Destination:Drink ~ Salt Lake City

~ Coffee, beer & cocktails in Utah ~ 

FoCo to SLC is a quick (and gorgeous!) 6.5 hour drive, so I packed up a few friends and the spirit of adventure and headed west for a taste of Salt Lake City. ~ Sadie 
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We rolled in around 8pm, and Bourbon House was waiting with dinner and delicious whiskey cocktails - notwithstanding Utah's highly intriguing liquor laws. Coming from pour-happy Fort Collins (where we know all the bartenders and double pours are a thing of routine), we read up on booze in the Beehive State and shared a few laughs over our drinks. 
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We started day one in SLC on a great note with pourovers and tasty breakfast options at 3 Cups Coffee  - a mixed-fermentation method Colombian coffee from Blue Copper highlighted a great meeting with the owner and founder, Derek.
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Stop #2, and a lovely chat with Lauren at La Barba Coffee, included a cappuccino and a bottle of tastefully packaged cold brew - a gorgeous setting and lovely coffee! 
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Publik's main cafe is a welcome sight for those living the mobile office life - two floors, great aesthetics & a solid coffee selection. Windows to the roastery room detail the company motto, and an Alpha Dominche Steampunk brews up steaming mugs of house roasts.

Three Pines is a sleek little coffee bar situated cozily next to From Scratch Cafe bakery, and serves up From Scratch's pastries and donuts (yes, please) alongside brews and espressos from Heart Roasters on a lovely teal La Marzocco. If it’s nice outside, the patio will be your best bet for seating, but Nick & Meg are happy to chat at the bar, and we thoroughly enjoyed the taste of Portland with a cortado and a Woodblock Chocolate bar.
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Brunch at Rye was a stellar decision - a ‘Little Prairie’ cocktail showcased High West Double Rye, Uncle Val’s gin, lemon, honey, and lavender bitters. Bánh mì alongside purple kale salad and a truly remakable bowl of truffle mac n’ cheese was just the refuel we needed between coffees.
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We cooled down with cold brew and old school vibes at Salt Lake Roasting Co. - a long-time city standard, the space takes you back in time. We made a quick stop at Caffe d’Bolla (bubble tea, yo!) before more Salt Lake Roasting Co. love at ​Alchemy Coffee - I was personally pretty caffeine-buzzed at this point, and mellowed with an iced lavender tea (which was delightful). 
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The remedy for too much coffee? If there was such a thing, the answer would be local beer. Uinta Brewing offered a patio to soak up the sunshine alongside our brews - Cutthroat Pale Ale, Detour Double IPA  and Ready Set Gose were in rotation.
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Winding down at Copper Common meant more High West Double Rye cocktails (when in Utah), and the happy hour bites were great. 

Day #2 started on a happy & hearty note with a fantastic breakfast at Publik Kitchen - everything we ordered was mouth-watering, and the coffee bar started our caffeine drip for the day with a full list of pourover, drip brew, and espresso options.
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The Rose Establishment took me right back to my great grandmother’s kitchen - such a warm, cozy, uneven-wood-floor ambiance. An extensive signature drink menu had us mulling over our options - we settled on a Four Barrel espresso, a Lavender London Fog & a house made Goji Berry Soda.

Tulie Bakery offered a sweet stop with delightful treats and La Barba brews alongside. Lunch on the patio at Trio included great cocktails and a housemade rosemary clementine soda, which was refreshing, original, and not-too-sweet.
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After a quick stop at the Alpha Dominche offices, we headed to The Blue Copper Tasting Room - a light, open space with delicious brews and friendly faces behind the counter. I went for a mug of drip and a take-home bar of Durci Chocolate.
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Our last stop in Salt Lake City was a good one - brews and a great convo with Simon at The Coffee Lab on campus was just what we needed. A great concept serving University of Utah students great coffee - another taste of Portland with Extracto Coffee Roasters offerings, and local love with Blue Copper beans and eye-catching Saint Anthony Industries glassware. 

We headed out, but had to stop in Park City - after so many great High West Distillery cocktails, going to the source was a necessity. A whiskey tasting flight and an old fashioned preceded a sweet stop at the Ritual Chocolate Factory (totally worth that extra drive time, let me tell ya).
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All in all, the Salt Lake City beverage scene has got it going on. We can’t wait for the city’s first Caffeine Crawl in September, and we hope to see you there!