Monday, June 28, 2010

Washington's Rye Whiskey Set For Sale Again


MOUNT VERNON, Va. - The public has a chance to buy rye whiskey made from the same recipe George Washington used.

The first public tasting will be held on Thursday at a reconstructed version of Washington's original distillery near his Mount Vernon estate. Bottles are being sold for $85 apiece and the proceeds will benefit Mount Vernon's education programs.

The Virginia General Assembly previously approved the sale of limited quantities of the whiskey.
Washington was the nation's most successful whiskey maker in the years after his presidency.

By 1799, he was producing 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year. Washington died that year, and soon after the business fell off. In 1814, the distillery burned to the ground.

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