VA distillery to mimic Scottish style

LOVINGSTON, VA -- A distillery its owners say will be different than other American facilities is under construction.

The Virginia Distillery Company's project on a 15-acre site in Eades Hollow, Nelson County, about midway between Lynchburg and Charlottesville.

The company currently is making whiskey in Scotland and importing it until the new site is up and running. Once that happens sometime next year, say company officials, they will produce what they claim is the first single malt whiskey in the U.S. using the traditional Scottish recipe and genuine copper pot stills.

Whiskey is getting a sharper focus here these days, since state law began allowing ABC stores to provide in-store samples of some products. That is a Virginia first, and it took effect July 1.

"There is an American craft whiskey movement that is emerging all over the country and we are part of the forefront of that," said Pat Jones-McCray, vice president of marketing for the Virginia Distillery Company.

The noted Scottish master distiller James McEwan of Bruichladdich has prepared a vatted malt for the Virginia company, although he has no other connection with the project.

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