Park City Drinks

I know what you’re thinking: a whole post about drinking in the extremely conservative state with tough liquor laws? Believe it or not, alcohol rules have loosened in the years since the 2002 Olympics (bars are no longer “private clubs” requiring membership) & local establishments are thriving. Here are two great spots for apres ski in Park City.

Wasatch Brewery

We stumbled upon Wasatch Brewery while wandering Main Street & couldn’t resist popping in to try some local brews. Pulling up to the bar & asked if we could order a flight. And that’s when our education of Utah’s liquor laws began: beer flights can’t be sold because no more than two beers can be served to someone at the same time. However, breweries like Wasatch sell tasters, which means you can sample four small beers at the same time. In addition, draft beer is capped at 4%, which means that even Budweiser has to change the brew they send to Utah.

We really enjoyed tasting Wasatch’s different beers, including their very popular Polygamy Porter, the lighter Provo Girl Pilsner, the fruity Cherry Coconut Porter (a seasonable beer) & the Evolution Amber Ale. Since we were just drinking beers we didn’t have to order any food of Wasatch’s extensive menu (ordering wine & liquor means you have to order food as well), but we saw some towering plates of nachos coming out of the kitchen which looked awfully good. The best thing about the taster arrangement? Each beer is only $.50, which means that your “flight” ends up costing only a few dollars.

Wasatch Brew Pub – Park City
250 Main Street
Park City, UT 84060

High West Distillery

 Park City embraces its mining heritage throughout downtown, no more so than at a national garage/livery stable turned distillery right at the base of the Town Lift. High West – Utah’s first distillery since the end of the American Prohibition – opened a small distilling operation & tasting room downtown in 2007 (they have a larger operation opening just outside town this summer). Owned by a biochemist who decided that he wanted to make “really good whiskey in a beautiful place,” High West is ushering a new era in spirit making in Utah.

 We stopped by mid-afternoon, just as the après ski crowd was starting to arrive. Sitting upstairs at a very old-western feeling bar, we enjoyed a Gypsy Queen (Vodka distilled in-house, Benedictine & bitters), High West Lemonade (homemade Double Rye, house made lemonade & mint) & they even whipped up a Mustang Sandy, which was an award winning popular item on their summer menu (High West Son Of Bourye, lemon juice, High West Smoked Honey Syrup & Boulevard Tank 7 Farm House Beer). We were stuffed from lunch, but tempted to come back just to order dessert, including the Grillswith: a cinnamon grilled Krispy Kreme donut with a double rye drizzle & whiskey ice cream.

 Free tours are offered daily, but reservations are suggested.

High West Distillery 
703 Park Avenue
Park City, UT 84060