I Cannot Tell A Lie About George Washington’s Own Whiskey Festival

By Douglas Fraser

On November 09, 2019, Mount Vernon hosted its new George Washington Whiskey Festival. Keeping in mind that none of the festival is held in a historic building, although some of them are part of the VIP tour, I got started with this new event.

Upon entry to the museum, I was given a wristband to wear. When I asked what the markings on it were for, the attendant said Virginia law states that at a whiskey festival type event, a person is limited to the number of tastings they can have at a single event. I had never seen this before and found it rather disappointing. But, I was given a Glencairn glass with George Washington’s signature engraved upon it, checked my coat, and proceeded.

I was one of the first to enter the building and was able to taste several of the distilleries before it became a busy affair, which did not take long. After about 45 minutes the area was packed, and it was extremely difficult to move around. The space was too small and the lines to the distilleries were long and confusing in the mix of crowd. I tried a barbeque whiskey from Murlarkey Spirits, which is smoked by cooking pork during the distillation process, which surprising tasting notes of barbecue. I also tried an apple whiskey from Belmont Farms. It was a single malt whiskey infused with apple juice produced on the farm, a review of the whisky coming at a later date. A. Smith Bowman also had a small batch bourbon which I hope to get my hands on once again as it was quite enjoyable. These are all not only Virginia distilleries, but found within a few hours drive of Mount Vernon.

I then moved to the main building where I found more of the long lines and the much-too-crowded areas. I was able to taste from the spirits of George Washington Distillery, Ironclad Distillery and Copper Fox Distillery. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to see all the distilleries because of the time spent standing in lines, and I had the feeling that they didn’t plan on the turnout they received.

I then sat in on the Whiskey History and Stories Panel. It was good to sit down, relax, and have a dram listening to some of the industry experts talk about how the George Washington Distillery was rebuilt and how they procured the materials needed to recreate the 200 + year old whiskey. George Washington Whiskey was available for purchase but for a pretty penny, $100 to $300, depending on the bottle. The gift shops were also open to purchase gifts and souvenirs and upon purchase, the shops were giving out free Mount Vernon shot glasses.

Overall, I had a good experience. I did not let the overcrowding and long lines take away from me having a good time at Mount Vernon. I tasted some great whiskeys and was able to talk with some of Virginia’s craft distillers about what VA has to offer. Next year, I might try the VIP tour.