Some Boozy American History

Here’s a little-known fact about our founding father George Washington: he was heavily into booze. He owned one of the biggest distilleries of his time (in 1799, he was producing 11,000 gallons of whisky). That’s thanks to his farm manager, who urged him to use the rye and corn being grown on Washington’s plantation. Convinced, he built a huge (for those times), two-story, 2,250 square foot distillery. That distillery has since been rebuilt and is in operation today, seasonally, using the 18th century methods of mashing, fermenting, and distilling the grain to make alcohol. If you can’t get to Mount Vernon to visit in person, take a virtual tour at https://virtualtour.mountvernon.org.

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