The James Beard Foundation named High West Distillery and Saloon, Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870, a semifinalist and one of just 25 bars in the country for the “Outstanding Bar Program” category for the second straight year. The Foundation also nominated James Dumas, High West’s Executive Chef, as one of only 22 people nominated for “Best Chef: Southwest.”
“We’re once again both thrilled and humbled to be recognized by the James Beard Foundation,” High West proprietor David Perkins said. “We bring to our restaurant the same passion, joy and craftsmanship that we do to our distillery and the whiskies we make.”
The Beard Awards are a culinary equivalent to the Pulitzer Prizes, representing the highest honor that a North American chef, bar or restaurant can attain. They are named for James Beard, a cookbook author and teacher who championed American cuisine. Final nominees for the Beard Awards will be announced May 6 at a ceremony in New York City. The nominees will be announced live on Twitter (@beardfoundation <http://twitter.com/beardfoundation> ).
High West’s Beard nomination is the latest in a list of significant accolades for the restaurant and distillery, which opened just five years ago. Whiskey Advocate Magazine named High West its 2011 “Whiskey Pioneer of the Year,” readers of Salt Lake City Weekly voted High West the “Best Park City Restaurant” in 2011 and 2012, and the distillery and its products have been featured in publications ranging from Wine Spectator and the Wall Street Journal, to Huffington Post, Bar Business Magazine, Delta Sky Magazine and the Boston Globe.
High West Distillery and Saloon is Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870. Located at exactly 7,000 feet above sea level in historic Old Town Park City, High West is the world’s only ski-in gastro-distillery. High West’s passion is crafting unique and exceptional whiskeys and marrying them with outstanding food. High West whiskeys have received numerous awards and accolades and in 2011 Whisky Advocate Magazine named the distillery its “Whiskey Pioneer of the Year.” The High West Saloon, located adjacent to the distillery, is a family-friendly, full-service, Zagat-rated restaurant and bar that was voted “Best Park City Restaurant” in 2011 and 2012 by readers of City Weekly. Visitors can enjoy contemporary Western comfort food next to a hand hammered copper pot still in a renovated 100-year-old livery stable and Victorian mining-era home, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. High West products are available in 39 states throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, China and the United Kingdom. They are available for retail purchase in the High West General Store seven days a week and on holidays. For more information and to find where to buy High West products near you, please visit highwest.com <http://highwest.com/> .
