What does the last Sundance Film Festival in Park City taste like?
That’s what James Beard Award-winning mixologist Charles Joly set out to discover, releasing three original cocktails with Ketel One vodka for the 2026 festival.
The three-drink collection is a way for anyone to sample the festival spirit, a project Ketel One is bringing back as a leadership sponsor and official vodka for the film festival. While the cocktails will be available at a few events throughout the festival, the recipes are designed to be made at home, too, Joly said.
“I look at a variety of factors when designing drinks for a marquee event like the Sundance Film Festival. This is a showcase and a celebration, we want the drinks to match,” he said.
The three options cover a range of flavors and preferences, each incorporating spirits from the Ketel One line, Joly said. “Après Noir,” his take on an espresso martini, is made with Ketel One Oranje and spiced with a blend of cinnamons; “Green Light Martini” uses Ketel One Vodka, Green Chartreuse, mint and champagne; and the hot serve, “Sweater Weather,” has vodka, raspberry liqueur and features Park City cocoa brand LOCOCO.
For LOCOCO founder Anna Bloom, being featured in the 2026 cocktail provides international exposure for her small business. “Sweater Weather” is the second time LOCOCO has made the Ketel One cocktail line, following the 2024 drink “The Dessert Menu.”
“To be included again this year is especially meaningful as we raise a glass to the festival’s final year in our hometown,” Bloom said.
Her Lux Vanilla Blend adds a spice but also health-forward element to the cocktail, Joly said, something that attracted him to the ingredient.
“LOCOCO was a natural fit,” the mixologist said. “It’s not your typical overly sweet cocoa. The flavor profile and quality really make this an adult drink with functional mushrooms and spice adding to the complexity.”
Spices like cardamom and peppercorn are added to the drink, something that Bloom said was in line with her own vision for the cocoa mix itself.
“I tasted a sweet peppery white chocolate when I went to Europe last March, and it really had a lasting impression on me,” she said, joking that she even kept the wrapper. “I’ve been thinking about how pepper tastes with a soft, sweet vanilla.”
For Joly, finding complexity, depth and balance are essentials when crafting a good cocktail, especially when thinking of recipes that can be created at home or by a variety of bartenders. He also brought a playfulness to the line, incorporating other nods to both the festival and Park City. That approach comes through especially with “Green Light Martini,” he explained.
“This is an homage to Robert Redford, calling back to his role in the 1974 release of ‘The Great Gatsby.’ The novel also ends with the line ‘So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past.’ We can host an entire Sundance roundtable on the interpretation of this famous finale,” he said. “I like to think it reflects in part to a life well lived, not free of challenges and enduring beyond. Probably true for all of us, Mr. Redford and the festival included.”
With the film festival’s last run in Park City, Joly said he’s honored to lend his craft to the event. The town holds a lot of memories for him personally, as well as its legacy as the host for independent film.
Bloom said as a local business owner, the festival is a great time for new ideas, something she’ll sorely miss with its departure.
“I just think it’s a missed opportunity for all of us to have the chance to deepen our appreciation for craft, broaden our horizons, get inspired. That’s what The Sundance Film Festival is about. Taste, craft, curiosity, daring to create,” she said. “But, as wise people tell me, the only constant is change. Nothing is forever. And there is a lot to look forward to, including the Olympics in 2034. Onward!”
The cocktail recipes:
Après Noir
Recipe:
- 1 ½ oz Ketel One Oranje
- ½ oz Mr Black Coffee Liqueur
- ½ oz cinnamon syrup*
- 1 ½ oz espresso (or sub cold brew)
Garnish: Orange peel wrapped around a cinnamon stick
*Cinnamon Syrup: For every liter of 1:1 simple syrup, steep 20 grams cassia cinnamon sticks or chunks and 20 grams Ceylon cinnamon sticks (broken up) in warm syrup for 20 minutes covered. Do not allow it to boil. Strain, cool and refrigerate.
Method:
- Combine all ingredients with a shaker on ice
- Shake well and strain into a chilled coupe glass
- Wrap orange peel around cinnamon stick
- Place garnish
Green Light Martini
Recipe:
- 1 ½ oz Ketel One Vodka
- ¾ oz fresh lime juice
- ¼ oz Green Chartreuse
- ½ oz mint simple syrup
- 1oz, Top with chilled sparkling wine
Method:
- Shake all ingredients except for the sparkling wine and pour into chilled coupe
- Top with chilled sparkling wine
Sweater Weather
Recipe:
- 1 ¼ oz Ketel One
- ¾ oz raspberry liqueur (Mathilde will work in a pinch, Clear Creek is better)
- 10 oz regular Oatly oat milk
- 25 grams Lococo Lux Vanilla chocolate
Spice blend:
- 10 grams cambodian black peppercorn
- 1 gram whole white cardamom pod
- 2 grams of sea salt
- Blend until homogeneous
Method:
- Heat oat milk and combine all ingredients
- Froth with a hand mixer
- Dust top of cocoa with spice blend
- Garnish with toasted marshmallow on a skewer