The past two months, Waterpocket Distillery has been a staple at our Cocktail Club events. If you haven’t heard, Waterpocket is one of the newest distilleries to enter the local Salt Lake market, and basically everyone I know (in and out of the industry) is super excited about what they are doing. And the best part is that owners, Julia and Alan Scott, are super rad and incredibly willing to talk through and educate folks on their brand and spirits!

For September, member Darby Doyle (you can find her fun food and cocktail adventures at @darby.doyle) hosted Cocktail Club at her home (with the help of member Amanda Daniels Holty @manda_slc). It was a really fun month, because we did another round of cocktail wars, and Alan and Julia were on hand to chat with everyone about Waterpocket. Before we started the “wars” — we were able to taste and chat through Waterpocket spirits and understand a bit about how they were made. (If you want to learn more about THAT, you MUST schedule a tour of the distillery!).

We had two secret ingredients for cocktail wars — Waterpocket Blanco Rum and fresh basil! FUN! Everyone who was competing entered one major round, having to create 15 or so “taster” cocktails for everyone in the group, as well as our judges (Alan, Julia, and our awesome friend Tracy Gomez who runs the bar program at FINCA). Everyone tasted and voted! It was so much fun.

End results? A tie. Megan Draper (who actually won cocktail wars last year) and I tied for first! But let’s be real — everyone made some really amazing, creative cocktails…and in the end, I think we all just had a good time in general.

>>>>>> So — in October, I just couldn’t pass up using Waterpocket again — but this time, I wanted to use my personal favorite of their spirits, from the Toadstool line up, the Notom Amaro. It is the only one in the Toadstool line currently, but there will be more coming and I CAN’T WAIT.

If you know me, or follow my cocktails on social media, you know that the bitter flavors are my favorite. (Campari is one spirit I will NEVER run out of.) So, when it was my turn to host Cocktail Club with my sister — I wanted to create a cocktail that brought the best of both the sweet and the bitter, and came up with a cocktail I call The Resistance (because right now, we are resisting everything it seems, including winter).

The Resistance

1.5 oz El Dorado Aged Rum
.5 Waterpocket Notom Amaro
.75 Pok Pok Som Pineapple Drinking Vinegar
.75 Pineapple Simple Syrup
.50 Lemon Juice
.50 Pineapple Juice

Stir all ingredients over ice, then pour in a glass over ice and top with bubbles. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg, a dehydrated pineapple wheel, and a banana frond.

Note: if you have a food dehydrator and can dehydrate your own pineapple, that is the best way to go — the flavor is outstanding and you don’t have to worry about any added sugar or preservatives.

Hosting was super fun, and I think the ladies liked the cocktail. 🙂

So, if you can — get yourself a few bottles of Waterpocket spirts the next time you are at the liquor store and see what this amazing brand is up to.

Also, head over to the Waterpocket website to read more about what is fueling their passion for the spirits they are distilling and what they have coming up. (Follow them on Instagram at @Waterpocket_Spirts)

Thanks to everyone that came out for September and October’s Cocktail Club events! Next time around, winter will actually BE HERE! We will be at The Ruin for Cocktail Club in November — so stay tuned.

CHEERS!! XOXOXO