Mount Vernon whiskey finally on sale

William M. Dowd photo

When I reported last year that the rebuilt distillery at Mount Vernon, V A, had been officially opened, I received numerous inquiries about buying whiskey made in the George Washington tradition.

The answer then was that they had to be patient. The answer today is that Mount Vernon now is being permitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia to sell its product.

Under special legislation supported by the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) and signed by Gov. Tim Kaine this year, Mount Vernon now is now permitted to sell spirits products in the gift shops at the distillery and the nearby mansion visitors' center as a special Virginia State ABC store.

Special $25 George Washington Distillery commemmorative gift sets went on sale Monday.

The whiskey is a unique "vatted" product made by marrying and re-aging at Mount Vernon portions of 11 American brands: Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Maker's Mark, George Dickel, Virginia Gentleman, Very Old Barton, I.W.Harper, Woodford Reserve, Rebel Yell and Platte Valley.

The product was created under the auspices of DISCUS by master distillers at Mount Vernon on Aug., 17, 2005, utilizing the contents of special barrels that had been aging on the mansion grounds since 2001.

" ... After 200 years, the public will again be able to buy whiskey at George Washington's Distillery," said Council Senior Vice President Frank Coleman. "These commemorative vatted American whiskey sets are a totally unique product, available only at Mount Vernon. It represents a union of the great American whiskeys, united in the Ssirit of George Washington, and I think he would have approved."

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