George Washington’s plantation manager convinced him to start a whiskey distillery at Mount Vernon, which became very profitable. The whiskey produced was not aged and intended for an ordinary clientele. The distillery was refurbished in 2009 and still uses 18th-century methods.
America’s first president was 65 when his eight years in office came to an end. George Washington looked forward to retirement to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, but his plantation manager, James Anderson, had a different view. Anderson thought Mount Vernon was the perfect location for a whiskey distillery, with its abundance of fresh water, access to plenty of rye, and a state-of-the-art grist mill. He convinced Washington to take the plunge. Mount Vernon Whiskey became a big seller and a very profitable enterprise. The distillery churned out nearly 11,000 gallons (41,640 liters) in 1799 alone and was considered one of the top producers in the nation at the time.
A toast to a presidential distiller:
This was not the aged whiskey sold today. “Everything was white whiskey at the time,” explains Mount Vernon spokesman Steve Bashore, “They wanted it to get to the shops, markets and taverns quickly.”
The whiskey produced by America’s founding father was not intended for an elite clientele. “It was an ordinary whiskey for an ordinary man,” Bashore says.
In 2009, the old Mount Vernon Distillery was refurbished and rebuilt, and whiskey started flowing there again. Bashore says all of the fermentation and distillation work is done using 18th-century methods.
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