Resorts

Sprits Rise at New Gastro-Distillery in Park City
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Published on Thursday, March 04, 2010 - 10:04 PM






by Marc Guido

Park City, UT - A state that many ill-informed out-of-towners mistakenly believe is dry may not seem a logical location to build the world's first ski-in, ski-out microdistillery and restaurant. But that's precisely what has taken place just below the Town Lift at the base of Park City Mountain Resort's Quittin' Time ski run.

High West Distillery & Saloon opened in November in the this popular Wasatch Mountain ski town, bringing with it a host of new flavors in both food and spirits to the historic Old Town district. Skiers and riders since then have been skiing in for lunch or a drink, and coming back for dinner after the sun goes down.


Click image to enlarge

High West spent $3 million to renovate Park City's historic E.J. Beggs House and National Garage to create a ski-in gastrodistillery beneath Park City Mountain Resort's Town Lift.
(photo: High West)

Mention whiskey, and owner David Perkins gets a gleam in his eye, discussing the spirit's finest qualities and characteristics like a long lost mistress. Perkins developed an affinity for the golden nectar while attending college in the Appalachian states, but it wasn't until 2004 that he quit his job in pharmaceutical sales and hatched plans along with his wife and a business partner to open his microdistillery in Park City.

The fledgling firm opened a facility in nearby Salt Lake City, the first distillery in Utah since the 1870s, to begin producing several types of whiskey and a vodka while it went about securing permits to operate a microdistillery and restaurant in Park City. Securing these permits in November 2009 was no small victory as it charted new territory for the state's restrictive Alcohol and Beverage Commission. Perkins and his team, however, walked away with the necessary paperwork just in time to open his facility renovated from Park City's historic National Garage and Ellsworth J. Beggs House at a cost of $3 million.

Both structures sit directly beneath the first span of the Town Lift on Park Avenue, one block off Main Street. The National Garage first served as a livery stable for the horses that hauled the heavy ore carts from United Park City Mines. Later, as automobiles became popular, it was transformed into a Sinclair gas station and service facility. The E.J. Beggs house next door, built in 1914, is architecturally significant as one of the town's few two-story Victorian style pyramid houses. Between the two structures, Perkins built a glassed-in breezeway to encase and showcase large copper stills.


Click image to enlarge

High West imported its 250-gallon copper pot still from Germany for its Park City location.
(photo: FTO/Marc Guido)

Now, the National Garage houses a large open dining area for lunch that also serves as a multi-purpose room for special events and gatherings. Downstairs in the E.J. Beggs House a traditional saloon welcomes visitors to a sitting room and a cozy wooden bar crafted from wood reclaimed from the 1904 railroad trestle bridge crossing the Great Salt Lake, while evening dining takes place in an intimate setting amongst the former small bedrooms upstairs. In the basement sits a labyrinth of pipes, vats and other accoutrements to distill High West's signature beverages that it sells bottled both in a gift shop near the entrance and also in liquor stores in Utah and across the country.

High West's Vodka 7000, named for Park City's downtown elevation, requires no aging and is presently the company's own product. It is the world's only oat vodka and features a slighly peppery finish that garnered a silver medal at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It's sold both as a traditional vodka and one flavored by peaches grown in nearby Brigham City, Utah.

Whiskeys, however, need time to age, and while the company's own concoctions mature Perkins has made a name for himself by identifying two straight Eastern ryes that were destined to be mixed with grain spirits for a Canadian blend, and instead blended them himself to create his award-winning Rendezvous Rye. Named for the old west summertime gatherings when mountain men exchanged fur pelts for supplies, Rendezvous Rye was named one of the Top Ten New Whiskies of 2008 by Malt Advocate magazine. The company also bottles its Rocky Mountain Rye 21 Year Old, Rocky Mountain Rye 16 Year Old and a bourbon-rye blend logically named Bourye.

In the dining room at High West Distillery, chef James Dumas creates what he terms "nouveau Western fare" using classic techniques and often sauces, grains and herbs that directly relate to High West's spirits. The dinner menu features selections including roasted tomato soup with a white oat whiskey creme fraiche, smoked Utah trout and grilled romaine hearts, maple glazed roasted duck, grilled dry age bison rib eye, and Idaho elk and whisked Chanterelle mushrooms. Those skiing in for lunch can select from specialities ranging from the High West Burger to seared five-spice Ahi, or warm up with caramelized bourbon onion soup topped with melted Gruyere cheese. The dining is family-friendly, and a kid's menu is available.

You can also take a tour of High West's distillery and see just how the company's spirits are made. But if you encounter Perkins, be sure to ask him a question or two about whiskey and watch for the gleam in his eye.

For More Information:


www.highwest.com
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