Four Special Places To Grab A Drink In Salt Lake
It doesn't matter if you're traveling or local to an area, everyone loves to find the perfect spot to unwind, relax with friends and have their favorite drink. Wether your a fan of the perfect beer, great cocktails, locally distilled spirits, or crazy adventures, your in luck because Salt Lake has it all. With the cities rapidly expanding bar scene, anyone and everyone can find something to enjoy at these special spots.
1. Whiskey Street- This nice little cocktail bar has a relaxed but classy atmosphere. A 72 foot long cherry wood bar runs down one side of this long rectangular shaped space. Shelves behind the bar are stocked with a huge variety of liquors, whisky included. The bartenders are incredibly knowledgeable, ask for something new and they will steer you to just the right type of cocktail. Whiskey Street also serves more then just the typical bar food, you can also get a nice steak, lamb chops, or a well composed salad. Though geared to attract Salt Lakes downtown executives the hipster crowd are also big fans; probably because this is the perfect place to spend an entire evening for dinner, drinks, and relaxation in good company.
2. Squatters Brewpub- This is the place for beer enthusiasts. Squatters produces twelve regular varieties of beer, plus a seasonal beer right on site. The restaurant also serves burgers, mac and cheese and other homestyle favorites, the perfect accompaniment to your favorite beer. If you get a chance to chat with Brewmaster Jason Stack when you visit you'll find that he's a quiet kind of man but he really knows his beer. He can pick any one of his Squatter's beers out of a line up by scent alone. Stack has been producing beer for a long time now. He started playing around with home brewing back in the days when he still worked a desk job. Then in 2000 he decided to make a career change and ended up as assistant to former Brewmaster Jenny Talley. He worked his way up and now holds the brewmaster position himself. It's definitely worth a visit to Squatters to taste his wares.
3. High West Distillery & Saloon- High West is part distillery, part restaurant. The distillery and restaurant are located in an old house in Park City, about 20 minutes outside of Salt Lake proper. This place is all wild west charm with polished wooden floors, two beautiful wooden bars, and cowboy art. The menu has some unique dishes like shishito peppers two ways, which is absolutely fantastic, to classic homestyle dishes like monster sized burgers, creamy mac and cheese and simple salads. Of course there is a terrific selection of cocktails, many of which are based on the house made whisky. Be sure to take a quick tour of the distillery areas before you leave; with tanks, hoses, and a blackboard filled with calculations it resembles a mad scientists laboratory.
4. Pedal Hopper Bar Tour- The Pedal Hopper is not technically a bar, it's actually your transportation to the bar. The pedal hopper, also known as a "beer bike" or a "bike bar" resembles a small trolly more then anything. This crazy contraption seats up to 16 people all on bicycle seats, complete with pedals. You do the pedaling an a company driver steers, brakes, and manages the tour. The bike cruses between 5-8 miles per hour and takes you to visit all around Salt Lake and the best bars in the city. Unfortunately, due to current liquor laws alcohol is not allowed on board the bike, though the tour company would like to add that to the tour someday if permitted. Either way, you'll have a great laugh with friends doing this one.