Sanctuary Camelback Mountain reopens Jade Bar after remodel
A few years ago, Jade Bar at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain was the best place this side of Las Vegas for a spectacular cocktail.
From their perch on Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, bartenders Jason Asher, Micah Olsen and Tyson Buhler worked with Elements executive chef Beau MacMillan to design and pour the kinds of drinks people still talk about a week later.
Cocktail consultant Ryan Magarian had trained them to be cocktail ninjas: swift, decisive and effective.
Asher, Olsen and Buhler moved on to make their own notable contributions to Valley cocktailing, and Jade languished. (Languishing at Sanctuary’s level, of course, was still strong — splendid views, elegant cocktail list, those crave-worthy shishito peppers topped with soy caramel. But Jade no longer was all magic, all the time.)
So, management tore it down. Literally. The space reopened this month.
“Sanctuary was committed to this,” said Magarian, who was brought back for the rebirth/remodel. “They wanted to be the best, so they spent the money, they paid attention, they did what they needed to do.”
The entrance still is off the Elements dining room, now a petite portico of Makassar ebony opening into an expansive, curving indooroutdoor space with floor-to-ceiling views of the mountain neighborhood, all cantilevered over a sloping grassy lawn.
Inside, guests can sit at the 25seat bar, lounge on chairs by the windows or become part of the decor themselves, standing at the 30-foot-long backlit jade-onyx drink rail, a kind of elegant perch for those whose outfits are best appreciated all at once.
The expanded 850-square-foot semi-enclosed patio features a gas fireplace and built-in banquettes.
“This space is amazing now,” said MacMillan, gesturing with a swipe at the Valley floor glittering outside.
Much of the rest of the remodel probably will go unnoticed by guests until they get their drinks.
The bartender’s herb garden has been refurbished and enlarged. The bartenders will submit to a 30-hour training that focuses on history as much as craft.
The main menu is a sharp selection of drinks tailored to the Southwestern vacation palate, with bright citrus, chile and herbal flavors that emphasize elegance more than innovation.
On the approachable end, there’s the Botticelli, a knife-balanced, slightly dry mix of vodka, Aperol, grapefruit and lime juices, floated with champagne. Shiso Sexy, made with such bold flavors as yellow chartreuse, lime juice, orange bitters and green tea, is an all-day easy sipper.
MacMillan has kept the shishito peppers on the menu and added wings and a crudites and hummus dish. But MacMillan is a Food Network Iron Chef, so he keeps going, rounding it out with short-rib macaroni and cheese, chicken-liver mousse, fire-roasted bone marrow, and creme brulee doughnuts.