What Did George Washington Do after His Presidency?
America’s first president was 65 when his eight years in office came to an end. George Washington was looking forward to a laid-back retirement at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, but his plantation manager, James Anderson, had a different vision. Anderson thought that Mount Vernon was the perfect spot for a whiskey distillery, with its abundance of fresh water, access to plenty of rye, and a state-of-the-art grist mill. He persuaded Washington to take the plunge. Mount Vernon’s whiskey became a big seller and a very profitable endeavor. The distillery cranked out nearly 11,000 gallons (41,640 liters) in 1799 alone, and was considered to be one of the nation’s top producers at the time.
A toast to a presidential distiller:
This wasn’t the aged whiskey sold today. “Everything was a white whiskey back then,” explains Mount Vernon spokesman Steve Bashore, “They wanted it to get to the stores, the markets and taverns quickly.”
The whiskey produced by America’s founding father wasn’t targeted at an elite clientele. “It was a common whiskey for a common man,” Bashore says.
In 2009, the old Mount Vernon distillery was refurbished and rebuilt, and whiskey began to flow there again. Bashore says that all fermentation and distillation work is done using 18th-century methods.
Discussion Comments
As a drinker of 'clear' whiskey for a few decades now I'll say that it never disappointed me in the least. --Shane
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