George Washington's Whiskey Business
By: Big 2 News Staff
Updated: February 20, 2012
Long before multi-million memoirs and global foundations, ex-presidents returned home to a simpler life.
So when George Washington went back to Mount Vernon in 1797, his new plantation manager proposed a new venture. George Washington operated one of the largest whiskey distilleries in the country during the 1800s.
It's a little known fact about the first president, and historian Dennis Pogue says Washington was pretty good at it.
By 1799, which was the last year of Washington's life, they made almost 11,000 gallons of distilled spirits.
The original distillery burned down in 1814, and the current recreation of the plantation opened to the public in 2007.
Production on the grounds resulted in a product that is a little different than what drinkers might think about whiskey today.
Most whiskey sold in the 18th century was un-aged, and so that means, it would have been clear, sort of like moonshine.
The whiskey was never bottled, Washington sold it to merchants in barrels. And Washington himself may have occasionally enjoyed some whiskey of his own.
Today, Washington's rye whiskey recipe has been revived and sold in small batches as a reminder of one of the first president's last ventures.
So when George Washington went back to Mount Vernon in 1797, his new plantation manager proposed a new venture. George Washington operated one of the largest whiskey distilleries in the country during the 1800s.
It's a little known fact about the first president, and historian Dennis Pogue says Washington was pretty good at it.
By 1799, which was the last year of Washington's life, they made almost 11,000 gallons of distilled spirits.
The original distillery burned down in 1814, and the current recreation of the plantation opened to the public in 2007.
Production on the grounds resulted in a product that is a little different than what drinkers might think about whiskey today.
Most whiskey sold in the 18th century was un-aged, and so that means, it would have been clear, sort of like moonshine.
The whiskey was never bottled, Washington sold it to merchants in barrels. And Washington himself may have occasionally enjoyed some whiskey of his own.
Today, Washington's rye whiskey recipe has been revived and sold in small batches as a reminder of one of the first president's last ventures.
