After years of online competition, the Park City Area Restaurant Association has reworked its summer cocktail contest. Now rebranded as the Mountain Mixer, the event marks a return to an in-person format, giving mixologists the opportunity to showcase their creations live on stage at Deer Valley Resort’s Silver Lake Lodge on Aug. 21.
Previously known as Savor the Cocktail, the event shifted online during the pandemic and maintained the virtual model for several years, said Ginger Wicks, the executive director of the Park City Area Restaurant Association.
While the digital format boosted restaurant traffic and allowed guests to vote for their favorite drinks from their phones, a hacking incident during last year’s contest sent the nonprofit’s board back to the drawing board.
“Last year, we had a situation with the website being hacked and votes being cast by bots to various cocktails,” Wicks said, explaining that, as a result, they were unable to announce a winner. “We felt like even if we went out and found a more secure online system for maintaining the contest, there would always be skepticism within the participants and probably even within people that were casting their votes.”
So instead, they decided to return to an in-person event, with Deer Valley Resort offering to host the live contest.
“I don’t think we could do it without having such a strong partner and such a strong venue to pull it off,” Wicks said.
Twenty bartenders submitted original cocktail recipes, but with the new format, they needed to narrow the field to 10, Wicks said. A team of anonymous judges — none of whom are associated with the nonprofit — visited participating bars throughout the month of July, tasting each drink to determine the top 10.
Victor Wilson, lead bartender at Pine Cone Ridge, has one of two Pine Cone Ridge cocktails in the final round. He said the secret judge element of the contest was a welcome challenge.
“It’s nice that they brought it back to a live format and that there were judges coming around and trying the cocktails that you didn’t even know about,” he said. “The consistency of the cocktails that we put out at Pine Cone Ridge are as photoworthy and flavorful as any other cocktail.”
Wilson’s entry, Lavender Summit, features Utah-made spirits, lemon balm, ginger, floral violet notes and a lavender design made from egg white foam.
“I just wanted to create and indulge in a colorful, floral, sexy, refreshing summer cocktail that highlighted some of our local distilleries here in Utah,” he said. “Not only High West and Alpine, but we do have a ton of amazing distilleries in Utah.”
Alpine Distilling’s Master Botanical Distiller and co-founder Sara Sergent is also a finalist this year with her cocktail Alpine Sunset Frosé. She also said that the secret judging was a fun dynamic for her team at the Alpine Social Aid & Pleasure Club off Main Street.
“Secret judges, like secret shoppers, keeps everybody on their toes,” she said. “So for a level of consistency for the bars and restaurants who submitted, I think it’s a great team-building exercise because, then, everybody on the team should be able to make that drink.”
The cocktail, she added, was the same one she served at the James Beard benefit dinner kicking off Aspen Food & Wine earlier this year. Also, the ingredients and garnishes for the submission came almost entirely locally, some even from her own garden.
“It is really a grain-to-glass in Park City cocktail,” Sergent said. “I have the good fortune of making the gin that’s in there, the Preserve Liqueur, the AngeVert. And grew the botanicals, grew all the garnishes, the mint and the basil for the simple syrup.”
With the field whittled down to 10 competitors, the live format includes a theatrical element, said Wicks. Each finalist will have 10 minutes to present their drink on stage to a live audience, who will score mixologists based on personality, flair and presentation. The audience votes — cast via an online system — will be combined with scores from the panel of industry-renowned judges.
The panel includes Michelin-starred chef Giancarlo Morelli, James Beard Award-winning cocktail consultant Jim Meehan and beverage entrepreneur of Installation Coffee Ben Usen, who has trained under acclaimed mixologists and led nationally recognized beverage programs.
“They are not locals at all. And we specifically did that to ensure there was no bias or favoritism,” Wicks said. “We’re trying to really regain the confidence on the overall cocktail contest itself, just coming off of a year of cheating scandal, if you will.”
She added that they hope their notoriety within the hospitality community will also add clout to the contest itself.
Each judge will evaluate the cocktails on creativity, flavor balance, garnish execution and overall stage presence. DJ Dolph will spin music throughout the evening, and there will be audience giveaways and a cash bar with small bites, Wicks said.
While the energy promises to be high, attendees will not be able to sample the competing drinks during the event.
“That’s the unfortunate part of Utah liquor laws,” Wicks explained. “They will not be able to try the cocktails that will be presented that evening, so we’re encouraging people to get out and enjoy them prior to the event.”
To that end, all competing drinks must be featured on their respective restaurant menus throughout the summer, she said.
Sergent welcomed the performance aspect of the Mountain Mixer, a veteran of large-format events like these.
“I think it’s great. I was concerned we’d have to do a dance. I’m not a great dancer, but I was like, I’m up for anything,” she said with a laugh. “You usually only get to meet a bartender or someone in that space, and so to see them being able to share their passion or how they got there — I think that will be a lot of fun.”
Wilson said he’s also ready for the spotlight. A broadcaster by trade, he said he’s grown comfortable commanding attention, joking that he might have the upper hand.
“You’re always on stage while bartending, anyways,” he said. “I’m excited to get up on stage and present the cocktail.”
He said he’s especially proud to compete with fellow Pine Cone Ridge bartender Robert Coman, whose Gin Rummy cocktail was inspired by childhood memories of card games with his grandmother.
“Looking at the judges that are going to be sitting there, judging you, watching you, and indulging in the cocktails that we’re creating is absolutely amazing,” Wilson said. “Just reading some of the menus they’ve inspired, and their culinary background — it’s awesome to be a part of.”
Other finalists include mixologists from Handle, High West Saloon, Cena Ristorante, Butcher’s Chop House, Grub Steak and Deer Valley’s own Brass Tag. The winner will receive $1,000 in cash, a sponsor gift basket and bragging rights as the 2025 Mountain Mixer champion.
Sergent, Wilson and Wicks all said that, though the format is different this year, the contest is still an opportunity to get out and see what restaurants and bars in the area are creating.
“It’s a great way to talk about everyone and what they’re doing,” Sergent said. “We are a small town at the heart of it all for our food and beverage industry and those who work in it, so it’s fun, it’s a nice little bit of camaraderie and finding out what people are up to.”
Wilson echoed the sentiment: “There’s a lot of amazing mixologists in Park City, so it’ll just be fun to all get together and create our cocktails and show them what we got.”
The live event will run from 6-10 p.m. at Silver Lake Lodge on Aug. 21. Tickets are $37.08 after taxes and fees and can be purchased at parkcityrestaurants.com/mountain-mixer-park-city. See the accompanying list for the details on the contest’s 10 finalists.
Mountain Mixer cocktail contest finalists:
- Alpine Sunset Frosé — Sara Sergent, Alpine Social Aid & Pleasure Club
- Gin Rummy — Robert Coman, Pine Cone Ridge
- Lavender Summit — Victor Wilson, Pine Cone Ridge
- Melt — AJ Anderson, Handle
- Nebbia — Katelyn Fraser, Butcher’s Chop House & Bar
- R&R Sour — Megs Miller, The Brass Tag – Deer Valley
- Smokey & The Bourbon — Jason Yelton, Butcher’s Chop House & Bar
- The Cryptid’s Call — Liam Bridgham, High West Saloon
- Ube Halo — Charles Vincent Franco, Grub Steak Park City
- Wildflower 75 — Elena Filote, Cena Ristorante