A spirited evening

Bourbon, beer, and barbecue are among my favorite things that begin with the letter “b.” It was only natural that I felt compelled to attend the Bourbon, Beer, and Barbecue tasting event held recently at Valiant Vineyards and Distillery, located in Vermillion, South Dakota.

As my wife and I strolled into Valiant Vineyards’ tasting room, my eye fell upon long tables that held rows of bottles of distilled spirits. There were spirits from all across the nation along with some that had been produced in Europe and Asia. It was just like the United Nations except with a higher alcohol content.

At one side of the room sat a table that groaned beneath its freight of pork, poultry, and beef that had been cooked slowly over a fire, as God intended. A variety of sauces were available for slathering onto these meats including one called Al’s Secret Sauce. It was sweet and spicy, just like the lady I married.

We were joined at our table by a young couple named Adrian and Sara. Upon learning that they were associated with the University of South Dakota, I asked when they would graduate.

“Sara and I are actually both professors,” Adrian replied with a wry grin.

Good grief! When something like that happens, you are officially ancient. Anyone who’s under 30 looks so young that you can’t believe they are old enough to vote or even cross the street by themselves. I call this the Doogie Howser Syndrome.

Adrian grew up in Gatesville, Texas, the heart of barbecue country. Given his pedigree, I immediately declared Adrian to be our table’s barbecue expert. I asked him what he thought of the evening’s offerings.

“It’s pretty good, but not as good as my pawpaw’s,” he replied. “Pawpaw has a secret barbecue sauce that’s unique and wonderful. He’s so serious about barbecue that he builds humungous custom smokers for folks.”

Our bellies padded with barbecue, Adrian and I began to wander the room, flitting here and there, sampling bourbons like hummingbirds in a flower garden. I liked some bourbons better than others. I’m not a big fan of rye whiskeys which, in my opinion, are best used as paint thinner.

One bourbon that I enjoyed bore the Clay Turner label and featured an image of a single-bottom horse-drawn plow. I liked the play on words regarding the plow turning clay. I soon learned that this particular bourbon had been cooked up in a secret still located in the cellar of Valiant Vineyards.

I chatted with Eldon Nygaard, the founder of Valiant Vineyards, and asked about this situation.

“It’s no secret,” he replied. “Let me show you our still.”

Adrian and Sara and my wife and I got into an elevator with Eldon and rode to the basement. A gleaming stainless steel still near a wall, chuckling quietly to itself as it performed its duty.

Leif Nygaard, Eldon’s son, is the master distiller at Valiant Vineyards.

“This still is double walled,” Leif explained. “The space between the walls is filled with peanut oil, which is warmed by six heating elements. That keeps the heating elements out of the mash and prevents the final product from developing a burnt flavor.”

As we chatted with Leif it quickly became apparent that he is passionate about distilling, much in the same way that Santa is passionate about Christmas.

“All of the grains that went into our bourbon were grown on our family farm,” Leif said. “In keeping with tradition, our bourbon is 51% corn with the rest of the grain bill split between rye and barley. And we age our bourbon the traditional manner, using new charred white oak barrels.”

“Our label came from the idea that we grow our grain in Turner County and distill it here in Clay County,” Eldon said. “And when I served in the state legislature, I represented the district that included Clay and Turner Counties.”

I asked Eldon how much bourbon they currently have on hand. He estimated that there are more than twenty barrels in various stages of aging. This would probably be the amount of daily spillage at an industrial distillery.

“Making bourbon is expensive and takes a lot of time,” said Eldon who will soon be celebrating his 78^th birthday. “I think there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for distilling here in South Dakota. We have everything distillers need. We have the grains, we have the climate, and we have the water.”

My wife and I left Valiant Vineyards with full bellies, new friends, and a deeper appreciation for the art of distilling. You might say that we had a very spirited evening.  

Jerry’s book, Dear County Agent Guy, is available at http://Workman.com and in bookstores nationwide.