{"id":20409,"date":"2024-01-09T01:14:05","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T08:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=20409"},"modified":"2024-01-08T15:28:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T22:28:42","slug":"whats-going-on-at-whiskeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/09\/whats-going-on-at-whiskeys\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Going on at Whiskey\u2019s?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whiskey Jacques\u2019 with an extra serving of local memories<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNever delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Ernest Hemingway<\/p>\n

\"\"
Whiskey Jacques\u2019 center bar, . Photo credit: WRW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is there anything more Western than whiskey? The romanticism involved with that libation has been the inspiration for so many books, movies and songs that it\u2019s practically a culture in and of itself. As a Hollywood trope, imagine the gunslinger outlaw bedding down at dusk to a campfire in the sage, head resting on a rolled up blanket, cheroot smoldering as he swigs from a corked bottle of rye. Or in \u201cDr. Strangelove, or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb,\u201d insane General Jack D. Ripper lectures Mandrake, cigar blazing, about the benefits of rainwater and pure grain alcohol.
\nSun Valley loves its glitzy old haunts and one of the local favorites, Whiskey Jacques, has survived yet another remodel.<\/p>\n

Rainwater or Moonshine<\/strong>
\nMost residents of Blaine know about the fire in 2008 that reduced Whiskeys\u2019 to rubble, and this after a rebuild around 2004 that retained few elements of the old saloon style charm. Whiskeys\u2019 rebounded from the fire and kept the live music pumping.
\nWhiskeys\u2019 serves a variety of pub food \u2013 pizza, wings, beer \u2013 and while Ernest Hemingway loved the place and the food, particularly relishing the steaks \u2013 that\u2019s not precisely what it\u2019s known for. Whiskey\u2019s is revered for its live music and event happenings.
\nThe fire burnt down the dancehall in particular, and as a party place and live music venue Whiskey Jacques has long been a mainstay in Blaine County. So what about music? Where do the bands play? Does anyone still see shows? Sure there are other venues but so many of the bigger acts made an appearance in Sun Valley courtesy of the booking agent at Whiskeys\u2019.<\/p>\n

Rooskie Roulette<\/strong>
\nTo get an idea of just how long Whiskeys\u2019 has been serving Ketchum, it had an early incarnation as the Alpine Club in 1938. Gambling and drinking and eating and dancing were the plays of the day in the \u201cdirty 30s\u2019. But all that changed \u2013 The Great Depression, a World War, a thriving economy. Is there a pattern here?
\nThe Alpine Club was renamed in 1977 as Whiskey Jacques. New owners, new money, and a new life. That\u2019s another pattern, perhaps well known to longtime Sun Valley locals \u2013 the changing of the guard. Locals have wistful memories of Whiskeys\u2019 and wonder about the new direction it will take. Will it be musical?
\n\u201cOh my god, I\u2019ve seen so many incredible shows there. Every time Reverend Horton Heat comes they play Whiskeys\u2019. Bubba Sparks, Old Death Whisper\u2026 all the big bands played there\u2026so many memories, so many. I knew everyone. The sound guy Craig [Campbell] was a friend. I used to give him my purse and he\u2019d keep it safe in the booth\u2026 It will be interesting seeing if the new owners are planning on bringing any big bands in..\u201d (Name Withheld).<\/p>\n

Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance<\/strong>
\nIf you like karaoke, dancing to live music, and knocking back a few pints at the local pub, you might take notice of just how a treasured hotspot changes. What was there to begin with, what made you like it and what makes you want to come back for more?
\nThe new remodel has changed Whiskeys\u2019. What do the new threads offer? As it stands open now, the place has a large selection of beers and appears to cater to the sports bar crowd, albeit with extremely minimalist decor. The history of the building could be considered to live on in abstraction, etched in the roof, while certainly etched in the minds of the locals.
\nBut will locals enjoy the new digs? It\u2019s more a question of whether the blend of transplants, tourists and locals alike will find something to love about the scene itself. Remember raves? Just a sound system in an abandoned warehouse, people flocked to them. Galleries with art hung on bare concrete walls? It\u2019s about the art, and while the decor of a place helps the vibe, it\u2019s the people themselves and their expression in the scene that ultimately make or break a place.
\nThis plays into the concept of whether art and music still have a role in the world. Of course they do. Human expression is still at the core of what we do to relate our thoughts, stances and passions to create community.
\nWill there eventually be wax mustachioed mixologists swirling potions clockwise without touching the ice? Tattooed servers in selvage aprons upselling Hemingway themed steak? Will they take cryptocurrency or bitcoin? That\u2019s a side note for some but a big draw for an influx of trend followers who add and create new vibes. Adjusting to any new concepts will be crucial unless you decide to build it yourself. Are we entering a time where you simply have to do things yourself? Perhaps it\u2019s always been that way but monoculture has a way of shaping surroundings without taking into consideration the past and as the world leans heavily into strip-mall monotony maybe it\u2019s time to get together the best and brightest to continue the culture you want. Humans can predict the future somewhat but they most certainly can design the future they want.<\/p>\n

Will live music flourish again at the Ketchum favorite?<\/strong>
\nWhiskey Jacques has been through alot land but with a strong backbone, fresh money and new ideas the potential for an excellent new, musical, and recreational hotspot is there. Whatever direction Whiskeys\u2019 goes with music it\u2019ll still hold its history with an extra serving of local memories.<\/p>\n

Hanging Around<\/strong>
\nIn case you recognized the name, there\u2019s an eponymous drink called the Whiskey Jacques, easily made at home for the 21-and-up crowd, that won\u2019t require Mountain Rides or a driverless car App service. Call it a recipe, call it a meme, call it a comeback.<\/p>\n

\u2013 2 oz. rye whiskey
\n\u2013 3\/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
\n\u2013 1\/2 oz. Grade B maple syrup
\n\u2013 A few dashes of Angostura bitters<\/p>\n

For a healthy, nonalcoholic version replace the rye with 2 oz rainwater and a big dash of cayenne pepper, change the name to Whispy Jacques and keep \u2018em coming!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whiskey Jacques\u2019 with an extra serving of local memories BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL \u201cNever delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey.\u201d \u2013 Ernest Hemingway Is there anything more Western than whiskey? The romanticism involved with that libation has been the inspiration for so many books, movies and songs that it\u2019s practically a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,72,4,80,81,86,18,159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20409","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business-news","8":"category-community","9":"category-entertainment","10":"category-heritage","11":"category-history","12":"category-ketchum","13":"category-news","14":"category-tourism"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20412,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20409\/revisions\/20412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}