JACKSON, Wyo. — For over a decade, one beverage has reigned supreme over summer in Jackson Hole: the sloshie.
Like the best urban legends, there is some debate over the exact origin story of the sloshie. Adapted from the classic frozen cocktails beloved in party-forward locations like New Orleans and Las Vegas, it’s not necessarily the concept of an ice-blended libation that’s original to Jackson sloshies, but the culture. Most agree that they appeared in the valley in the summer of 2012 at Creekside Market and now-defunct Liquor Down South. Now, more than a dozen establishments are blending up their own boozy delights.
“I don’t think anybody’s losing by having a sloshie machine,” Jackson Hole Still Works Founder and Owner Chas Marsh told Buckrail. “You make your mark with what you put into it.”
Marsh noted that sloshies were part of the Still Works story from early in the distillery’s existence, making creative use of the gin and vodka made in-house. Marsh and his team of three employees serve their creations out of a window at the distillery, and from tents at local events including the weekly People’s Market. As competition grows, they bank on their fresh ingredients and handmade herbal extractions to set them apart. That bespoke spirit carries over into the rest of the business: Marsh hand-paints wooden signs describing each flavor.
Thomas Langevin, Still Works’ master distiller, said an optimal lavender extraction takes about 24 hours to get right, and the lengthy process really pays off in the delicate flavor ratio of their lavender lemonade option. Other handmade extracts at Still Works come from jalapeños, mint, cilantro, thyme and serrano peppers. Langevin’s experience home-brewing mead prepared him for the precise chemistry of the sloshie world.
Other sloshie institutions seek the competitive edge through sheer number of flavors on tap. Hoback Market, a sloshie hotspot located south of Jackson for those recreating on the Snake River, has up to eight machines churning on any given day.
“We started out with one machine,” Hoback Market’s Owner and Acting Manager Marc Kelley told Buckrail. “We get so many people, whether it be a group of rafters or big families. We started adding a few more machines, more variety, and we never looked back.”
Sloshie sales kick into high gear between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Kelley estimated that he sold six times his normal summer numbers over the Fourth of July weekend. But the machines don’t get turned off when summer ends.
“Even in the winter, people will buy a sloshie because it’s that comforting sensation even if it’s 20 degrees out,” Kelley said.
The same year-round popularity is reflected in the burgeoning sloshie machine rental market. A number of catering companies include a sloshie machine in their offerings. Those hosting smaller-scale shindigs can rent a machine plus the liquor and mix for about $450 per day from Jackson Hole Marketplace, for example.
“It is a summertime thing, but with ski culture and all of the party culture we have, people doing winter events and stuff … it’s definitely a growing market with all of the catering that goes on,” JH Marketplace employee Danny Kaufman told Buckrail.
That party culture is an element of the business that inspires reflection in some sloshie purveyors. Kelley, at Hoback Market, said he has lost sleep over customers who use alcohol to excess, especially when he sees some people return day after day. Marsh, at Still Works, remembered instances at the People’s Market where he had to refuse service to customers attempting to purchase a fourth sloshie for themselves.
Marsh notes that “99% of people at events are drinking responsibly,” and says his team is “very smart” about facilitating a safe environment. He emphasizes that part of Still Works’ mission statement includes making great spirits and putting a smile on people’s faces.
He thinks the inherent fun and social elements of the sloshie scene are what made it take deep hold in Jackson.
“It’s about getting together with your friends, tasting different flavors, and everyone’s having a good time,” he said. “Have you ever seen someone drinking a sloshie with a frown on their face?”
Remember to enjoy responsibly.
