I grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. In the 1980s, it was a great place to be a kid/teen in that it was relatively safe, beautiful during the summer, and offered the world’s best skiing about 20 minutes from my house. But, you couldn’t argue that it was any kind of paragon of metropolitan culture. This applied in spades to night life and drinking. Utah has long suffered from draconian liquor laws that have stunted its night-time appeal. However, It’s been over 20 years since I’ve lived there, and word is that the times they are a changin.’ The infamous Zion Curtain has finally fallen, and other ludicrous laws seem to be petering out by the wayside. Good evidence of this is the newly refangled Bar X. A long-time SLC institution, the X has been been revamped to reflect the cocktail renaissance the rest of the country has been enjoying for several years. Their Medicine Hat cocktail, created by David White and Duncan Burrell, is as crafty and tasty as any offering on either coast.

Medicine Hat ✯✯✯✯1/2
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1 1/2 oz Laird’s bonded applejack
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz rich (2:1) simple syrup
1/2 tsp grenadine

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.