by Ray Pearson

This Stop: The Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee, AZ

I love road tripping and a recent drive from Flagstaff to Bisbee reaffirmed my nomadic yearnings. Like a rolling postcard from the 1950’s, the 450 miles from Northern to Southeastern Arizona, was fueled by the soundtrack I designed to maintain the illusion of simpler times.

 

Tourist attractions ranging from bustling and prosperous to lonely and deserted dotted the I-10. Small towns with evocative names like Two Guns, Punkin Center, Snowflake, and Tonto Basin give way to magnificent scenery of the Salt River Canyon cutting through the Apache Mountains, as I continued southward.

Comfort and Kitsch: Cement Teepees

After several hours on the road experiencing the diverse landscape of Arizona, I arrived in Bisbee. This historic mining town saw its heyday in the early 1900s when it was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. Today, it is a popular pit-stop for travelers because it is the southern-most mile-high city in the United States, and only about eleven miles from the Mexican border.

Clouds Outside of Douglas, AZ

My room at the Copper Queen Hotel was furnished with antiques, had a nice view of the downtown area, but unfortunately, had a distinct cigar smoke odor. An avid non-smoker, I requested a change of room and was relocated to The John Wayne Room where the actor always stayed whenever he was in the area for filming. As I waited for dinner, I had the chance to chat with the staff and learned that ghosts inhabit the Copper Queen. One of them that they mentioned was “Howard”, an older, tall, bearded gentleman with longish hair,  and is sometimes seen wearing a black cape and dapper top hat. Imagine the eerie feeling that washed over me when I found out that he is usually accompanied by a strong cigar smoke smell! This tidbit was certainly a “dear diary” moment!

The John Wayne Room

The Ghosts of the Copper Queen Hotel is a collection of paranormal experiences by guests of the hotel spanning nearly a decade, from 1999 through 2008. I bought a copy of the book and scanned it before dinner. I learned there are two other ghosts frequently spotted wandering the halls of the hotel: a young boy, thought to have drowned in a nearby river, and a “working girl” that killed herself after being spurned by a regular customer. Surely it wasn’t the best pre-meal reading I could have done, but it was certainly entertaining.

Finally, it was time to see what wonderful bites the Copper Queen had to offer. I ordered a superbly grilled rib-eye steak, which was as juicy as gossip. The accompanying port wine reduction and mushrooms added to the succulence of the dish. The reduction was complex and flavorful—a clear indication of the high quality of the Port, while the mushrooms complimented the meat with their mellow earthiness. I was so impressed with my entrée that I had to see a dessert menu.  The bread pudding topped with a dusting of brown sugar, caramel sauce, and a full-bodied raspberry reduction caught my eye and pleased my palate.

A short walk around the steep streets of Bisbee put me in the right state for a solid night’s sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s tour of the Queen Mine. Of course, I figured one last stop at the hotel saloon couldn’t hurt either, so I bellied up to the bar for a little historical gossip and a night-cap. The discussion turned to the significance of the large painting over the bar. As it turned out, what I assumed was off-the-shelf saloon art, was actually a century-old, nearly life size, portrait of Lillie Langtry. The British stage-actress was popular around the turn of the century, when the Copper Queen was built, and legend (such a nicer word than gossip) has it that in addition to being the love interest of Edward, Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII, she was the lady love of Judge Roy Bean. Although they never met, the Judge named not only his saloon, but the town of Langtry, TX in her honor.

 

The Copper Queen Hotel Saloon

From the remarkably well-stocked bar, I chose to end a wonderful day with a couple of gin and tonics, in honor of Lillie Langtry. Here’s to you, Lillie.

Please join me at the next stop: San Antonio, Texas.

 

About Ray

Ray is a nationally recognized single malt Scotch expert. He recently retired after 16 years within the spirits industry, including four as Glenfiddich U.S. Ambassador. Ray currently presents educational whisky seminars and tastings for corporate events, destination management companies, and national whisky shows. He is a photographer and member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association.

For more articles from Ray, you can visit his blog:

whiskymeister.wordpress.com

And of course check out all of his Whisky 101 articles right here at intotheSoup.com.