…is that he had a commercial whiskey distillery at Mount Vernon.  George Washington was, first and foremost in his mind, a farmer.  And while he  was described by his contemporaries as not neccessarily the most gifted intellect, he was an excellent judge of character, had a habit of surrounding himself with intelligent people and listening to them.  And so it was that in 1797, after his presidency, he hired a scottish plantation manager named James Anderson who in his duties as manager of the Mount Vernon plantation saw an opportunity.  Washington was always studying methods of agriculture, and had adopted the planting of cover crops of Rye as a means of fostering healthy soil.   Typically cover crops had little commercial value, their purpose as a rotational crop  was to preserve the soil for the real growing season’s crop of wheat or corn.  Since Mount Vernon already had a state of the art gristmill and plentiful water, Anderson suggested the the rye could be  used to make whiskey.

How Did George Washington Make Whiskey? from Mount Vernon on Vimeo.

After a successful trial in 1798,  a full fledged distillery was built in 1798.  By 1799  it was the largest distillery in the young country, producing 11,000 gallons.  Washington died in 1799 and his nephew, to whom the distillery passed, continued to operate it until it burned in 1814, after which it was never rebuilt.  In the 1990s the distillery was reconstructed, and is producing even today.  Production is limited – you can buy George Washington Straight Rye Whiskey® if you happen to be at Mount Vernon on the few days a year it is available.  Virginia law dictates that all sales must be in person.

Here are a few of my own pictures of Mount Vernon.  Click on the picture to enlarge

Life size bronze sculpture of George and Martha Washington and Washington’s two step grandchildren in the lobby of the visitor’s center, greeting guests.

The stately house as approached from the front

A view of the Potomac River looking out from the back porch of the house

The rear of the house which faces the Potomac River

Geoerge Washington’s great-grandfather came into possession of the property in 1674, Washington becoming the sole proprietor in 1761.  The house was built in phases beginning in 1758, continuing until 1778.  After Washington’s death, the property passed through a series of relatives, but deslined due to poor maintenance.  The Mount Vernon Ladies Association purchased the estate in 1859, and it was not designated a National Historic Landmark until 1960.

Much more information here at the Mount Vernon Plantation Wikipedia page