Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/57654
The Distiller Who S tep into my time machine. The year is 1826, and beaver pelt is at a premium. The sought-after fur is rare on the East Coast, so trappers and explorers known as Mountain Men travel west to find more beavers to skin. With them, they bring whiskey by the barrel and set up an occasional still. These rugged, Winchester-toting fur traders meet in Cache Valley, Utah, for a month to drink one another's whiskey—America's first whiskey festival. Set the time machine to when the Mormons enter Utah. By the 1880s, not only did whiskey-making flourish, but significant numbers of Mormon Apostles were making and selling whiskey. Mark Twain even wrote about this "Valley Tan" in his book Roughing It. Dared HIGH WEST DISTILLERY CRAFTS EXCITING WHISKIES IN AN UNLIKELY PLACE 112 / the tasting panel / march 2012