Did you know Utah is home to a long list of local distilleries and breweries? LUX loves supporting local, and we pride ourselves on our list of businesses, friendships, and partnerships with these vendors. Summer is the perfect time to try new cocktails, beers, and seltzers. Here is a list of some of the local Utah spirits we love!

SELTZERS –

Westwater Hard Selzer 
Whether you are wrapping up an epic journey on the trail or just soaking in the day’s lighter moments with friends, Westwater Hard Seltzer has an easy-sipping vibe with a refreshingly simple taste. Available in Raspberry, Mango, and Lime flavors.

Squatters Grandeur Peak 
Clean, crisp, and crafted with adventure in mind. These spiked sparkling waters are available in Utah Cherry, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Peach, and Mango Paradise flavors.

Grid City Bubble Works
Grid City is a new Utah food and beverage staple! They believe no matter what ABV you want to drink your beer at, or what style of beer it is you call your favorite, your beer drinking experience is a personal preference and should always be extraordinary. They host a variety of flavors from Aperitif, Cucumber Lime, Hoppy Hard, and Rosé.

BEER –

Wasatch Beers
Wasatch Brewery has been misbehaving since 1986, brewing playfully irreverent, award-winning beers. Check out their lineup and find the perfect beer for you!

Uinta Brewing
Brewing since 1993, Uinta Brewing has a passion for beer that instigates experiences worth reliving. Check out their expansive list of brews!

Shades of Pale Brewing
Shades Brewing offers a robust portfolio of spectacular beers. Shades brews flavorful, award-winning craft beers in the heart of Salt Lake City. Not the conventional setting to establish a brewery, but they don’t do conventional. Their brews are unorthodox in both ingredients and experience. Their flavors are revolutionary, not the next tap down.

VODKA –

Five Wives Vodka
Five Wives Vodka, made from Utah mountain spring water, is a 100% distilled corn spirit and gluten-free. It is distilled in a stainless steel column still and diluted to 40% (80 proof). The spring, hidden in beautiful Ogden Canyon, is inaccessible by vehicle so the water is hiked out five gallons at a time.
Five Wives is a Utah favorite and was voted by Salt Lake City Weekly as the “Best New Spirit” in Utah for 2012. It has won silver medals in the San Francisco, Denver International Spirit Competitions, as well as the Spirits of the Americas.

Sugarhouse Distillery
Made in small batches, their premium vodka is distilled, gravity-filtered through a custom designed carbon clarifier, and bottled to proof in their distillery with the purest mountain water. This versatile spirit has classic smooth neutral flavors, a creamy mouthfeel, and mild mineral undertones. Bottled at 82 proof, this vodka is perfect for drinking chilled neat, or makes a lively addition when mixed in your favorite cocktails. At Sugar House Distillery, they take pride in knowing that the bottle you hold in your hands has been made with care. No additives. No artificial colors or flavors. Finished with a little water and a lot of skill.

WHISKEY –

High West Distillery
High West Distillery was founded in 2006 by a former biochemist. He was inspired to open his own distillery after seeing the parallels between the fermentation and distilling process and his own work in biochemistry during a trip to the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky. In 2004, his family relocated to Park City, Utah to begin their new venture, where they began distilling in 2007. They chose Park City because of their love of the Old West and Utah’s little-known whiskey history. High West’s products  have received numerous accolades and awards. In 2016, Whisky Advocate, America’s leading whiskey magazine, named High West its “Distiller of the Year.”

Outlaw Distillery
Outlaw Distillery opened its doors January 1, 2015 as only the FOURTH distillery in the state of Utah. Located in Midvale, UT just outside of Salt Lake City, Outlaw Distillery sought to create some of the finest, hand crafted spirits with a focus on premium local ingredients and a modern approach to tried and true distilling standards. As one of the few true “Grain-to-Glass” distilleries, Outlaw prides itself on doing every step of the liquor making process, every aspect is done in-house. With no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no artificial sweeteners and only the best hand selected local ingredients, Outlaw Distillery is honored to bring you only the best truly handcrafted products.

GIN –

Beehive Distilling
Beehive started with the notion that gin wasn’t being given the love it deserved. Real gin—a blast of juniper followed by the complex intrigue of all the other botanicals—was being challenged by pretenders. Gin shouldn’t taste like a citrus drink, and it shouldn’t taste like cleaning fluid. They’ve given gin some well deserved attention. Small batches on a small still. Botanicals measured and macerated by hand, distilled, bottled and labeled in their Salt Lake City distillery. Utah, say hello to Jack Rabbit Gin. It’s been a long time coming.

Dented Brick
A few years back a small group of entrepreneurs from Utah gathered to start the weekend with a craft cocktail hour. They discussed what they thought made the ideal drink and how it might taste. After repeating this ritual over the years, they finally had the guts to bring to life their passion for the highest quality spirits and recipes from centuries-old pioneers.
It was important that they build a world-class distillery in Salt Lake City with the integrity that mirrored their lifestyle. So they agreed, just as they live purposefully and joyfully among the Wasatch mountains of Utah, they would distill the liquid treasure and gift that comes from their local artesian well.  Combined with regionally sourced grains and house select yeasts, Dented Brick® now offers small batch spirits made for the most discerning palates.

Do you find yourself wondering around this time of year, “When should I start my garden?” It is recommended to start your outdoor planting mid-May, once the hard frosts and chills are done and warmer days are here to stay. Spring is one of the few times many of us look forward to chores. From sweeping off the porch to hosing down the deck, to cleaning up the planter beds, it’s a rite of passage after a long winter. As the cold weather fades our souls yearn for warmth, sun, and green!  

It’s time to start yard prep! Be ready to prep your yard and start cleaning up the winter debris. Now is the time to clear leaves, garbage, prune back your trees, clean out the pots on the porch, trim back any perennials to give them a better shape, and sharpen up the edges of your beds. Deal with weeds in early spring. Invasive or aggressive weeds will only get worse as daylight hours increase during summer. As they grow, their roots will strengthen and they will be very difficult to pull out.

After the winter, the soil in your garden beds may be compacted. Remove thick layers of leaves which are covering evergreen ground cover beds. Thin layers of leaves in your beds can be left alone and simply mulched over later. They’ll break down and add organic matter to your soil. Then, loosen the soil to help oxygen reach the plants’ roots. You can use hand tools for small areas, but larger areas may benefit from tilling. By completing these tasks your yard is sure to be the envy of the neighborhood!

As you’re cleaning and prepping the yard, it’s also a great time to get down your initial lawn treatments. If you’re brave enough to do it on your own, set to work on weeding and fertilizing, or if you’re not about that life – now is the time to call in the lawn treatment guy. (This is also a great time to start testing the sprinkler system for anything that may need repairs.) 

After you’ve cleaned and tidied it’s time to clean your patio set, and begin positioning everything. Start thinking about that great big spring shopping spree for new shrubs, trees, and flowers, and where you want to place those around your furniture! 

Taking the time on your landscape early in the season will prepare it for the fun stuff later in the season. If you’re looking for more tips, tricks, and gorgeous gardens be sure to come join LUX Floral & Design for our Patio Planter and Container class May 27th,  28th, 29th, June 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th, and 12th! 

Gardening in containers can transform your balcony, deck, or patio into more than just barbecue space. Learn how to create a soothing outdoor retreat by adding containers filled with flowering plants, herbs, or vegetables. We’ll look at container design and selection, how to combine plants for aesthetic arrangements, plant selection, and maintenance. Base gravel, potting soil, tools, aprons, towels, and food and beverages provided by LUX Catering & Events are included in your ticket price. All plants, containers, and accessories are an additional cost.

Deviled eggs are the perfect addition to holiday meals, like Easter, or even for your next brunch or potluck! Here’s our recipe for classic deviled eggs and ideas on how to uplevel them!

While traditional deviled eggs are perfectly scrumptious on their own, we decided to add a little *spice* to ours! Follow the recipe above to prep them, your ingredients will differ slightly for each variation.

We hope you enjoy these recipes! Let us know if you use any of these and tag us in your pictures on social media!