In the late 1790s, prior to his death, George Washington was trying to reduce his land holdings and simplify his operations when his farm manager, a Scotsman named James Anderson, introduced him to distilling and the potential income that it could produce for the farm. The irony with this choice was that Washington had no previous experience in the process and utilized his farm manager’s experience to open a successful distillery.
Alcohol was widely consumed in Colonial America and, subsequently, the new nation because of the potential for diseases in freshwater. It was also widely used in social situations, medicinally, and trade or commerce, especially in remote areas of the new country. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 is an example of how alcohol was used for trade and commerce because of the rugged landscape, which made shipment of grains difficult and expensive.
Washington was hesitant at first to pursue another business venture due to his age, but Anderson persuaded him that it would be profitable due to the abundant crops and gristmill that Washington owned. Washington planted rye as a cover crop to keep his soil healthy for future crop plantings. In addition, unlike other large plantations such as Monticello, Mt. Vernon had a steady water supply. Anderson had extensive experience in distilling from his previous employments in Scotland and other parts of Virginia.
After corresponding with a friend and listening to Anderson’s pitch, Washington entered the Whiskey business in 1797. During the first winter, two stills were used to produce whiskey, which totaled about 616 gallons. However, by 1798, Washington built a malthouse near the gristmill. It installed five copper stills, boilers, and tubs to increase production, and a system of wooden troughs was installed to transport water from the nearby creek into the distillery. The malt house was the largest distillery in the country, measuring 75 by 30 feet, and all five stills operated year-round. This was in contrast to the average distillery, which was 20×40 feet with only two stills maximum operating for a few months out of the year.
Washington’s distillery operation was highly successful during his time. It produced nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey in 1799, most of which was common whiskey, which was packaged and sold immediately to local merchants. He did have smaller batches of whiskey that were either distilled multiple times or flavored. Most of his whiskey was made of distilled rye, but when that was not in abundance, sometimes wheat was used.
In those days, whiskey was not aged as it is now; instead, it was placed in uncharred barrels and sold to neighbors and merchants in Alexandria. This enabled Washington to make money immediately rather than wait for the whiskey to age several years and then reap a profit. His best customer was also a close friend, George Gilpin, but other merchants, farmers, and the people who worked at Mt. Vernon would purchase the whiskey. In those days, whiskey cost around 50 cents a gallon unless the higher-quality version was approximately $1.00 per gallon. In 1799, Washington made approximately $7600.00. In 1798, Washington paid $332 in taxes on his distillery production.
Washington’s distillery continued to produce whiskey products after his death in 1799. It passed to his nephew, Lawrence Lewis, who continued the business until a fire destroyed it in 1814. The buildings were abandoned, and the entire operation would have been forgotten had it not been for Washington himself. He wrote about his operations in letters to others and we do have his ledgers to inform us of the financial aspect of running a distillery. To learn more about this and other business ventures of General George Washington please visit www.mountvernon.org. While there you will find out an abundance of information about the people[i] who worked at the distillery and on Washington’s plantations as well as learn about the man himself. He is a fascinating individual who without a doubt earned the title of First Citizen.
[i] Both free and enslaved people worked at the distillery, and it shatters the myth that all slaves worked in either the house or the fields. Many learned valuable trades that were passed down to their descendants.
