Park City has more to offer than just a great time on the slopes. With a thriving culinary scene, this mountain destination should be on every foodie’s bucket list. Deer Valley Resort, well known for its incredible skiing, has invested in their culinary scene, hosting award winning chefs and providing wide a range of cooking classes via their Deer Valley Creative Academy. Their cocktail classes were very intriguing to me and they offer a few over the winter. In November, they teamed up with High West Distillery for a class highlighting their whiskeys. And in January, they teamed up with Alpine Distilling to offer a class highlighting their gin and botanical focused Liquors. I love learning how to make food and drinks, so I jumped at this opportunity to take a cocktail making class with Alpine Distilling’s CEO, Sara Sargent. Sara is also a Master Botanical Distiller London Gin Guild - Warden Rectifier, making her a premier spirits expert and resource in Park City.
The nights master of spirits, Sara Sargent with Alpine Distilling!
The Class
On January 4, we took the bus to the Deer Valley Café, the venue for the Deer Valley Creative Academy classroom. We checked in and found our seats around the table.
To break the ice (pun intended), the 15 of us went around the room to share a little bit about ourselves. Everyone was warm and interesting and showed up excited to learn. Some were local, some were visitors, and some even just came off the slopes to meet up with their party
The class was slated for two hours and throughout we were able to enjoy the lite bites and learn to make cocktails. We were given all the tools and ingredients in front of us. Sara told us about the four spirits that they distill and highlighted in the three cocktails.
Crafting Cocktails
First, we started with their take on a Gin & Tonic. The Elevated Gin & Tonic uses Alpine’s gin and Preserve liqueur with Fever Tree tonic and dehydrated fruit. Did you know that using a Fever Tree Tonic is the perfect size for a cocktail? Fresh fruit is great but sometimes hard to find. So, Sara shared how dehydrated fruit works great and is easy to do at home.
Tables set for the night at the Deer Valley Creative Academy
Next up we made the Barrel Aged Gin Old Fashioned. For whiskey lovers, Sara suggested this might be their favorite as the Barrel Aged Gin is finished in oak barrels, adding faint notes of vanilla and tannins. The ice cubes had orange peels in them, adding a little more orange to the drink (once melted) and made it look fancy. We used demerara syrup, which has a bit more flavor than simple syrup as it uses brown sugar.
Cocktails are best shared among friends!
The last cocktail we crafted is Alpine’s take on a Negroni, called the Negreenie. It has been highlighted at the Aspen Wine & Classic multiple years in a row. This cocktail uses two of Alpine’s liquors, the Preserve and AngeVert pairing with the gin. Angevert has 33 different botanicals in it. Sara said in cocktails people use chartreuse; this can be a great alternative. Not only did she teach us how to make these cocktails but she shared other cocktail suggestions. Next up, I want to try AngeVert with a Tequilla to switch up the flavor profiles.
More Spirits Experiences
It was a fun class, and I enjoyed learning about the different ingredients used in different cocktails. My favorite part was realizing that fancy-looking cocktails may look advanced or difficult to craft, but they are easy to make at home if you have all the ingredients—most are basic things you keep in your kitchen! Maybe you won’t be in town during a cocktail class, but there are other experiences that happen frequently, where you can learn about cocktails, spirits, and their stories in Park City.
Proper footwear is recommended!
More Spirits Experiences
It was a fun class, and I enjoyed learning about the different ingredients used in different cocktails. My favorite part was realizing that fancy-looking cocktails may look advanced or difficult to craft, but they are easy to make at home if you have all the ingredients—most are basic things you keep in your kitchen! Maybe you won’t be in town during a cocktail class, but there are other experiences that happen frequently, where you can learn about cocktails, spirits, and their stories in Park City.
