Let’s Go Eat and Drink

Local Brewer / Historian - Dylan McDonnell

Dylan McDonnell helped us answer these important questions. What would ancient Egyptian beer taste like? Would it be safe to drink? Are the ingredients they use similar to what's used today?
We got as close as one person can tasting the ancient brews, because Dylan used yeast that's 3000 years old from Egypt amongst other ingredients from the area based off ancient text.
We are very thankful Dylan opted to show us what it took to make this special drink, let alone to share it with us. Join us quickly before this beer is pyramid schemes it's way into my heart!

Literary Libations - Wendell Berry

This month we sat down with our bookclub at Ken Sanders Rare Books to discuss Wendell Berry and The Mad Farmer Poems, and more
Wendell Erdman Berry is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of The Gift of Good Land and The Unsettling of America.
Join us for splash of knowledge from The Mad Farmer read by Ken Sanders and Bill Allred of X96.3 in Salt Lake Utah. Jimmy provides some sips for the crowd, and join us every month!

Ali Sabbah - Mazza

Ali Sabbah has been apart of the backbone in the Salt Lake City restaurant scene for well over 20 years. His service loving demeanor is apparent the moment you step foot into his quaint and calming restaurant. The flavors of Mazza put most of the mock middle eastern restaurants to shame.
Ali has lived from Lebanon to the Ivory Coast, making his cuisine authentic and genuine to the pallet. Ali expanded to multiple restaurants over the years, but when COVID struck, he was forced to shut doors on all of the locations except the original location of Mazza.
Visiting Mazza will do more than test the senses of your tastebuds, so join us as we sit down with one of, if not, the best in SLC the valley for food, drinks, and a great conversation!

Literary Libations - Willa Cather

Bill Allred and Ken Sanders delve deep into the works of Willa Cather with help from our boozy bookclub. Friends joined us for drinks provided by Jimmy Santangelo from the Wine Academy of Utah, charcuterie, and a boyant discussion on Willa Cather's life, as well as talking about what shaped her writing.
We keep a focus on My Ántonia, but you can't miss with anything she wrote. Willa Cather was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia however her writing is loud and clear through any of her works. She held her own against Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner.
If you need any more convincing that Willa is as big as the boys were, then take a listen. Grab some snacks, and a splishy splash of something!

Literary Libations - Chuck Bowden

Ken Sanders, and Bill sit down with our bookclub to discuss the life and legacy of Chuck Bowden. We share drinks, snacks, stories, and each others company. Chuck was a writer who known no bounds when interviewing members of the Mexican Drug Cartel. He had an in-depth look on the drug cartel, and their problems with the border. Charles lived a life of current events being deemed a 'Historian of the Future'.
 
Chuck was a close friend of Ken Sanders, who briefs over conversations, memories, and overall describes the enigma that is, Chuck Bowden. Pour a drink, and soak up the stories of America's most dangerous writer.

Hosts of Stay Salty - Lakefacing Stories

Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories is a podcast and multimedia project about overlooked stories from people connected to and impacted by the receding Great Salt Lake. We explore what it means to stay as we face an environmental and public health crisis.
We took the time to speak with hosts Olivia Juarez and Meisei Gonzalez to figure out why they're doing this project, what the lake means to them, and most importantly, what do they like to eat and drink!
Join Jimmy and Bill as we dive into the lives of the hosts of Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories, and the potential future life of the Great Salt Lake. Grab something thirst quencing, and savory because there's more than enough salt!

Literary Libations - Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker is a Literary Icon who had one of the saddest stories of American Authors. Her struggles were clear, and she knew how to be jovial about it. She's considered one of the wittiest women of the 20th century. Her most known works are being a critic working with the New York Times, and as a screenwriter for A Star is Born.
 
Her fall from grace wasn't pretty, and neither is most of her story. Join Ken, Bill, Jimmy as well as the crowd as we celebrate her collected works with whatever wets your whistle!

Literary Libations - Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Jimmy concocted a plan to bring two members from the fabric of the community of Salt Lake to sit them down in front of some drinks, and books! We call it Literary Libations!
Friends joined us for books, booze, centered around Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire". Jimmy as well mixed up a Mezcal Negroni to pair with such a beautiful piece of literature.
We had some questions we couldn't answer, some laughs we couldn't contain, and some memories we made. So experience with us, literature in a way that cannot be replicated with the premiere of Literary Libations!

Literary Libations Anouncement!

Join us once a month for this special event!

Beehive Distilling Founders

Today we speak with some of the founders of Beehive Distilling. Erik Ostling, and Chris Barlow. Beehive Distilling was started in 2013 by three friends who audaciously thought they could start a distillery in one of the most theocratic, alcohol adverse states in the country. With a little 80 gallon still and 1200 sq feet of production space in a run down warehouse, Beehive Distilling was born.
 
They kicked off their journey with gin, infusing it with unique flavors and character. Soon, another gin joined the lineup, followed by a smooth vodka. With the draw of whiskey aging in barrels more space was needed so in 2017 they purchased a building—an expansive 10,000 square feet dedicated to distilling, barrel aging and their new endeavor canned cocktails.
 
Now, eleven years after opening, Beehive has multiple offerings, and they can be found at bars that make excellent cocktails such as Bar-X, The Rest, and Copper Common, as well as on the menus of many excellent restaurants around the valley.
 
Bill brought Deja Vu, Jimmy Splashes up your News, and Dawson hits the wrong buttons. Snag something Beehive Distilling as we joke along the way!