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Wild West booze: 150-year-old bottle unearthed in historic Utah mining town

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Wild West booze: 150-year-old bottle unearthed in historic Utah mining town


An archaeological team in Utah has discovered a literal time capsule from the state’s Wild West past: a bottle of alcohol that had been buried for over a century at the historic mining town of Alta.

Local distillers at High West Saloon are now working to identify the mysterious liquid and unlock the secrets it might hold from the frontier days. Archaeologist Ian Wright has been leading the excavation.

“We have found a 150-year-old bottle of alcohol. So we thought, hey, let’s take it to the experts and see if we can find out what exactly is in it,” said Wright.

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The discovery is particularly significant because it’s the only intact bottle of alcohol from this era ever found in Utah, according to Wright.

High West, Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870, seemed like the perfect place to analyze the historic find. According to their director of distilling, Isaac Winter, the company specializes in blending spirits and has deep roots in Utah’s distilling history.

“We started off as a blending house,” said Winter. “We’re always looking for beautiful spirits across the country, across the world sometimes, to create blends that are something more than the sum of their parts.”

When Wright brought the bottle to the distillery, the team was immediately intrigued by its condition.

“It’s in reasonably good shape, I would say, after sitting for 150 years,” Winter said.

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The analysis began with careful examination of the bottle’s aroma and color. The team detected a slight vinegar smell from the cork, but they needed to extract some of the liquid to learn more.

“We weren’t sure if it was clear spirit, if it was aged spirit, if it was beer, if it was wine, if it was champagne,” Winter said.

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To preserve the historic bottle, they called in reinforcements from Old Town Cellars, just up the road, who brought a Coravin device that could extract liquid without breaking the cork.

“We’re being very careful with that sample,” Winter explained as they used the specialized tool.

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When the liquid finally emerged, it revealed promising characteristics.

“To see the liquid come out and have a color and have a good smell,” Winter said, describing the moment.

Tara Lindley, director of sensory and product development at High West, noted the complex flavors: “First, there was some kind of a, kind of an oxidized fruit note.”

Winter added: “It’s fruity, there’s a little bit of leather, there’s quite a bit of age on it.”

The analysis revealed that yeast was used in the production, leading the team to believe it was likely some type of beer rather than distilled spirits.

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Despite some initial hesitation, Winter decided to taste the 150-year-old beverage.

“I had a little bit of trepidation going into it, but you have to try it,” Winter said. “It didn’t smell like gasoline, didn’t smell like tobacco spit.”

The discovery of what appears to be beer opened up an exciting possibility — the potential to recreate the historic beverage.

The team made the decision to fully uncork the bottle, despite concerns about damaging the antique container.

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“It’s an old bottle, it’s a lot of pressure, you don’t want to damage the bottle,” Wright said.

Once opened, they carefully decanted the liquid and filtered it through a coffee filter to separate any sediment.

“Very exciting to see the liquid as it finally came out,” Winter said. “We put it through a coffee filter — very scientific way of separating the bits from the liquid.”

The sediment at the bottom of the bottle could hold the key to recreation.

“The very bottom of the bottle was sort of turbid — it was sort of milky. We’re going to take that back and hopefully plate it out and find some usable yeast on it,” Winter explained.

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If they can successfully cultivate the historic yeast, it could allow them to recreate the exact beer that miners were drinking in Alta over a century ago.

“Science is really at the foundation of creating alcohol. That, and art,” Lindley said.

For Wright, the project represents something larger than just analyzing an old bottle.

“This is so cool because it’s taking history — it’s taking it off of an old dusty shelf,” Wright said. “Because history, it belongs to everybody.”

This story was originally published by Spencer Joseph with the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City.

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Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival

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Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival


Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.

Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival

Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:

Photo Credit: Nina Dobrev Instagram

The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.

The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.

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Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea





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State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.

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State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.


The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.

In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.

The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.

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(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.

Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.

“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.

Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.

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Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.

Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.

During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.

Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.



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Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia

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Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia


Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.

Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.

The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.

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Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.

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Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.

“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”

She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.

“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”

The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.

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“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.

However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.

“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”

If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.

“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”

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As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.

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