Events: Red Rock, BTG, Meditrina, Under Current

Red Rock Brewing – beer with santa

Beer With Santa – Kicking off Red Rock Brewing’s annual 12 days of Christmas, is this event for kids of all ages at the Beer Store. On December 9th (2-5 p.m) the store will be hosting a toy drive and photo opp with Santa himself. For grown up kids, the brewery is also offering $5 drafts and Gerlach’s food truck will be present for snacks too. There’ll be music, games, prizes and maybe you’ll buy yourself a little Christmas treat to boot 😉

The 12 days of Christmas event runs until the 21st; stop by the brewery any time starting the 9th and pick up a raffle ticket. The brewery draws several numbers each day for 12 days, for a chance to win some coveted barrel aged bottled beers from the last year. Word has it that Santa’s elves also bring a few special prizes to the beer store too…

443 N 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
(801) 214-3386
redrockbrewing.com/red-rock-beer-store

Tad Seestedt of Ransom

Ransom at BTG and Meditrina – Tad Seestedt of Ransom spirits is making two stops in SLC this week and you shouldn’t miss either of them. As we recently wrote about, first up is Meditrina on December 6th (6.30-8.00) for a wine social. Seestedt will join guests in a four course light bites tasting with pairings from Ransom. The cost is $40 and the menu (small plates) is as follows:

* Chickpea fritters, cranberry salsa verde
* Ransom Sweet Vermouth Spritzer

* Rabbit rilettes, heirloom tomato & pickled watermelon rind salsa, house cheddar cracker
* Ransom Dry Vermouth Cocktail

* “Green bean casserole” charred green beans, brandied mushroom sauce, crispy shallots
* Ransom Gewurtsraminer

* Braised lamb shank ravioli, delicata cream sauce, red wine demiglace, toasted pepitas
* Ransom Machine Breaker Pinot Noir (special order)

165 W 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 485-2055
meditrinaslc.com

The following evening (December 7th from 7 p.m.) you can catch Seestedt at BTG with sommelier Louis Koppel. The wine bar will host a four course wine dinner with cuisine from Caffe Molise’s Fred Moesinger. Cost is $85 for the meal with 3 wines and 2 cocktails.

You can read more about Ransom here but suffices to say, having attended tastings in years gone by, their products are genuinely top notch. Moreover there’s something ever so intriguing mad-scientist like about Seestedt, crafting as many diverse products as he does; from grappa to vermouth to gin to well, whatever he feels like. All of it excellent, at least that I’ve tasted.

At both events you’ll be able to meet and talk to the man himself. Do.

63 W 100 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 359-2814
btgwinebar.com

Amy Eldredge

Under Current Bar – Next on the educational schedule is Brandy, with a look at cognac, armagnac, brandy, grappa and pisco. The spirited educational event will run from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, December 16th. Led by Under Current Bar’s managing partner Amy Eldredge and assistant manager Ryan Manning, the afternoon’s education will focus on production, history and tasting notes. The event will feature two classic Courvoisier Cognac-based cocktails and six tastings, all paired with bites from Alan Brines’ kitchen at Current Fish & Oyster. Cost to attend is $55. Eldredge writes:

I can’t count the number of times in my profession that my guests and colleagues have asked me ‘What is your favorite cocktail?’ After an abundance of inquiry, I realized I had to have a definitive answer, and I landed on the classic Sidecar. It’s a beautiful balance of the spirits speaking for themselves as the sweetener.

Brandy is a lovely spirit to play with in cocktails, and has a fabulous history, whether it be French Cognac, Italian Grappa, or the feud between who began Pisco amongst Peru and Chile.

Guests will begin with a demonstration and taste of the Sidecar cocktail, made with Courvoisier Cognac, Cointreau and lemon. Then they will explore nuances of grape-based spirits including: Courvoisier VS Cognac, Cerbois Armagnac, St. George Pear Brandy, Laird’s Apple Brandy, Ransom Grappa and Encanto Pisco. To close out the event a classic eggnog will be demonstrated and served, made with Courvoisier Cognac, nutmeg, cream, egg and Amontillado Sherry.

279 300 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 574-2556
undercurrentbar.com

Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.