Bringing Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Back to Its Roaring Fork Roots

Project Overview

The Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey story started in the Roaring Fork Valley, just outside of Aspen in 2004. As Colorado’s first legal whiskey distillery since Prohibition and the pioneer of the American Single Malt designation, the brand has a long, successful and storied history. While production and the need for distribution channels grew the distillery moved to Denver in 2006, but its roots have always been in the Roaring Fork Valley. To celebrate its 20^th Anniversary, Stranahan’s announced plans to open its Aspen Whiskey Lodge and partnered with GFM|CenterTable and our partners at Three Cheers PR to tell their Homecoming story.

Approach

While the opening of the Aspen Whiskey Lodge would certainly be of interest to national lifestyle and food & beverage media and influencers, we wanted to strategically offer the first looks and story opportunities to local media, journalists and influencers. The Roaring Fork Valley is a tight-knit community, and with numerous national brands and big box retailers moving into the Aspen area, we wanted to emphasize the local roots of Stranahan’s and the importance of local community. This included the creation of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) component of the Aspen Whiskey Lodge where a portion of all sales of their Calvados Cask Aspen Exclusive would be donated to the Aspen Fire Protection District.  

The GFM|CenterTable team planned a local media preview event three weeks ahead of the Grand Opening, offering behind the scenes looks, menu tastings and access to Stranahan’s Founder (and Roaring Fork Valley resident) Jess Graber and Head Blender Justin Aden. Several local’s nights and friends and family events were also hosted to ensure the Aspen Community got the first look at the Whiskey Lodge before officially opening.  

The Grand Opening included a three-day media and influencer event (in partnership with Three Cheers PR) complete with visits to Jess Graber’s ranch, the Woody Creek Tavern (where it all started), skiing on Aspen Mountain, a partnership with Kemosabe, Western Wear, a horse drawn carriage ride and various tastings, parings and curated dinner experiences. The culmination was the official Grand Opening where our hosted media got to mingle with locals and VIPs, dance into the evening with a live DJ, and leave with bespoke gift bags – including a bottle of the Aspen Exclusive Calvados Cask.