Friday — May 14, 2004

Whiskey’s history revealed in remodel

Local watering hole gets facelift

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

When they peeled back the dance floor at Whiskey Jacques’ this month, the history of the popular Ketchum watering hole emerged like sedimentary layers from an ancient ocean.

From the floor up, Whiskey Jacques in Ketchum is getting a facelift. Rod Smith worked Thursday morning to finish installing a new hardwood floor. Express photos by David N. Seelig

The stratums were about 4 inches thick in all and included linoleum, hardwood, several layers of sub-floor and a red shag carpet. The various floors from different eras tell some of the history of the business as an old restaurant and old bar that had been remodeled several times.

"This is our project," said Whiskey’s Bar Manager Kristen Derrig, with a gesture to the room. Light fixtures dangled from the ceiling. Banisters were torn apart. Carpenters and grunts scrambled about, putting finishing touches on the new hardwood floor and sanding a fleet of barstools and chairs.

Whiskey Jacques’ closed May 1 and will reopen May 28. In the span of those four weeks, the bar is being gutted and refurbished. It’s the first time it has undergone a major overhaul in the 27 years that Karin Martin has owned it.

"Nothing has really been done to it for a long, long time," Martin said, adding that the basic character and flavor of the bar would be retained.

"We’re not going modern here. Obviously this is Whiskey Jacques’, and it’s going to stay Whiskey Jacques’."

Though the physical changes may be dramatic, perhaps the biggest adjustment will be with the business’ smoking policy. Whiskey’s is joining the growing ranks of Ketchum bars that have banished the carcinogenic pastime.

Among the relics crews discovered during demolition were old menus from the historic Alpine Café, which was housed in the same building. Kitchen Manager Jason Spicer said crews also found an old bus schedule. No one knew where the historic items were at the time of the interview.

Martin and her former husband, Mike Martin, bought the old Alpine Saloon and Alpine Cafe in 1977. At the time, the bar occupied half of what is now Whiskey’s, and the Alpine Mexican Café, which followed the Alpine Café, was in the other half.

"It was such a dive. One of the attractions to me was that it had this history to it, and it was worth preserving," Martin said.

Around 1984 or 1985, the bar wasn’t making much money, and Martin began the business’ storied history as a Ketchum entertainment mainstay.

The Whoop Show, under direction from long-time Ketchum resident Chris Millspaugh, became a popular local entertainment staple in the late-1970s. For a spell, the show’s locally based skits were done from the stage at Whiskey’s.

At some point during the 1980s, the wall between the old café and saloon was removed, and the appearance of modern-day Whiskey Jacques began to take shape.

Among the stories that center on the old Alpine Saloon was the tale of Crosby DeMoss and the mysterious Ketchum paintings.

Two of DeMoss’ collection of four paintings still hang on the walls at Whiskey’s today. One, titled "Happy Hunting" is behind the establishment’s north bar. It depicts a street scene in a western town with a happy hunter returning with his horse laden with fares. The other depicts Ernest Hemingway, Gary Cooper and another man sound asleep under a tree while mountain wildlife walk by and a mountain lion lounges in the tree above.

In a 1977 interview with the Mountain Express, DeMoss said he did not know what Hemingway thought of the painting or if he ever saw it.

He recalled, however, having to repair the painting after it had been scorched and blistered over the Alpine’s fireplace.

"For God’s sake, put a screen in front of any more fires," DeMoss said he told the Alpine’s owners.

Martin said renovations would remain inside for the time being. The Main Street façade could get a facelift this fall or next spring.

As for Whiskey Jacques’ thirsty patrons, Derrig said they will have to find something else to do on Sunday and Tuesday nights for a spell.

"Dollar Night is on hold for a little while," she said.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.