Cowboy State Daily’s ‘Drinking Wyoming’ is presented by Pine Bluffs Distilling
ALADDIN — At most bars, bartenders will tell you they can make anything. They know all the “usuals.”
They can make margaritas, whiskey sours, old fashioneds. They’ve got red wine. They’ve got white wine. And they’ve got beer, including Wyoming craft beers.
In other words, they’ve got the same-old, same-old.
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But when you walk into the Aladdin General Store, what you’ll find are some truly creative cocktails. They’re not the same-old, same-old.
Like this year’s Sturgis rally drink, designed by Jordan Yates, a self-taught mixologist who has been working at the Aladdin General Store for five years with her fiance and bar owner Trent Tope.
The drink is called The Hurricane. It’s a simple shot of Koltiska, a Sheridan Wyoming liquor and not to be confused with the signature drink of New Orleans of the same name.
What you’re buying at Aladdin is not just a drink. It’s an experience.
For this drink, the bartender climbs on top of the bar and sits in front of the customer. The shot of Koltiska is poured directly into the customer’s mouth. Then, after the customer successfully swallows the drink, there’s a bit of a unique water chaser.
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Water is actually flung into the customer’s face, and then is slapped. Not too hard, but it’s enough to make a sound.
“For the (Sturgis Motorcycle) Rally, we kind of do more shots that are out there,” Yates told Cowboy State Daily. “If you can get an experience with a drink too, then that’s a good way for the bartender to make more money, too.”
The Hurricane costs $40. The bar only keeps $5 of that. The bartender gets the rest.
Who’s Buying These Drinks
While it seems like no one would voluntarily pay $40 for a shot and a slap in the face, Yates averages 15 to 25 Hurricanes a day during the two to three weeks in and around South Dakota’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
“Some of the ones I’ve served were wives buying them for their husbands,” Yates said.
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Other times, someone was just curious and brave enough to take a shot in the dark, because Yates won’t tell them what’s all involved with the drink is until they buy one.
There was something contagious, though, about the drink because after one person bought one, pretty much everyone else in the bar would follow suit, Yates said.
During the rally week, The Aladdin General Store bar was always filled to the brim. It was standing room only for this historic 128-year-old stop that’s right across from the South Dakota border.
While Cowboy State Daily was there, several bikers who had found the place for the first time walked in and their immediate reaction was, “Awesome! I like this place, it’s so cool.”
They took a seat on the rustic wooden bar stools draped with animal fur and ordered a beer or a shot in a place that combines history with a kitschy ambiance. Historic brands on the front of the bar speak to the area’s rich, ranching roots, while jars of Vienna sausages, rebranded as Porcupine Peters or Chorizo De Coyote are offered for sale.
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The Aladdin General Store also offers a range of alcoholic products that include Wyoming craft beers and liquors. Black Tooth Brewing Co.’s Hot Streak is one of the more popular beers, while the shot of Koltiska is the bar’s No. 1 seller.
The seemingly never-ending stream of rallygoers visiting the location has provided an enormous financial boost to the Aladdin General Store over the past five years that Yates and Tope have owned it. They estimate that up to half their annual business happens during the month of the Sturgis rally.
“For the rally, we have some of the bartenders who are hired just as shots girls,” Yates said. “They specialize more in shots. So it’s the fun shots, and the specialty shots too.”
Specialty shots are a little more than a simple shot of Jack Daniels or Fireball.
“These are more like lemon drop shots and stuff that take a little bit more to create,” Yates said. “But we always try to have fun with the cocktail menu.”
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Jordan Yates is the mixologist for Aladdin General Store’s bar. She’s come up with quite a few interesting cocktails to serve at the bar, including The Hurricane shot. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
A rare quiet moment during the Sturgis Rally week at the Aladdin General Store’s bar. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Trent Tope, right, talks to some customers at the Aladdin General Store’s bar during Sturgis Rally week. The bar is popular stopping point for motorcyclists driving the Devils Tower loop. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Hurricane Shots are just $40. What are they? A shot that comes with an unusual water chaser, and a Titanic slap at the end. Bartender Jordan Yates said she sold an average of 15 to 20 of the shots each day during rally week. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
It may say Wedding Fund on the front, but it says something entirely different on the back. It was turned around too quickly for Cowboy State Daily to read, but it was something like Stripper Pole Fund. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Visitors like to leave dollar bills with messages on them. They’re taped to the ceiling in the Aladdin General Store’s bar. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
The liquor cabinet at the Aladdin General Store has a surprising amount of diversity, with things like pumpkin chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, and Koltiska for the infamous Hurricane shot. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Year-Round Creativity
But it’s not just during the Sturgis rally that Yates’ creativity is on tap at the Aladdin General Store. She is always dreaming up new cocktails for upcoming events the bar plans — Christmas, Fall Festival, St. Patrick’s Day — there’s always something going on that makes a great excuse for a party, and the Aladdin General Store is more than happy to take advantage.
“Right now what I’m working on is the Fall Festival,” Yates said of the store’s annual autumn celebration. “I actually grow pumpkins out back here, and then I make a pumpkin mix out of them.”
That fresh pumpkin mixture gets used for pumpkin pie shots, which also include a bit of Mozart Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Liqueur, vanilla vodka, and cream.
“It’s so nice and creamy,” Yates said. “We do a little whipped cream on the top of it, and that’s usually one of our biggest hit.”
The Pumpkin Pie Martini is another popular one, that has just a bit more of the vanilla vodka, and is less creamy.
To round out the menu, there’s a margarita that uses apple cider, caramel apple butter rum, and an apple cider Moscow mule.
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“You always have to have a margarita on the menu, right?” Yates said. “We dip the rim of that in caramel, then do a bit of salt on it, so it’s a salted caramel rim.”
The Fall Festival includes a crockpot cook-off, which is open to any dish that’s cooked in a crockpot, whether it’s chili, bread, cobbler or something else.
“It was perfect last year because we had people who made full meals in their crockpots and people who made desserts, so it was a full meal for everyone,” Yates said. “Every year that gets a little bit bigger. Last year we had 200 people.”
Aladdin has a population of just 15, so the event is clearly bringing in a lot of tourists who don’t live in the community, and it’s just another vital part of keeping a piece of 128-year-old history alive.
The Aladdin General Store in Aladdin, Wyoming. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
The old cash register at the Aladdin General Store still works, and is used daily. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Trent Tope makes change using the old cash register in the Aladdin General Store’s bar. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Fun photos of fun times at the Aladdin General Store’s bar decorate the walls. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
The 128-year-old Aladdin General Store has a lot of history behind it. The bar has preserved a number of brands from ranches in the area. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Some of the unique products for sale at the Aladdin General Store. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Black Tooth Brewing’s Hot Streak is a top-selling beer at the Aladdin General Store. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Just like Vegas, what happens in Aladdin stays in Aladdin. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
A tiny Wyoming town has been embroiled in debate after an image surfaced of a dog sitting at a table inside a restaurant beside its owner.
The image, captured inside Sapporo Japanese Steakhouse in Rock Springs, Wyoming, shows an elderly woman sitting at a table alongside her small dog.
Local woman Ellie Croft shared the picture, and her disgust, at how restaurant staff could allow the animal inside.
In her post, Croft said: ‘If you’ve already made the entitled decision to bring your dog to a restaurant.
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‘DO NOT let it sit on the bench where other people will sit. Disgusting and inconsiderate’, with her post now sparking a wider debate on animals in restaurants.
The image, captured inside Sapporo Japanese Steakhouse in Rock Springs, Wyoming, shows an elderly woman sitting at a table alongside her small dog
The image, and Croft’s caption, has since ignited a deeper heated debate about allowing animals in restaurants.
Some users urged her to be considerate, as she did not know the woman’s full circumstances, questioning if it was possibly a service dog.
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Should dogs be allowed inside restaurants?
Yes522 votes
No479 votes
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Others agreed with her post, saying people need to stop regarding dogs as humans.
One commenter posted: ‘If your entitled backside is too pristine to sit in the same restaurant as a dog. You are the problem and not the dog.’
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Another said: ‘Probably better behaved than most kids around here’, but someone added: ‘Agree!!! Dogs belong at home.’
Another man added: ‘Everyone should take a moment to actually think this through.’
‘This is a food establishment, not your home kitchen. Could this be a service dog? Yes, but it would be more responsible for this person to use a designated vest or tag to express that.
‘People have allergies, and unless you have a certified service animal, you have no right bringing in a pet that could disrupt someone else in public food establishments.’
Croft hit back after receiving some heat for her original post, adding: ‘I’m highly allergic to dogs, and they do not belong on people’s seats in restaurants.
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The post has since sparked a wider debate on animals in restaurants.
‘It would’ve been alright if the dog stayed on the floor. Have some common sense.’
The owner of Sapporo, Jerry Zhang, told Cowboy State Daily that he leans toward the softer side of the issue for a few reasons.
According to Zhang, he doesn’t want to force a lonely or disabled person away from her dog and he doesn’t want a dog left in a hot vehicle.
Zhang also told the outlet that the restaurant is cleaned meticulously between guests anyway.
He said: ‘If the dog is good, no barking — I say OK. From my heart, I feel sorry if I reject (them).
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The owner of Sapporo, Jerry Zhang, seen here, told Cowboy State Daily that he leans toward the softer side of the issue for a few reasons
‘I always tell myself to put yourself in others’ shoes to feel how others feel That’s why I’m (allowing well-behaved dogs).’
According to the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, all animals, except service dogs, are not allowed inside restaurants
Federal rules say that staff can only ask a person if a dog is required because of a disability, and what task the dog must perform.
The guidance adds that staff should not ask for documentation or proof that the can perform a service.
The state of Wyoming has found its next CIO, in South Dakota.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has appointed Jeff Clines — who has served as South Dakota CIO since April 2020 — as the new chief information officer of the Department of Enterprise Technology Services. His appointment, Gordon’s office said in a news release, is effective Sept. 9, a little more than three weeks away.
Jeff Clines
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Clines will step in for state CISO Aaron Roberts, who has been doing double duty as interim CIO since April, when then-Interim CIO TR Sheehan departed.
“In this era of persistent cybersecurity threats, it is imperative that our state’s technology remain up-to-date and that we competently address cybersecurity challenges in order for our state government to function effectively,” Gordon said in a statement.
Prior to joining South Dakota as CIO and commissioner for the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications, Clines was director of IT for the Illinois Secretary of State. Before that, he served as director of Enterprise Applications for the American Heart Association in Dallas, Texas.
“I am thrilled to join Wyoming’s ETS team,” Clines, who has roughly 25 years’ experience in technology, said in a statement. “I eagerly anticipate collaborating with this talented group, and the leadership across state agencies, as we work together to serve Wyoming citizens.”
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Clines entered IT in Texas after earning an associate degree in applied sciences, with studies in computer information technology, according to LinkedIn.
Monday’s full moon over Wyoming won’t be just full, it will appear huge in the night sky, a rare time when the first full moon of August is also a blue supermoon.
The first full moon in August is also called a sturgeon or mountain shadows moon, and Monday will be the first of four consecutive supermoons to close out 2024.
Supermoons happen when “the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth,” according to NASA. When that happens, the moon can appear up to 30% brighter and 14% larger than usual given their position in the sky, usually close to the horizon.
Monday’s is also the first and only full moon of August, so how can a supermoon also be a blue moon?
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The short answer is calendar quirks. The long answer is a bit more complicated and less colorful.
Once In A Blue Moon (Times Two)
There are technically two types of blue moons. The better-known is the second full moon in one month, according to the Gregorian calendar.
But there are also seasonal blue moons, and the third of four full moons in a single season is a blue moon. The Aug. 19 supermoon is the third full moon of summer 2024, making it a seasonal blue moon. And because it’s the first full moon of August it’s a sturgeon moon (named for the fish). And also it’s within 90% of the closest it’ll get to Earth, making it a supermoon.
If that’s confusing, join the club. Even Max Gilbraith, the planetarium coordinator for the University of Wyoming, wasn’t familiar with the concept of a seasonal blue moon.
“I’ve never really encountered it,” he said. “But this will be the third full moon of an astronomical season that has four full moons. I don’t know why it’s just the third moon is the blue moon, but I’m sure that there’s some reason for it.”
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Despite the occurrence of four full moons in one season, only the third moon is the blue moon. The fourth full moon isn’t anything noteworthy, although it will be another supermoon in September.
Calendar Quirks
Gilbraith wasn’t familiar with a seasonal blue moon because it’s a chronological phenomenon rather than an astronomical one.
“There are meteorological seasons and astronomical seasons,” he said. “Meteorological seasons are adjusted for latitude and climate, whereas astronomical seasons are determined by the equinox or solstice.”
Lunar calendars could be as old as civilization itself, with archaeological evidence suggesting that humans used the moon as a time-measuring tool as far back as 30,000 years ago.
Julius Caesar was the progenitor of the modern solar calendar, developing it in 46 B.C. It was used for 1,600 years until Pope Gregory XIII modified it in 1582, creating the Gregorian calendar used worldwide today.
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Gilbraith said the quirks of the Gregorian calendar are good for blue moons. The calendar’s blue moons have nothing to do with the astronomical aspects of the moon.
“It doesn’t create any physical phenomena that you can observe,” he said. “It’s just a timekeeping sort of happenstance. It might be fun for superstitious reasons, but it’s just an artifact of timekeeping.”
Cool Moon
Ironically, “once in a blue moon” isn’t as special as the idiom would suggest. Nevertheless, there are some fun facts about the upcoming sturgeon moon.
NASA said August’s full moon will be so super that it should appear full for three days between Sunday night and Wednesday morning.
Furthermore, it’s a rare super blue moon, which only happens every 10 to 20 years.
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While the next seasonal blue moon will occur in May 2027, the next super blue moon will not occur until January 2037. So, put that on your Gregorian calendar.
For the record, “once in a blue moon” averages out to once every two or three years. That’s slightly more frequent than a leap day, one of the important quirks of the Julian calendar that endured into the Gregorian calendar.
The Minute Summer Stops
According to his astronomical calendar, Gilbraith said that Wyoming’s summer will officially end in the early hours of Sept. 22.
“Our terminal equinox is at 6:43 a.m. Mountain Time on Sept. 22,” he said. “That is the official end of summer for everyone in Wyoming to the minute, so no tree leaves are allowed to come down until then.”
The final full moon of this summer’s seasonal blue moons will rise Sept. 17, putting it within the final days of the season. So, Wyomingites should savor this summer’s sturgeon super blue moon while they can.
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And no, the moon won’t literally be blue when it rises Monday.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
