An Ogden distillery has launched a limited-edition vodka for Utah’s 2019 Pride Festival next month, one with a provocative label that celebrates the state’s LGBTQ community while playing off its polygamous past.
The rainbow-striped label on Five Husbands Vodka features five bare-chested men covering their genitals with roosters.
“We are trying to poke a little fun at ourselves,” said Steve Conlin, CEO of Ogden’s Own Distillery, “and add some discussion and enjoyment to the Utah culture.”
The photo of the Five Husbands — with their six-pack stomachs — mimics the Ogden distillery’s popular Five Wives Vodka label, with women dressed in undergarments strategically covering their private parts with kittens.
Idaho banned the spirit in 2012 because of the controversial label.
At the time, Michael Aaron, editor and publisher of QSaltLake, printed a spoof of the label — with five men. Conlin said he’s always wanted to use the concept for a branded product.
The face of Conlin and other employees were “obviously photoshopped” onto the label, he said. "I have a six-pack, hidden by a pizza.”
Jokes aside, the creation of Five Husbands Vodka also marks the first time in the Utah Pride Festival’s 44-year history that a local spirits company will be the primary liquor sponsor, explained Liz Pitts, director of community engagement for the Utah Pride Center.
“Having a local company willing to support our event is really meaningful,” Pitts said in a news release announcing the sponsorship. "We are a festival that celebrates our local community, and we are excited when homegrown companies want to be part of it in a fun way.”
The new vodka will be available in advance the June 1-2 Pride Festival in Utah liquor stores — mostly in the Salt Lake City area — in mid-May. Bottles, which sell for $19.99, also will be available at the Ogden’s Own Distillery package store, 3075 Grant Ave., in Ogden.
