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George Washington's Spirit of '76 Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey label
Mount Vernon’s visitors can sniff, sip and savor some new titillating spirits this summer and fall when officials release some new, made-on-site whiskeys:
• Washington’s Generals collectors’ series premium rye label, limited release premium rye, in June
• Special limited edition George Washington’s Spirit of ’76 single barrel, cask strength bourbon, on July 4 (FFXNow reports only 120 to 170 bottles will be available)
• George Washington’s bourbon whiskey, in September
The colonial leader, the nation’s first president, accomplished Revolutionary War general and devoted farmer was also an enterprising entrepreneur, supported by up to 300 enslaved people, who grew crops, constructed buildings and operated a whiskey distillery next to his gristmill.
Visitors today can sample and purchase several types of one-of-a-kind whiskeys, following the recipes and methods General Washington used in the late 1700s. Every Saturday in May, June and September from 2-5 p.m., Mount Vernon will host a whiskey tasting, offering three of Washington’s spirits. The tastings are held at George Washington's Distillery & Gristmill, 5513 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, located 2.7 miles from the main estate entrance.
At the tastings, adventurous tipplers get half-ounce pours of three whiskeys made there now. Docents urge guests to sip slowly, sniff to get the spirit and explore the floral notes.
Today’s distillers grind grains in the on-site, water-powered gristmill, set the mash in fermentation vats and operate wood-fired copper pot stills, as Washington and his enslaved workers did.
A Spirited 250th Anniversary
Here is more about the special releases coming this year:
- Special limited edition George Washington’s Spirit of ’76 Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon, a first-ever run of bourbon produced by the distillery. Promoters say, “From Mount Vernon’s reserved casks, this bourbon greets the nose with leather, honeyed sweetness and a soft veil of vanilla. On the palate, deep raisin and ripe plum melt into smoked tobacco, each sip unfolding with notes of toasted brown sugar. The finish lingers – sweet citrus threads and a gentle ginger warmth.”
- Washington’s Generals Collectors series premium rye label, limited release premium rye. This honors General Henry Knox and Dorchester Heights, the first in a series of eight to commemorate key leaders and moments in the American Revolutionary War.
- George Washington’s wheated bourbon is the first produced at Washington’s distillery since he managed it in 1799. It honors 1776, the year the Second Continental Congress formalized the war and adopted the Declaration of Independence Britain.
- Washington’s 86-proof, straight rye whiskey, dubbed “the official state spirit of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” consists of 60 percent rye, 35 percent corn and five percent malted barley. It is clear in color because it is not aged in a barrel which turns it brownish over time. It definitely has a kick, docents warn, “Don’t knock it all back.” It may resemble gin, but gin is much sweeter because it has more corn.
Another straight rye whiskey has a tawny hue because it is aged on-site for two to four years. Enthusiasts say it is “sweet, bold and spicy.” Some of the flavor comes from the wood-charred barrels in which it ages and the wood fire smoke in the stills.
George Washington’s straight rye premium whiskey, which Mount Vernon folks boast is “our best tasting whiskey yet,” is aged four to eight years in charred oak barrels. Whiskey afficionados rave, “It’s smooth.”
On May 16, a New York visitor boasted, “I’m a whiskey guy.” He collects whiskeys, googles “distilleries” before he takes a trip and has over 1,000 bottles of whiskey at his home. On Mount Vernon’s whiskeys, he exuded, “I love them because of the history.”
Mount Vernon’s gift shops offer a few other alcoholic beverages, including an apple brandy aged in bourbon barrels also made as Washington did from his orchards’ apples.
So to tantalize the tastebuds after touring the famous 18th century mansion, the outbuildings and tomb, a little hootch from the General can go a long way on a Saturday afternoon.
Huzzah!
Washington’s Distillery and Mill
Washington built a rye and corn whiskey distillery next to his gristmill on his Dogue Run Farm in 1797 and by 1799, produced 11,000 gallons of whiskey, making him the country’s largest whiskey producer. It operated until 1808 and the building burned in 1814. Today’s replica made with period materials opened in 2007 and makes whiskey using 18th-century methods.
Washington transitioned from growing tobacco for England’s markets to growing wheat and corn which he milled and earned money by charging neighbors who ground their grains there. Laborers floated stones down the Potomac River from Great Falls for the mill’s foundation.
The gristmill, built in 1770-1771 along Dogue Run, could produce 5,000 to 8,000 pounds of flour and cornmeal a day. In 1791, Washington installed a mechanical system that moved grain and flour through the milling process without manual labor. Washington’s mill is the only one in America that has this automated system, named for its inventor Oliver Evans. Visitors today can watch the reconstructed mill in operation, grinding stones, hoppers, water wheel and all.
Admission for whiskey tastings
A $60 ticket includes the tasting, general admission to Mount Vernon (a $30 value), guided gristmill and distillery tours and a take-home, Glencairn, tulip-shaped shot glass known to enhance a drink’s aroma. Prices for the 375-milliliter, bottled whiskies range from $98 to $225.
