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Washington's Whiskey

Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 3:30 pm
by PawPaw
It seems that the guys who caretake at Mt. Vernon are making whiskey using George Washington's recipe.
According to master distiller, Dave Pickerell, its nose is, “slightly floral, earthy, and grainy,” with a taste that is “surprisingly sweet and mellow,” but with a bit of a bite, characteristic of unaged rye
.
Some say that it's rather harsh.
(Carlson interviewed Dennis Pogue, Mount Vernon’s associate director, who politely described the swill as having “a pretty sharp taste.”) No matter about the harsh flavor, though. Washington was a rock star, so, in 1798, his distillery produced 4,000 gallons of the white lighting and sold it for 50 cents per gallon. One year later, Mount Vernon produced 11,000 gallons for public consumption. Cha-ching!
Interesting.

Re: Washington's Whiskey

Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:23 pm
by Cybrludite
Brings up an interesting question: What is the practical maximum one could age whiskey before you just ended up with sludge at the bottom of a barrel?

Re: Washington's Whiskey

Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:18 pm
by Aglifter
You mean Scotch?

I've seen 100 year old Aramac so I suppose longer than that.