cube in a footed glass 

Garnish:
One small dollop of locally sourced plain yogurt flavored with local mint leaves sitting on the ice cube surface (use a pastry bag). Add pea shoots and edible flowers to the yogurt.

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.

Sep 01
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Matteo 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest Entry

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

Establishment: Matteo — 77 W. 200 South, SLC
Bartender: Joel Aoyagi
Cocktail Name: The Acquaprese

Many Salt Lakers likely first met Joel Aoyagi behind the bar at Stoneground Italian Kitchen, where he elevated the bar program at an already elevated mainstay of SLC dining. This 20-year veteran of the service industry has worn many hats but is most at home behind the bar. He’s now at home running the bar program at Matteo. 

Joel likes to play with his food. “One of the things that I love about the industry is food and beverage pairing,” he says. “What I’m drinking is definitely determined by what I’m eating.” To that end, his cocktail, the Acquaprese, is a moonshot: a liquid Caprese salad.

“Caprese is a really simple dish,” he says. “There are only three ingredients. Tomatoes are abundant in the summer and I’m utilizing multiple varieties to make a tomato water. For the mozzarella element, I’m using the whey liquid from our imported Italian burrata cheese. The whey adds an awesome creamy flavor and texture. White balsamic vinegar of Modena (Matteo’s family is from Modena) gives you the perfect amount of acidic balance. Lastly, local basil brings a sweet herbaceous note to play with the spices and botanicals in Madam Pattrini Gin from Ogden’s Own Distillery

Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

The Acquapres

1 oz Madame Pattrini Gin
1.5 oz tomato water (see below) 
.25 oz whey
.25 oz white balsamic vinegar
.25 oz simple syrup
3-5 basil leaves (give the leaves a firm clap in your hand before adding to the shaker) 

Combine and shake with ice, strain into a glass. Garnish with a fresh sprig of basil or basil leaves. 

Tomato water:
Cut desired tomatoes into smaller pieces. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Blend tomatoes to a puree with minimal chunks and push through a fine mesh strainer. 

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.

Sep 01
Love0

Franklin Ave 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest Entry

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

Establishment: Franklin Ave — 231 S. Edison St., SLC
Bartender: Hannah Trosclair & Katie Patrick
Cocktail Name: The Sundance Kid

Franklin Avenue’s Hannah Trosclair and Katie Patrick are a unique combo of Southern charm (Hannah, New Orleans) and Northern big city energy (Katie, Chicago). Their cocktail shows off their combined love of the Beehive State, inspired by collaboration with Alan Scott from Waterpocket Distillery.

“Alan has a lot of stories about the history of outlaws in Utah,” Katie says. “We wanted to make the most Utah cocktail we could conceive. His stories inspired me, so I used his amaro (Notom).”

Fittingly, their cocktail is called “The Sundance Kid,” after Utah’s most famous outlaw. It doesn’t get more Utah than that, but Katie went further, using local peaches, honey and tea and Alpine Distillery’s Lafayette Bourbon.

Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

“I thought of everything that was Utah and put it into one drink,” Katie says. “We turn it into a highball, add soda water and then top it with a chamomile vanilla honey foam. Honestly, it’s like a dirty soda.”

So it is possible to get more Utah.

“Moving here from the Midwest and the South, we experienced Utah culture shock,” Hannah adds. “Soda shops on every corner, mysterious Mormon history, native peaches (aren’t those only in Georgia?), a rebellious counterculture, an alien desert landscape. We found all of it strange and wonderful. Our appreciation for these things has shifted from an unusual delight to a familiar comfort.”

The Sundance Kid

1.25 oz Alpine Lafayette
.75 oz Waterpocket Notom
2 oz grilled peach syrup
Topped with soda and a chamomile, honey and vanilla cocktail foam

Grilled Peach Syrup:
Blend grilled peaches with sugar and water, strain. Add lactic acid to taste.

Cocktail Foam:
Add chamomile tea, honey, vanilla, egg white, lemon and a pinch of cream of tartar into a whip cream canister, shake, charge and chill.

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.

Sep 01
Love0

Harbor Seafood + Steak Co 2025 Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest Entry

By After Dark, Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Contest

Establishment: Harbor Seafood + Steak Co — 2302 E. Parley’s Way, SLC
Bartender: Haden Bromley & Devin Kaufusi
Cocktail Name: Birdie

Randall Curtis, the affable owner and all-around great guy you’ll find nearly every night working at Harbor Seafood + Steak, likes to do the talking, but “I brought two better-looking guys to the shoot.” The eye candy, Haden Bromley and Devin Kaufusi, are seasoned veterans at Harbor. 

“These guys know a good drink should go with food and is not going to overpower anything,” Randall says. “We want to serve something that has a punch but is also easy to drink. Our servers make the drinks for a table, so they’re interacting and learning about patrons’ tastes.”

Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.

To that end, behold, “Birdie.” A smooth swing into late summer, the Birdie blends Sugar House Vodka with Wasatch Blossom Utah Tart Cherry Liqueur, cherry schnapps, Utah Cherry-Sambal-Brown Sugar Syrup—shaken and crowned with a Disaronno amaretto foam. 

“It’s super tart,”  he says. “We really, really leaned into using Utah cherries. But it’s got a nice spice on the end to balance it out.”

Birdie

1.5 oz Sugar House Vodka
1 oz Wasatch Blossom Tart Cherry Liquor
.75 oz birdie syrup
Juiced lemon
Top with Disarrono cold foam

Birdie Syrup:
Cherry schnapps, muddled Utah cherries, sambal and brown sugar, strained

Disarrono Amaretto Cold Foam:
Heavy whipping cream, 2% milk, Disarrono Amaretto and a pinch of sea salt

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.