One of America’s Oldest Whiskey Distilleries: A Historic Virginia Gem Near D.C.

Ever since George Washington crossed the Delaware during the American Revolution and became the first president of the United States, he’s been a permanent fixture in American lore and history. His old estate, Mount Vernon, about 8 miles south of Alexandria, a historic waterfront neighborhood in Virginia, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966. Despite all of his fame, however, George Washington isn’t exactly known for his love of whiskey. And yet, his former home, now museum, Mount Vernon, is home to one of the oldest whiskey distilleries in the United States. 

Washington’s distillery produced whiskey from 1799 through the early 1800s, before falling into disrepair. In the early 2000s, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States sponsored the refurbishing of Mount Vernon’s distillery and soon began making whiskey using Washington’s original recipe. Today, the distillery produces limited runs of George Washington’s Rye Whiskey, which is now the Commonwealth of Virginia’s official spirit.

After completing his presidential term in 1797, George Washington returned home to his Mount Vernon plantation, situated not far from the colonial city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, hoping for a quiet retirement. Instead, his Scottish manager, James Anderson, recommended he get into the whiskey business. Rye, a cover crop grown at Mount Vernon, was ideal for making whiskey, and the newly minted United States was eager for more whiskey products. After several years of construction, Mount Vernon produced its first whiskey in 1799. Using a mixture of rye, corn, and malted barley, the first batches made over 11,000 gallons of whiskey, making Washington’s distillery one of the largest in the United States. Records show that the distillery, which also made small batches of fruit brandies, became one of the most profitable arms of Mount Vernon.

Unfortunately, 1799 was consequentially the year of Washington’s death (which was caused by a throat infection, not over-imbibing his new whiskey). After some productive years led by Washington’s nephew, the distillery stopped producing whiskey in the early 1800s, burned down in 1814, and was reconstructed in 2007. Nowadays, the working distillery produces several limited batches of whiskey a year using 18th-century methods, as well as apple or peach brandy — just like Washington’s original whiskey run.