George Washington's Restored Distillery Dedicated to Prince Andrew

    His Royal Highness, Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, recently joined public officials and leaders of the Scottish and American spirits industry at Historic Mount Vernon to celebrate the official dedication of the restored George Washington’s Distillery.
    The Duke, who cut the ribbon at the event, was celebrating the close Scottish-United States ties and paying tribute to Scotland’s connection to George Washington’s distillery. He noted that it was George Washington’s Scottish farm manager, James Anderson, who convinced Washington in 1797 that distilling whiskey would be a lucrative business venture and a good use of the excess grain from the nearby gristmill. He joined other public officials including Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell in raising a toast to George Washington and splashing whiskey against the distillery’s stone wall.
    “George Washington’s Distillery will give the world both a clear view of the entrepreneurial spirit of our nation’s first president and a valuable insight into America’s distilling heritage,” said Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) President Peter Cressy, whose organization has been the major donor to Mount Vernon for the $2.1 million project to excavate and reconstruct the historic distillery. “Washington was one of the most successful whiskey distillers of his time and symbolizes everything modern distillers stand for: responsibility, moderation and quality.”
    The reconstructed distillery marks the only historic site in the country capable of showing the early American distilling process from seed to barrel. It also will serve as the “Gateway” to the American Whiskey Trail, a cultural heritage and tourism initiative of Historic Mount Vernon and the Distilled Spirits Council, when the second story distilling museum opens to the public in 2007.