Head to Carbondale, Colorado, and stay awhile. The Marble Distilling Company has the only known inn to be housed in a working distillery. One of the distillery’s founders and owners, Michelle Marlow, said they made The Distillery Inn, which opened a year and a half ago, to create a spot where people could overnight in Carbondale—so visitors wouldn’t have to go 30 minutes down the road to Aspen to eat, play and stay.
“There’s so much to do right here in Carbondale,” says Marlow. “It’s such a great, cool town.”
The inn is upscale, and it feels that way. Four of the five cozy-yet-spacious rooms sit above the tasting distillery, and one is garden level with its own private courtyard. The one-bedroom suites each feature sleek, modern amenities.
After guests sip spirit samples or handcrafted cocktails (don’t miss the bloody Mary), and eat a delicious display of Colorado meats and cheeses in the tasting room, they can escape to their own fireplace, a king-sized bed with smooth Italian linens, organic Colorado bath products and a private furnished balcony.
Room rates are seasonal, and start at $225 per night. Hold on. That’s no doubt a “down valley” savings compared to most Aspen pricing.
Dog lover? Anyone who goes into the tasting room will likely meet the owners’ pups, and they will spread the love to yours too. The Distillery Inn is extremely Fido friendly, allowing dogs and providing special amenities for them.
Sustainability is key here, too. Connie Baker, co-owner and head distiller for the company, boasts a method of “grain to glass to ground,” which returns spent grains back to the land.
“Distilleries are big energy and water users,” says Baker. “We knew we could do it differently, and be really green and sustainable.”
Marlow and Baker’s business concept was to make spirits that are “true craft,” without a lot of waste, and they have set out to make that happen on a small, downtown lot.
“We are saving the planet, one bottle of vodka at a time,” Baker says, smiling.
Now for the details: The Marble Vodka is made with an original blend of all-natural, non-GMO, Colorado soft white wheat and malted barley and it’s filtered through crushed Yule marble from the famous quarry just 26 miles up the Crystal Valley in the town of Marble. The final product has a soft, creamy nose with a smooth, luxurious finish.
To keep everything local, Marble Distilling Co. uses coffee beans from Bonfire Coffee (just three miles from the distillery) to make the Moonlight Expresso sipping liqueur, and uses Palisade-based Peach Street Distillers bourbon barrels for the yummy Gingercello Reserve.
Next to the tasting room, a members-only barrel club lounge houses small, personal barrels, so anyone can be a part of the two-year-plus aging process for what Marble Distilling Company will be bottling next: whiskey. marbledistilling.com
—Kim Fuller
