Celebrating 50 Years of Colorado’s The Gant with its Aspen Cocktail

It was 50 years ago this season when what would become a staple of the Aspen, Colorado community first opened its doors.

Located just outside what was then a very quaint mountain town, in the past half decade The Gant has been wooing tourists and locals alike to its expansive tree-filled property at the base of Aspen mountain.

“It was the golden years of the ski industry,” recalls General Manager Donnie Lee of its early 70s infancy. Back then, a lift ticket was a mere 9 bucks and the popular cocktails consisted of a Tequila Sunrise.

“But just like now, Aspen was concerned over the development and changing of the town’s character,” says Lee. Soon enough Aspen became “a draw to many celebrities and others to enjoy the culture and skiing.” Among them, early A-list visitors in the form of Marlon Brando and Diana Ross. “Everyone commingled together, eating and dancing at all the same places.”

That includes the confines of The Gant where many partied the night away after a night on the nearby slopes, including Lee who joined the ranks at the resort in 1985. “Like so many others I moved here without a plan, other than skiing and enjoying the mountain lifestyle,” he remembers of the rollicking lifestyle.

“It was a great time, very collegial in town. Everyone worked hard and played harder.”

Today, Aspen has turned into a luxe destination, with a nationally recognized dining and drinking scene to prove it. As the town grew from sleepy getaway to one of the top winter destinations in the United States, The Gant and its in-house cafe and watering hole Pepperjack’s has seen it all; from the 80s-era snowboarding boom, Aspen’s days as the center of Hunter S. Thompson’s travails to its current heyday and plethora of luxurious designer shops and four star restaurants.

In honor of The Gant’s golden anniversary, all season long they are throwing it back to the 1970s, including reintroducing classic cocktails from its early days. “We have The Gant ‘73, which is the resort’s signature anniversary libation, as our take on the French 75,” Lee singles out as one example.

Another highlight of the menu is the aptly-named Aspen Cocktail, which utilizes Woody Creek gin hailing from nearby Basalt. Celebrate the mountain charms of The Gant by making an Aspen Cocktail of your own, below.