Canton Dinner Series at Jimmy's in Aspen.

Domaine De Canton is the benchmark of ginger liqueurs.   Last night, The Canton Dinner Series exploded into Aspen at Jimmy's American Restaurant and Bar.  Hosted by Crystal Fanale of Domaine De Canton , Jimmy Yeager, owner and Manny Diaz, Executive Chef at Jimmy's... the Canton Dinner Series was over the top.

Click 4 pix.: Canton Dinner @ Jimmy's

Each delicious course was paired with a custom crafted cocktail made with the ultra premium liqueur Domaine De Canton.  Canton is a handcrafted premium elixir, made in France.   Each small batch of Domaine De Canton is individually produced with all natural ingredients to create the unique taste and character.   Fresh, hand-cut Vietnamese baby ginger, vanilla beans from Tahiti, honey from Provence, organic ginseng and VSOP and Grande Champagne XO Cognacs.  The complex and rich flavor is spicy and sweet with a clean finish.

The Canton Dinner at Jimmy's included 6 unique cocktails created by Domaine De Canton and Jimmy's.  Each drink was unusally tasty and matched with the dishes to enhance the food.  The dinner conceived by Chef Diaz was off-the charts and each course featured Domaine De Canton in the recipe. As the fine meal progressed and the drinks continued to flow, the guests began to lose their inhibitions. The ginger infused drinks served as a catlyst ...almost like a magic potion, that made for a fun and interesting evening. 

AspenSpin is not a foodie...but we love to eat and drink.  So thanks to Jimmy's & Domaine de Canton for a special chef's dinner topped off by the cool, clean taste of Domiane De Canton.

Click 4 Pix: Canton Dinner @ Jimmy's

Crystal Fanale from Domaine De Canton & Jimmy Yeager from Jimmy's. Click 4 pix.

 Foodies Galore. Jillian, Mawa & Ben and Jackie all enjoyed the Chef's Dinner. Click 4 pix.Crystal from Canton greeted her guests at Jimmy's for the Canton Dinner Series. Click 4 pix.

Seniors Behaving Badly - Aspen Style

When I moved to Aspen 10 years ago...I thought I was old and rich...now i think I'm young and poor. But it's always a good time in Aspen.

The middle of March is most partying week of the entire ski season in Aspen.  For 50+ years a tightly knit group of hard-core partiers have been imposing their will on Aspen / Snowmass.  Most of the guys are in their 70's and 80's now...but they are still getting after it.  Most of 'em still ski...but the social aspects of the week outweigh the shredding for these seniors.  Groups of friends convene from all over the country to imbibe and enjoy. 

AspenSpin waas running ragged all weekend, but we did manage to snap some money $hots.  

Click 'em, like 'em, tag 'em, and share 'em. 

SNEAK-A-PEAK

THE WINE PARTY

APRES WINE PARTY

ST. PARTY'S DAY

Sneak-a-Peak 2013: Eyes Wide Shut. Aspen's #1 Dance Party. Click 4 pix.Seniors Behaving Badly at the Apres Wine Party at the Sundeck. Click 4 pix.The Wine Party...an institution on Aspen Mountain for more than 50 years. Click 4 pix.Nick Devore on the mend at Ryno's for St. Patricks Day. Click 4 pix.

Apres Ski Cocktail Classic

Apres Cocktail Classic: click 4 pix.Aspen/Snowmass played host to the first ever Apres Ski Cocktail Classic.  Festival producers Joe Lang, Laura Albers, and Kim & Kevin Haasarud teamed up with several with super-star mixologists and about 100 liquor brands to present a variety of programs and tastings in Snowmass. The Apres Ski Cocktail Classic culminated with a St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl in Aspen.

Click 4 Pix:  APRES ACTION

The Westin Snowmass Resort and the Wildwood Snowmass Resort rolled out the red carpet for the craft cocktailers and their fans.  From the morning smoothie bar to the Haute Hot Chocolate Snowmass was alive with apres ski action.

See the full schedule and learn more at APRES SKI COCKTAIL CLASSIC.

AspenSpin snapped some siiiiiiiick pic at the festive opening night party at The Wildwood. 

Click 4 pix: Apres Action

Apres Ski Cocktail Classic, Opening Night Party. Click 4 pix.Joe Lang, fest producer and Debbie Rizzo P.R. guru at the Apres Ski Cocktail Classic.Retro partiers invaded The Wildwood in Snowmass. Click 4 pix.

Freeskier and the Shred Testers

#FreeskierFest in Aspen. Click 4 siiiiick pix.Aspen Mountain is normally the home mountain to plenty of ripping skiers.  During Freeskier Magazine's annual #Freeskierfest, Aspen Mountain becomes the absolute center of the free-riding shredder universe.  Every March, a rotating crew of about 40 testers, some of the most talented free skiers in the Rocky Mountain Region, ride & rate every ski in the world.   The testers get to try out and critque the full quiver  of next year's skis. 

FREESKIERFEST: SHRED TESTNG: Click 4 pix.

Jacuzzi action @FreeskierFest in Aspen. Click 4 pix.So for the 3rd year in a row there's an extra-large posse of super-gnarly, big mountain two-plankers on Ajax for #freeskierfest.  Those guys and gals you see straight lining in The Dumps or sending back flips on Walsh's or negotiating the Ridge of Bell at very, very high rates of speed are probably Freeskier testers.

Freeskier's visit to Aspen culminated with a full on Fash Bash at Sky Hotel's 39 Degrees, the #1 après ski spot in Aspen.  Spyder and Carlsberg Beer joined forces to present next year's outerwear collections with a poolside fashion show at the Sky.  A huge crowd gathered at 39 Degrees in anticipation of the show. The weather was perfect.  Lucky wrist banders drank for free in the VIP as local models did what they do...they modeled.  The skiers strutted their stuff on the catwalk, the brand managers iced each other repeatedly.  The pool deck at the Sky Hotel took on a life of its own.  

Several fully dressed models ended up in the pool...so obviously the event was a tremendous success.

FREESKIERFEST: SHRED TESTNG: Click 4 pix.

Fashion is the passion at #FreeskierFest at The Sky Hotel. Click 4 pix.Models doing what they do...they model. At #FreeskierFest. in Aspen. Click 4 pix.Full on Modeling at FreeskierFest in Aspen. Click 4 more siiiiiiiiiick pix.Jamie from Spyder got iced in front of 300 of his closest aquaintances in Aspen.All the Models into the pool. Freeskier Fest in Aspen was a HUGE success. Click 4 pix.

The Politics of Aspen

This was a recent letter to the Editor in The Aspen Times and The Aspen Daily News about the upcoming election in Aspen.  Please Vote on May 7.

GOOD CLEAN FUN.

Dear Editor

Now that all 4 current City Council members have indicated their intentions to run for Mayor and the sitting Mayor intends to run for City Council, Aspen’s May 7, 2013 election is shaping up to be a doozie.

I’m not really into politics; I’m into quality of life.  That’s why I live in Aspen.  I’m not sure yet who I’m voting for this coming May, but urge I all the candidates to consider the following issues:

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY:  I’m a former numbers guy.  Just eye-ballin’ it…I see a tremendous amount of waste, over-spending and bureaucracy at City Hall.   I understand how Government works…departments get budgeted dollars…and then they figure out how spend them.   Someone needs to take a sharp pencil to the budget to ensure that our tax dollars are being spent wisely.   Wasting money is bad form.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP:   Aspen is a clear leader in the Green Movement, as it should continue to be.  Our high profile position in the climate change debate has a direct relationship to the future viability of our town.  We need to continue to be innovative and progressive in this area…again without wasting money.   In Aspen proper, we need to preserve our parks and open spaces rather than tear them up with bulldozers.  Parklets will not cut it in Aspen.

SMART GROWTH:  Over the years Aspen has evolved into a nucleus of greed.  There will always be some people who view Aspen as an investment opportunity…rather than for her natural beauty and small town character.  Fine, then let developers build within the rules of the zoning code.  Smart growth is O.K. , but no more back room deals, no more offsets and special situations.   No more…”we’ll give you this, if you do that”.  No more lawsuits.   If speculators want to invest in Aspen, they should have a clear understanding, ahead of time, of what they can do with their property.  The biggest and best use is fine…but bigger than that… isn’t.

Between now and May 7, I expect there will be a lot of mud slinging from various camps and by many  of  the vocal, local gadflies, many of whom don’t even vote in Aspen.  Maybe that’s why the City of Aspen holds their elections during mud season?    Hopefully this time around things will be civil.   It’s easy to criticize, but much more difficult to build a consensus.

How ever the ballots are cast in May, I hope the next regime moves forward in a positive and constructive direction.   Good luck to all the candidates and here’s hoping for a good clean election.

AspenSpin

Aspen, Colorado