George Washington's Rye Whiskey
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George Washington's Rye Whiskey is distilled at
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
's reconstructed distillery at
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
from a recipe discovered by scholars examining the distillery ledgers for 1798 and 1799. It is distilled in limited quantities and only available for purchase in person. In 1797, urged on by his farm manager, James Anderson, Washington ramped up production and it produced 600 gallons. In 1799, the year Washington died, the distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons, making it the largest whiskey distillery in America at that time. After close to a decade of archaeological excavation and reconstruction planning by historians and historical trade interpreters, the building began operation in 2007 using five copper pot stills on the footprints of the original ones. The first batch of whiskey was released in 2010. On March 22, 2017,
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...
signed a bill sponsored by Virginia Senator
Adam Ebbin Adam Paul Ebbin (born November 10, 1963) is an American politician who is the senator from the 39th District of the Virginia Senate since January 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 30th Senate District from 20 ...
(D-30th) designating George Washington's Rye Whiskey as the official state spirit of the
Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
.


Ingredients

60 percent rye, 35 percent corn and 5 percent
malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...
ed barley.


Process

The staff uses Washington's original mash bill and 18th-century methods. The grain is processed in Washington's water-powered gristmill, fermented in wooden mash tubs and distilled in copper pot stills heated by wood fires. In Washington's time whiskey was not aged but this recipe calls for it to be distilled twice.


See also

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George Washington's Fishery George Washington's Fishery, also referred to as the Mount Vernon Fishery, was an active part of the original Mount Vernon plantation, and an early seafood business in Colonial America. History George Washington inherited Mount Vernon in 1754. ...
, another 18th century Mount Vernon business


References

{{George Washington Distilleries in Virginia Rye whiskey Food and drink in Virginia George Washington Symbols of Virginia Whiskies of the United States