Dine at Hotel Jerome

With its lively buzz and Old West vibe, the legendary J-Bar isn’t just Aspen’s social hub. It’s also a reminder—and bustling relic—of the town’s rich history. Cowboys and miners once rode their horses through J-Bar’s doors during Aspen’s silver boom, and drinks are still slung over the original century-plus-year-old maple bar. When Prohibition struck in 1920, J-Bar went the way of a host of other bars across America: it became a soda fountain. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” as they say, and the Aspen Crud was soon born.

Next time you’re ordering your favorite cocktail at the J-Bar, ask about “the drawer.” And, after that, ask if your bartender has signed it yet. Famously known for its hundreds of intricately carved signatures, the drawer holds the names of every bartender who has worked in the J-Bar since its opening day in 1889. If you happen to be at the J-Bar at the right time, you might even catch a touring group from the Aspen Historical Society showing it off. Now shellacked to seal it’s inked history, the drawer is an Aspen landmark worth toasting to.

To the rest of the country, Hunter S. Thompson might be best known as the godfather of gonzo journalism. Thompson lived and wrote on the edge in a style epitomized in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” which first came out in two installments in Rolling Stone before being published as a book that would end up defining the post-'60s counterculture. But to Aspenites, and especially here at Hotel Jerome, he’s best remembered for his 1970 run for sheriff of Aspen Pitkin County.