Establishment: Urban Hill —510 S. 300 West, SLC
Bartender: Jordon Strang
Cocktail Name: Afterlight
In addition to his work at Urban Hill, Jordon Strang runs a popular pop-up drink series called Bitter Lovers, which shows how much this bartender dives into the deep end of the liquor pool. He’s so enthusiastic about the farm-to-glass concept of our contest that he’s revised the entire Urban Hill drinks menu this fall. The whole lineup will be made with products farmed, produced, or foraged in the state of Utah. (He actually made six entries and all will appear on the menu.)
“We have short seasons and rapid growing periods, and it’s very feast or famine, so we are picking these products in the peak of their season and doing some slight fermentation or preserving them for this menu. I think it’s a fun opportunity to highlight our local farmers.”
Photography by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.
What does he love about bar work? “Taking care of people. Maybe take them away from the tedium, the mundane, the troubles of their life.”
After a night of drinking, Jordon loves the salty limeade at Salt Lake’s Phở Tây Hô. A bit of bitter, a bit of salty, a bit of sweet, just as it should be.
Afterlight
1.5 oz Sugar House Blue Corn Bourbon
.5 oz Faccia Brutto Amaro Gorini
.5 oz apricot-golden beet Gum Syrup
Grated Ritual Chocolate on top
Stir and strain over a big rock and generously grate chocolate over the top.
Apricot-Golden Beet Gum Syrup:
Juice equal parts apricot and golden beet syrup, add 50% sugar by weight and combine and blend
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.
