Stranahan’s Announces Opening of Whiskey Lodge in Aspen, Unveils First ‘Lodge-Exclusive’ Expression
The Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge will open in March in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey)
On Tuesday, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey announced that it will open a location in Aspen, Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge, on March 9. The Denver-based whiskey brand describes the space as an “après destination featuring elevated cuisine, perfectly crafted cocktails, and pours of premium whiskey.”
This marks something of a return to home for the brand, which Jess Graber and George Stranahan founded 20 years ago in Aspen.
“We’re coming back to Aspen, where I began the American Single Malt journey two decades ago. Opening the doors to our Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge is a thank you to our friends, family, and fans who helped us get here, but it is also a long-awaited return home,” Graber said in a news release. “We’ve come a long way since opening the first whiskey distillery in Colorado since Prohibition, down in Denver.
“Returning to the Rockies to open the Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge is a testament to the country’s thirst for home-grown Single Malts. For all Single Malt whiskey fans, I want to invite them to Aspen to taste America’s finest and most unique range of American Single Malts out there.”
Stranahan’s First Lodge-Exclusive Whiskey Debuts
To mark the opening of the space, Stranahan’s has announced that it will release a series of expressions exclusively available at the lodge. The first Lodge-exclusive release is Stranahan’s Calvados Cask, a blend of six casks of Stranahan’s American Single Malt whiskey. The 8-year-old whiskey spent between two and four years being finished in barrels that formerly held Calvados, an apple brandy from Normandy, France.
“The opportunity to custom build exceptional Limited Edition whiskey blends for our Whiskey Lodge guests is a special treat,” said Stranahan’s head blender, Justin Aden, whom we interviewed in December. “The fruitiness of our Single Malt paired with the richness of Calvados cask finishing could not fit Stranahan’s taste profile better. It’s the perfect union of our 100 percent barley malt, Eldorado Spring water, and a nuanced depth that only exceptionally aged Calvados could give you.”
Bottled at 94 proof, the whiskey has a suggested retail price of $140, and Stranahan’s will donate a portion of the proceeds from its sales to the Aspen Fire Protection District. Graber was a volunteer firefighter at the time of Stranahan’s founding.
Stranahan’s Calvados Cask Tasting Notes, Via the Brand
Color: Marmalade
Nose: Dandelion, wild honey, marsala wine, baseball mitt, orange-mint candies
Taste: Yellow pears, white tea with honey, apple strudel, tangerine, tarte tatin
Finish: Delicate and slightly prickly; juicy into fresh ginger-like acidity; warm cider
About the Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge
Located at 307 S. Mill Street in Aspen, Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge will be open daily from noon to 10 p.m.
Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge will serve classic cocktails and specialty concoctions such as the Chili Chai Ball (Stranahan’s Blue Peak, Chai Syrup, Lemon Juice, Smoked Chili Bitters, Ginger Beer) and Honey, Get Well Soon (Stranahan’s Original, Spiced Tea Liqueur, Lemon Oil, Absinthe).
It will also serve Stranahan’s whiskeys including Original, Blue Peak, Sherry Cask, Diamond Peak, and Mountain Angel 10, as well as those that until now were available only at the distillery in Denver, such as Stranahan’s Red Wine Cask and CO Brewer’s Cask.
The lodge will also have a “made-for-sharing” menu built by head chef Nick Ragazzo, who Stranahan’s claims is a 24-year veteran of James Beard-nominated restaurants.
Ravazzo will pair Stranahan’s whiskeys and cocktails with his menu items, which will include Colorado Lamb Flatbread, Whiskey Smoked Wagyu Brisket, Pork Schnitzel Meatballs and Rocky Mountain Game and Cheese boards.
Earlier this month, Heaven’s Door, the whiskey brand co-founded by Bob Dylan, released the first whiskey in its new Exploration Series, a bourbon finished in Calvados casks.
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