Before the frenetic schedule of the holidays came upon us, to keep things festive I planned a romantic media stay at the Marble Distillery Inn on Main Street in Carbondale, CO. As wonderful as life can be in Aspen, we still get cabin fever and feel fortunate to be able to escape to a less homogenous town with a completely different vibe.
Located in the heart of Carbondale’s Creative District, Marble Distilling Co. & The Distillery Inn, with a tasting room and five contemporary luxury rooms to sleep in, is the first and only inn in the world to be housed within an operational distillery.
The Marble Bar Distillery has a hip social scene in a casual atmosphere, and is a large entertainment hub for the locals.
The plan was for me to get to the Inn at 3pm and situate myself at the nine-ton block of Yule Quarry Marble bar (the very same stone at the Lincoln Memorial) and have some lovely writing time, while tasting their infused vodkas and snacking on their locally sourced Charcuterie and Cheese boards from Avalanche Meat & Cheese. I was salivating in advance over the menu with Pork & Goat Finocchiona, Spanish Chorizo, Moo-Co Camembert and Haystack Buttercup Cheddar, all accompanied by flatbread, dried Fruit, roasted nuts, cornichon and fig spread.
As always, my fantasy of how things should have gone and what actually occurred were very different, and I never did get my Dorothy Parker experience, but I did have the opportunity to meet up with my friend Susie Jimenez at the bar and talk cocktails with Shaefer, the head bartender.
With Susie's love for flavors, and her celebrity Chef experiences, I was so happy to have her there to ask Shaefer questions I would not have thought to ask such as; what the profile should be on her palate with a Carbontini. Shaefer in return gave us quite the education on the uniqueness of the infused crafted cocktails, encouraging us to taste everything to see what profile we liked best. Susie, who was in a cross fit non-drinking phase, sipped on her Marbletini, a carbonated vodka that was far stronger than any vodka and soda I've ever tasted, and I quietly sucked down (just) a few Marble-Ritas.
The education continued on when we went on a Distillery tour with Marble Distilling Co. Spirit Liaison, Michelle Marlow, and discovered more of what makes The Distillery Inn so unique; They are the only zero-waste distillery in the world and are truly Grain to Glass to Ground; they are the only distiller in the world to use the world-famous marble stone as a filtering agent all grains are sourced locally & all stillage from MDC’s distillery is sent to local Carbondale ranchers.
Inspired by the pioneers of Marble, Colorado, Marble Distilling Co. is continuing the Colorado tradition of creating something extraordinary utilizing Colorado’s natural resources. Taste a bit of Colorado’s natural bounty with every sip. Born from the purest water, Crystal River headwaters are filtered through 99.5% calcite Yule marble, the same marble used for the Lincoln Memorial and the strongest marble known to man. Pure water and all natural grains are the cornerstone of all our small batch spirits. We add the hard work and commitment to quality that it takes to produce truly handcrafted, artisan spirits. Marble Distilling Co. makes handcrafted Marble Vodka from local Colorado grains, Gingercello – a modern adaptation from the lemon Italian classic, Moonlight EXpresso – family recipe utilizing local Bonfire Coffee from the other side of Main Street and Ragged Mountain Rye Whiskey & Bourbon.
After a delicious dinner at Chef Mark Fischer's Phat Thai Wade and I walked hand in hand down a moon lit Main Street and retreated back to our room, slipping into our luxurious bathrobes and perusing the hand-selected sustainable materials, sophisticated finishes and elegant Fili D’Oro Italian linens, looking forward to showering in the oversized bathroom with organic bath amenities by Colorado based Ranch Organics & Osmia Organics.
All in all it was a wonderful escape and we were sooo elated to be able to take Nathan up on his suggestion to explore what palate best suited us at the personalized mini and martini bar so we could sip our drinks by the gas fireplace (all hotel rooms offer a fireplace and private balcony with breath-taking views of Mt. Sopris, while the garden level room offers a private courtyard with an outdoor fireplace, fabulous for nighttime stargazing). Other amenities include flat-screen TV’s, iPod docking stations and a coffee brewer.
We don’t just make Colorado Spirits, we make the Spirit of Colorado in every sip. ~ Connie Baker
THE MASTERS MEDAL
The Marble Distillery has been rewarded with the highest award, The Masters Medal, from the Global Distillery Masters 2017 and was the highest scoring entry in the Green Initiatives category, which awards distilling innovation for minimal environmental impact and sustainable processes. “This is an example of what you should be doing” said Judge David T. Smith, Founder of the Craft Distilling Expo. Smith went on to say “they (Marble Distilling Co.) have the additional challenge of having a hotel as well. I think it’s great that they are zero-waste.” Judge Nicholas Clark, Director General of The Gin Guild remarked that “The figures for water savings are astonishing.”
This is not the first sustainability honor for MDC, The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also recognized MDC’s leadership in green initiatives and sustainability and awarded a Rural Development Grant supporting the engineering and installation of the WETS™ system and a 4.85KW photovoltaic system.
This system saves both energy and water by recirculating and storing heat and coolth (cold water) for the distillery process as well as heating and cooling the building, rather than dumping hot water and energy down the drain.
The MDC building is one of the first major commercial buildings to meet the requirements of the International Green Construction Code in the town of Carbondale, Colorado. The building goes above and beyond the requirements of the Green Building Code - a zEPI (Zero Energy Performance Index) rating of 6.98 - compared to the minimum required by Carbondale for the IGCC of 47. The building is 85% more efficient than local code requires.
Click here to stay at the Distillery Inn.
Follow Marble Distilling Co. & The Distillery Inn on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and be sure to visit their YouTube Channel.
** Read contributing writer Winslow McCurdy's article capturing the dichotomy between Carbondale and Aspen in "Carbondale, Aspen's Real World Neighbor".
Marble-Rita Recipe
YIELDS ONE COCKTAIL, SERVE IN A ROCKS GLASS
1.5 oz Gingercello
.5 oz Marble Vodka
2 oz Stripped Margarita Mix
Shaken with ice & poured into glass
Crystalized Ginger — Honey Rimmed Glass
Dip ¼ of the glass rim in honey
Dip again into well-ground crystalized ginger
Garnish with fresh mint & jalapeño slice
