A tremendously joyous Whiskey Wednesday to you all! This week I’ve got a bit of a celebratory bottle I’ve been waiting to open on a special occasion, and I think that occasion has finally arrived. There’s a lot that goes in to this bottle and a lot that I have to be excited about, so we’re going to start with the stats and tastings, then before giving my thoughts, I’ll cover a bit of history about our highlight: The High West Valley Tan.
Valley Tan
Utah Whiskey / American Wheat & Oat
Park City, UT, USA
$59.99
43.5% / 87 proof
Nose - Sweet enough to make you take back and go back in to make sure you’re smelling the right thing. My immediate note is a kind of birthday-cake and boston cream that reveals a heavily malted, wheaty texture, with sprinkles of brown sugar and buried apple crisp.
Palette - Light and suprisingly spicy, and all around spikey flavor that gives a sweet burst up front that quickly picks up heat and intensity from the oat mash. Honey, waffles, and cinnamon roll icing all come to mind.
Finish - long lasting and spiked, the heat that comes from this whiskey makes it an intriguing drinker that is quite the experience to taste. The rollercoaster of flavor profiles leads to a finish that leaves you satisfied, but curious and excited enough to run back in line for another ride.
History of The Valley Tan - Utah and alcohol have a history that is oft mudied and sneered at by those of us who have a passion for the nectar of the gods. Utah, of course, has long been marred by strict liquor laws that date back to the days of the early Mormon pioneers. Back then, ol’ Brigham wasn’t too keen on letting his congregation import the devils drink from out of the state, but some of his more “audacious” devotees would err on the side of the liquid rather than their own beliefs. In an effort to keep his settlement a self-sustaining entity, most of Utah’s products were created local, most of all their tanned leathers, distinctive enough to earn their own process, called “Valley Tanned”. Over time, the term Valley Tan came to mean anything produced locally, and as such, Young entertained the notion of allow his people the right to make their own whiskey to enjoy.
Taking on the namesake Valley Tan, it was indeed purely unique and has only ever been made here in Utah. A note from one of history’s greatest whiskey conissiours, Mark Twain, is included in the product biography on High West’s website.
Mark Twain wrote: “The exclusive Mormon refresher...Valley Tan... is a kind
of whisky, or first cousin to it; is of Mormon invention and manufactured
only in Utah. Tradition says it is made of [imported] fire and brimstone. If I
remember rightly, no public drinking saloons were allowed in the kingdom
by Brigham Young, and no private drinking permitted among the faithful,
except they confined themselves to Valley Tan.”
I don’t know about you, but if Mark Twain has something to say about the vesche, it must be a fine product. Unfortunately, as the years went on and time passed traditions away, most Valley Tan whiskey recipes were lost, likely during Prohibition. Whatever the reason, High West was able to go to the stills and come up with their own take on this Utah-only classic, and with such a rich and interesting history it’s hard to argue against it. Bearing the visage of Porter Rockwell - a character who deserves a google after this if you’re interested in badass shady hitman-types - gives even more local charm to this delightfully deceiving bottle. And unlike any others, even if you’re a Mormon, you can take it with you to whatever astral plane you are destined to land on next, compliments of the Prophet himself.
Thoughts - I suppose I put a lot of my thoughts into the history section by accident, so I’ll try and take away my praise of the aesthetic or interesting concept, and focus more on the flavor profiles and whiskey itself. This was one of the very few whiskeys my girlfriend has taken a liking to, in that she was able to pick out a few flavor notes in it other than “ it’s just whiskey”; I was quite proud to hear her talking about how sweet and enjoyable the straight pour was, and I’d have to agree with the sentiment. It’s a very interesting bottle that has a very exciting dessert flavor, while still packing some desert in there too. I might be exaggerating the heat a bit, but every other whiskey I have tried that is this sweet is often drowned out on the finish without providing any intrigue beyond the light and sugary notes. If you live in Utah or passing through Park City, stop by the distillery or saloon and pick up a bottle - but only if you’ve already tried High West’s more name-sake and show-stopping bottles, like A Midwinter’s Night Dram.
As for the photo and the special celebration I mentioned at the beginning of all this… After 6 full years of drawing on and off, I have finally finished what is likely the most transformative and emotionally charged sketchbooks I’ve ever had. Ranging from 2013 to 2019, there are drawings in this book that I still remember sketching out vividly, the summer days out with friends, cramped in stinky apartments, cooking in the desert, freezing in the winters. Hard breakups, deep depressions, falling in love again, and starting new chapters of life are all encompassed in the tome of scratched ink, and I am happily melancholy that it is finally finished, and excited to start a new book, hoping to move through it much faster than I did this last book. It’s been so long, and looking back at it has really made me realize how much I’ve missed out on because of my own wasted time in fruitless pursuits. It was quite inspiring to look back on the pages, and I have vowed to try and get myself back on track, artistically, to what I wanted when I first started this sketchbook. Changes will come, and I hope all my friends will be here to support me when they do. Cheers to everyone who had inspired me throughout these years, to all of you who gave such beautiful words when I’ve been so alone, and to everyone else who have been in past editions, and to those who will be in the next hundred books. I promise I will pick up the pace. Ich möchte zeichnen und die Welt erleben. Ich möchte euch alle lieben und das Ende der Sterne finden. Und wenn alles erledigt ist, springen.
Here’s a few of my favorite sketches from the book. Take a peek at my punk interior. The first image marks the first page, the last to match correspondingly. Click to zoom.
