High West Distillery & Saloon

From dirty martinis to dive bars, Park City is a place where both the refined and the rowdy can converge to party and do a little skiing. Here are some libations and locations that are not to be missed in a town that rages—despite being located in Utah.

If there were only two reasons to check out Park City in winter, they would be snow and whiskey, but not necessarily in that order. The country’s only ski-in, ski-out distillery, High West mixes up tasty cocktails featuring spectacular house-made craft spirits like Rendezvous Rye, a blend of six-year and 16-year ryes, and Rocky Mountain Rye, a rye whiskey aged 21 years. Be sure to order a flight of whiskey so you can taste several of High West’s liquors alongside each other and untainted by mixers.

High West's website

7452 Mary at The St. Regis Deer Valley

Park City can crush your bank account like few other places in ski country. The St. Regis Deer Valley has it down to a science with drink menu prices that scarcely dip below double digits. Occasionally however, it’s worth dropping $16 on a drink if that drink happens to be the 7452 Mary, the hotel’s signature cocktail named for its elevation. This not-so-typical Bloody Mary is made with High West Vodka and the famous St. Regis Mary mix and then topped with wasabi-celery foam. A perfect blend of fortifying tomato juice, spicy horseradish, smoky Worcestershire sauce, and a kick of wasabi, the 7452 Mary might be the most delicious Bloody Mary I’ve ever tasted. Just be sure to bring a hefty wad of Jacksons so you can afford one.

The St. Regis Deer Valley website

Squatters Brew Pub

Like microbrews and local-sourced food? Then you will love Squatters Brew Pub. Home to high-strength beers like Outer Darkness and Hop Rising, Squatters will make you forget your issues with Utah’s quirky drinking laws and the prevailing 3.2 percent beer. Plus, you can pair your big beer with meaty pub fare like burgers, pulled-pork, and lamb shanks all made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.

Squatters Brew Pub website

Wasatch Brew Pub

In the late ‘80s, Greg Schirf, the founder Utah’s oldest microbrewery, Wasatch Brewery, proposed a bill in the Utah legislature to allow brew pubs in the state. Wasatch Brew Pub is the testament to his success. Since 1989, the Wasatch Brew Pub has been pumping out suds and grub to the Park City masses from it’s Main Street location. I highly suggest stopping for a pint of Polygamy Porter or The Devastator Double Bock.

Wasatch Brew Pub website

O’Shucks Bar & Grill

If you can’t see the bar floor through a pile of peanut shells, you know you are in a nice, welcoming place. O’Shucks is Park City’s answer for those in search of the dive experience. Belly up with cheap beer served in 32-ounce schooners and all the peanuts you can eat or shoot pool at the table in the back. If you want to mingle with locals, stop in on Tuesday nights when $3 schooner specials attract a certain price-conscious, resort employee crowd.

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