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Just over a year after beloved local gathering place L’Hosteria closed in Aspen, another restaurant has opened in its place that wants to be a hub for the local dining scene.
PARC Aspen officially opened on December 16th, but had a soft opening on December 13th.
The basement eatery has been completely renovated in a farmhouse style, with whitewashed walls and a very bright space. Gone are the dark corners and dim lighting of PARC’s predecessor.
According to PARC Aspen’s website, the new restaurant is “focused on revitalizing the local dining scene” in Aspen, with a menu of “locally sourced, seasonally curated dishes.” offers.
The idea of locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, or “seasonal aspens,” as our server called it, is the result of the Roaring Fork Valley and several Colorado-based distilleries, as well as specializing in winter flavors. It also extends to the cocktail menu highlighting the section.
The cocktail selection is divided into five sections, starting with PARC Aspen Specialties. Nearly every mainstream spirit option appears in the specialty section, and liqueurs are paired with some of the more unique ingredients, such as the tomatillo-infused tequila drink called Spiral Incline and the caught drink, Newbury Park. Will be my eye first for its taste.
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Newbury Park is made with Roaring Fork Vodka, Raspberry, Beets, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur and topped with Fever Tree. The result, thanks to the beets, is a beautiful, bright raspberry-colored drink that can trick the mind into thinking it’s just a healthy juice. It’s a sour raspberry. The warm, spicy presence of ginger is there, but not overpowering.I think the presence of bubbles from the fever tree helps dilute the ginger flavor and contributes to keeping the drink light. Vodka has never been my go-to liquor, but it was definitely the right spirit choice for a cocktail.
Next on the PARC Aspen cocktail list is a short section of zero-proof cocktails. Two options to be exact, followed by two hot alcoholic drinks (620 Toddy and mulled wine), and a great selection of classic cocktails. Fashion, Jimmy’s style, and a spirit-forward Vesper.
My next and last cocktail was from the seasonal winter specialties section.
Two of the drinks in this section sound like creamy dessert cocktails, while the other two seem to go well with meals.
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I chose the A White Winter cocktail, made again with Roaring Fork Vodka, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, White Cranberries, and Egg Whites.
This drink came out and was totally different than I expected, but not in a bad way.
It’s served in a martini glass and is a decidedly white winter color, adorned with a nice amount of foam from the egg whites and a dash of bright blue sugar crystals. is. Somehow, when all the ingredients mix, they seem to cancel each other out. The nose has floral notes of Saint-Germain, but the first flavors on the tongue are vaguely cotton candy. The drink starts out white like an Aspen winter’s day, but turns icy blue at the end thanks to sugar crystals.
Since this is a drinks column, I won’t go into the food, but it definitely did not disappoint and was flavorful.
We already have our eyes set on other cocktails we’d like to try from the menu, such as the Blueberry Glacier in the winter specialties section, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the Aspen-based restaurant changes with the seasons.
Cheers, PARC Aspen, off to a great start!
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