We know North American ski resorts well; we are fortunate enough to be represented by galleries in Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride, Jackson, Whistler and Big Sky and we enjoy our evenings when in town. Each town has its own unique strengths which is why they are so celebrated and we find it difficult to choose a favourite. They are all world class resorts and we see ourselves as extremely blessed to be able to compare one to the other.

However, we are emphatically clear about one thing, and that is what we consider to be the best bar throughout the great American ski resorts. Before we give you our answer, it is perhaps worth considering what, in our eyes, constitutes a great bar.

To qualify as a contender, we believe that a bar should, for starters, be busy throughout the week. Mondays at 4pm are a better time to judge than Saturdays at 8pm. There should be a depth and substance to its structure and the walls and ceilings should be adorned with a unique collection of Americana nonsense that lends it character. There must be an authenticity that immediately notifies the incoming patron that all is not normal here. 

Most importantly, the clientele should be a compelling cocktail of beauty, danger and vice. Men with disposable moral fibre should intermingle with ladies who hold the room and catch the eye. It is perfectly acceptable for some of those ladies to also have disposable moral fibre. The bar should have a vibe that is strong enough to secure lifelong loyalty as well as bigger nights than intended. The bar is a vortex of pleasure and a celebration of life.

That bar is The No Name Saloon in Park City, Utah.