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They're Making Whiskey at Mount Vernon

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 1:44 am
by cowdery
DISCUS (Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.) likes to have an annual event, about this time of year, at the George Washington Distillery at Mount Vernon in Virginia. This week, whiskey was made for the first time in the reconstructed distillery that officially opened in March. Master Distillers from different DISCUS-member companies made the rye-mash spirit. They were Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey; Joe Dangler of Virginia Gentleman; Ken Pierce of Very Old Barton; Gerry Webb of I.W. Harper and Dave Pickerell of Maker’s Mark.

I know everybody expect Gerry Webb. I'm not sure who he might be. I. W. Harper is a Diageo product, but it's made by Four Roses.

Although the whiskey has to age for a few years first, they intend to bottle and sell it in the Mount Vernon gift shop. This is good news because the whiskey made there in the past (in a makeshift still while the distillery itself was under construction) was sold at high prices for charitable fund-raising, so most whiskey enthusiasts never got close to it.

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:47 pm
by brendaj
I got close...but only long enough to snap this... :?

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 2:35 pm
by Mark
Ooohh, I'd buy me one of those! I'd love to give it a try

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:57 pm
by cowdery
The bottle in Brenda's picture is of whiskey that we (I helped) mixed up at Mount Vernon using whiskey supplied by all of the DISCUS members, i.e., it was a little Jim Beam, a little Barton, a little Maker's, etc.

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:59 pm
by cowdery
A little more information that I've learned since yesterday.

They didn't make much, maybe ten gallons.

Gerry Webb is Diageo's Master Distiller. He oversees their bourbon production as well as Smirnoff and their rums.

Harper is no longer made at Four Roses, although Bulleit (also Diageo) still is. Bourbon for Harper is being sourced from Barton and Brown-Forman.