2026 Park City Mountain Mixer Winner Announced: Dos Olas Takes Top Honors
Lead photo credit: Park City Area Restaurants Association
The smoke was still curling off the rim of the glass (not quite literally, but IYKYK) when Adriel Danan found out he’d won.
Saturday’s live finale of the Mountain Mixer Park City cocktail contest crowned Danan, of Dos Olas Cantina, this year’s champion for his mezcal forward creation, Crimson Smoked (get it now?). The win came with a $1,000 cash prize, a sponsor gift basket, and the kind of bragging rights that follow a bartender around Main Street, Park City for the rest of the season.
Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Lodge Hosts Live Finale
Photo Credit: Rich Stoner
Presented by the Park City Area Restaurant Association, the finale played out in front of Deer Valley Resort’s Silver Lake Lodge amidst a mountain backdrop and under one of those relentlessly blue late summer skies that makes the whole valley look like a Bob Ross painting…happy little clouds and all. A DJ kept the crowd moving with anticipation between pours. Somewhere between the second and third competitor the line looped back into itself, a tell-tale sign that a mountain town event is starting to become an institution.
Ten finalists took the stage after a month of blind judging, each only a few minutes to mix and sell their final creation. That is what separates the Mountain Mixer from other more standard tasting events. These aren’t just recipes read off a card. Each mixologist stood in front of the crowd and the panel of judges and told the story behind their creation, why those ingredients, the flavor, and the memory they were chasing all before the final version was presented to the judges.
2026 Park City Mountain Mixer Winner & Results
Photo Credit: Park City Area Restaurants Association
The final results:
- 1st Place: Adriel Danan, Dos Olas Cantina, Crimson Smoked
- 2nd Place: Chace Culla, Timbers Bar and Restaurant, Cucumber and Jalapeno Gimlet
- 3rd Place: Jordan Greiner, The Hirsch, 40° North
“This year’s live competition was one for the books as the Park City community toasted, tasted, and cheered on our Top Ten finalists as they battled for the title of the summer’s best cocktail,” PCARA Executive Director Ginger Wicks said. She credited all ten finalists for the creativity and talent they brought to the stage, not just the podium finishers.
Three judges with serious cocktail pedigree scored the field: Charles Joly, a global cocktail champion and James Beard Award winner; Ben Usen, regional sales director of La Colombe and founder of Installation Coffee; and Casey Metzger, owner of Top Shelf Professional Bar Services.
Winning Recipe: Crimson Smoked Cocktail by Adriel Danan
Photo credit: Park City Area Restaurants Association
Danan’s winning cocktail was built around Casamigos Mezcal and leaned smoky yet citrus forward. While it may sound complex, it is simple enough that a decent home bar could shake it up with no problem.
Crimson Smoked
- 1½ oz Casamigos Mezcal
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz Cointreau
- â…“ oz blood orange puree
- ¼ oz agave syrup
The glass gets rimmed with a smoked paprika, salt, and sugar mix before the ice goes in. Everything else gets shaken hard and strained over, then finished with a dehydrated blood orange wheel. With only a few basic ingredients, it looks simple on paper but with Mezcal as its base is a pretty heavy hitter when poured.
Why the Mountain Mixer Keeps Growing
In only its second year being run by the PCARA as a live staged finale rather than the previous format of online judging, the sizable crowd on the lawn at Silver Lake Lodge says this new Mountain Mixer format is a hit. Over the course of the summer, 21 Park City bartenders spent the summer competing behind closed doors before the 10 finalists made the cut. This means that Saturday’s winner beat out a full season of competition before it even touched a judge’s lips that day.
The Mountain Mixer is a snapshot of where Park City’s dining scene currently stands. That’s to say, a little competitive, confident, and completely okay with putting their bartenders in front of a live audience with everything on the line.
About the Author
Rich Stoner is the founder of the après-ski lifestyle clothing and media brand, All About Après. He is also the co-host of the Après All Day Podcast. No stranger to the ski and après-ski scene, Rich has been a long time contributor for many publications on topics like skiing, travel, gear, beer and food. However, his passion is on the slopes and enjoying good times with good people. You can find him perfecting his craft carving turns and drinking beers in the Green Mountains of Vermont. @allaboutapres
How the PCARA Mountain Mixer Cocktail Contest Works
Photo Credit: Park City Area Restaurant Association
Throughout the month of July PCARA has been sending anonymous judges into member bars and restaurants around town to sample and score their cocktails without them even knowing. 21 entries started the competition. Ten have survived. Now these 10 finalists get one chance on an outdoor stage in front of a judging panel and a live audience. Here’s the kicker, this year’s crowd actually gets a say in who wins.
If you happened to catch last year’s version, this is a shift worth mentioning. In 2025 PCARA brought the Mountain Mixer back to a live format. Since the pandemic it ran purely online which, as you can imagine, can easily turn into a popularity contest. Last year AJ Anderson took the win with a fascinating cocktail called Melt, a whiskey and rum drink built around a melting ice cube that released tropical flavors as it melted. Talk about setting the bar high. So who has the chance to clear it?
Meet the Top 10 Park City Mountain Mixer Finalists
Photo Credit: Park City Area Restaurant Association
Here is who will be shaking or stirring their way to the title this year:
40° North, Jordan Greiner, Goldener Hirsch Bloods Lake, Allan Joseph Anderson, Handle Cena Strawberry Spritz, Adam Krebs, Cena Ristorante Coco Verde, Charles Franco, Grub Steak Crimson Smoked, Adriel Danan, Dos Olas Cucumber and Jalapeño Gimlet, Chace Ciulla, Timbers at Park City Sheraton Guava Getaway, Tristan James Beattie, Flanagan’s on Main Hive Mind, Katelyn Fraser, Butcher’s Chop House and Bar Sounds of Dolomites, Milana Powers, The Nelson Cottage Freedom of Peach, Victor Wilson, Pine Cone Ridge
Just in case you were wondering, a couple of the competitors are repeat threats. Fraser and her Nebbia cocktail took second place last year, and Franco’s Ube Halo landed third. If their Hive Mind and Coco Verde cocktails carry any of that same craft, the judges have their work cut out for them.
Mountain Mixer Ticket Details: What $40 Gets You
For $40 your ticket gets you admission to the deck at Silver Lake Lodge and two cocktail tastings of your choice from the Top 10 contestants. Want more than two? I wouldn’t judge. Additional tasting tickets are available throughout the event, so you can easily work your way down the list. Deer Valley Resort will be cooking up festival food to complement the cocktails while DJ Dolph is back and ready to spin tunes to keep the whole event moving. One important fact of note, this is a 21 and up event, so a valid photo ID is required to get in.
Why Deer Valley’s Mountain Mixer is a Must-Attend Event
Photo Credit: Park City Area Restaurant Association
Anyone who has been to Park City knows that they don’t lack for bars. However, the Mountain Mixer in the one afternoon where the town’s best bartenders aren’t just serving you a drink. They are defending theirs in front of a huge crowd. There’s a difference between ordering a drink off a cocktail menu and watching the person who invented it sweat out every live pour with judges only a few feet away. It’s as much entertainment as the drinking itself.
So make your way up to the deck, grab your two pours and let the mountain air do its thing. Silver Lake Lodge in late August, cocktail in hand and a DJ spinning tunes in the background, is about as good as it gets.
About the Author
Rich Stoner is the founder of the après-ski lifestyle clothing and media brand, All About Après. He is also the co-host of the Après All Day Podcast. No stranger to the ski and après-ski scene, Rich has been a long time contributor for many publications on topics like skiing, travel, gear, beer and food. However, his passion is on the slopes and enjoying good times with good people. You can find him perfecting his craft carving turns and drinking beers in the Green Mountains of Vermont. @allaboutapres
Leave a Reply