As mentioned in my last blog, we catered the bachelor party and the rehearsal dinner for Jimmy Buffet’s wedding and we were invited to the reception portion of his “big day”. We were not invited to the actual wedding ceremony and I had no idea where it was to take place. If I were to guess I would say it was al fresco in a remote location close to the Redstone Castle, but the location was TOP SECRET.
The reception was held in the Redstone Castle on the Crystal River. The Crystal River joined the Roaring Fork River in the town of Carbondale, which was down the valley from Aspen. The Castle was about half way up river to the ghost town of Marble where there was once upon a time a marble quarry. I used to fly fish in the Crystal River. When the marble quarry was active they would over load the train cars and as they traveled down the train tracks big chunks of marble would roll into the river. Quite the object of curiosity while you were fly fishing in the middle of the river. The shutdown quarry is now a large, cold hole in the ground. When it was active the quarry supplied the marble for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It was too expensive to mine, so now Marble, Colorado is a ghost town.
Forty years ago, there was a series of thermal springs alongside of the Crystal River. Each one of these rock ponds was hotter than the last, making the tip top pond the very hottest. This was definitely a favorite hippie hang out in the 70’s. The correct way to enjoy the springs was to get naked (except for shoes) and work your way up the hill entering each pond as you ascended until you reached the top pond. Once you couldn’t stand the heat anymore, you ran screaming down the hill and into the river until you were mid-thigh deep and then plunge into the icy cold river. You could hear your pores slamming shut. One night a group of locals high on acid stayed too long in the hot pond and par boiled themselves. I’ll leave the cannibal stew jokes up to you. The steep rock valley allowed very little development and for that reason was one of my favorite valleys.
The Redstone Castle has a rich history. It was built in the 1800’s by a wealthy settler, John C. Osgood, founder of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. In 1971 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, the first property in Pitkin County to be listed. Rumor has it that it was built for his mail order bride that never arrived. The castle stood empty for decades but was later revived as a spectacular wedding venue.
Enough history and back to the party. Upon your arrival at the castle you were greeted by two claw foot porcelain bath tubs filled with ice, water and bottles of Mumm’s Cordon Rouge Champagne. The champagne crew had an assembly line system and would restock the champagne bottles into the first tub and push the unopened bottles towards the second bathtub. They would then travel on to the second tub and continue their journey. By the time the champagne made it through the second tub you had yourself an ice-cold bottle of Mumm’s. At the end of the tubs there was a pretty girl handing you glasses and an icy cold bottle of champagne. Not a glass, an entire bottle. OFF WE WENT.
Fingers Taylor (Jimmy’s harmonica player) found us wandering around looking for an empty table. He suggested we go up to the balcony to find an empty table and enjoy the best view. The balcony wrapped around the three-story, open air center and had a bird’s eye view of all the festivities. The balcony was only wide enough for round tables in single file and they were only half full. Fingers led the way as you had to know the layout to find the staircase going to the balcony. As is the nature of castles, there were many hidden passages throughout. We had the best seats looking down at the merrymaking. The “go for broke” sound system was set up with the Loggins & Messina mixing board and crew. No one was scheduled to play. It was ready and waiting for impromptu jam sessions and jam they did. My favorite moment was when all of the Eagles and Jimmy were jamming when Joe Walsh started playing and singing “Rocky Mountain Way”. It seemed so “RIGHT ON”.
There was no food being served at the reception. Judging from the amount of cocaine that was being snorted, no food was a good call.
What a great party and super entertainment. There are many stories about that party and the revelers, but most of what happens at Redstone Castle stays at Redstone Castle, just like Vegas.
Below you will find a recipe for herb sorbet topped with champagne, Mumm’s Cordon Rouge of course.
Herb sorbet topped with champagne is a showy way to do dessert.
HERB SORBET
Ingredients
1 ½ cups organic sugar
1 ½ cups spring water
2 egg whites
2 cups fresh lime juice
Zest of 3 limes
½ cup champagne
¾ cup of minced fresh herbs (basil, mint, thyme, lemon balm, sorrel & dill). This is my favorite blend of fresh herbs, I have a preference for lemony herbs
Pinch of sea salt
Method
Over medium heat, dissolve the sugar into the water, approximately 5 minutes.
Cool.
Add all other ingredients and whisk.
Pour the liquid into an ice cream freezer and make sorbet.
To finish the dessert scoop about 3 ounces of sorbet into a champagne flute, top it off by pouring very cold champagne on top. Pour slowly as it will foam up.
Add a sprinkle of edible flowers for color before you serve.
It is so festive to go around to your guests and top off their dessert with champagne.
ENJOY