SALT LAKE CITY — In an effort to advocate for Great Salt Lake, one Utah bartender is mixing up a cocktail inspired by the Western Hemisphere’s largest saline lake.
April Long works for Post Office Place, a bar in downtown Salt Lake City. For this year’s edition of Salt Lake Magazine’s Farm-to-Glass Cocktail Competition, she’s mixing up a sweet and salty concoction.
“This drink is a very highly conceptual visual drink representing the lake. We have the body of the lake, which is that blue color and that red algae and that is represented by the foam on top,” Long said.
It includes locally-made ingredients, such as a syrup made from Utah-grown sage, juniper berries and blue verbena, and gin distilled by West Valley-based Waterpocket Distillery.
Additionally, the drink features some Japanese elements, a nod to Takashi, the restaurant connected to Post Office Place.
“Using local and Japanese products, I decided to focus on five key elements of our lake, which [are] the algae, the brine, the bird migration, the wetlands and mineral deposits,” Long said.
The bottom layer of the drink is a bright blue, representing the lake’s water. On top, a vivid pink watermelon-flavored foam floats, representing the red algae that floats in Great Salt Lake’s north arm.
“The foam is made with local watermelon, hibiscus, sumac and it’s garnished with sea beans that you can get in the marsh lands of Great Salt Lake.”
Sea beans are sometimes also called pickleweed. They have a crisp texture and salty flavor.
Learning about Great Salt Lake
As a Utah resident, Long said she initially felt she knew a lot about the lake. That changed as she began to prepare for the cocktail competition.
“Come to find out, as I’m learning about it to incorporate all the elements into the drink, I really had no idea how 60% of the surface area is no longer,” Long said. “What remains of it is really up to us, which is why this drink’s title is ‘What Remains.'”
Long also said her eyes have been opened to the community surrounding the lake. One of the organizations she noted when speaking with Great Salt Lake Collaborative Reporter Mariah Maynes, who also works for KSL, was Wake the Great Salt Lake.
“I really was inspired by the messaging of getting a community to really care, to feel something, to really have a connection with something … you wouldn’t expect,” she said.
A cocktail with a side of … knowledge?
A Great Salt Lake-inspired cocktail sits next to a zine created by Spy Hop students. (Mariah Maynes/Great Salt Lake Collaborative)
Post Office Place will be serving up “What Remains” through September. Long said, every order includes an informational zine created by students at Spy Hop.
The youth media arts organization got a grant from Wake the Great Salt Lake, which it used to partner with Great Salt Lake Collaborative in educating its students.
Wake the Great Salt Lake is a project created by the Salt Lake City Arts Council and supported by a grant through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. It has curated several temporary art installations related to the lake.
From birds to brine shrimp, each of the zines feature information on the Great Salt Lake.
In addition, Long said Post Office Place will be displaying QR codes that link to lake-facing organizations, furthering the opportunity to learn about and discuss the lake.
It will also be offering the option to call the Great Salt Lake Hopeline, a product of Wake the Great Salt Lake and artists Han Calder, Nick Carpenter and Ben Doxey. It plays sounds of the lake and welcomes callers to leave their own messages.
“A cocktail is just a really nice environment to come and have a conversation about something that’s really serious but at the same time really nice,” Long said.
