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Whisky distillers including Scottish master distillers watched as Dean Malissa of Philadelphia, historical portrayer of George Washington, second from right, toasted the first single-malt whisky produced at George Washington's Distillery today in Mount Vernon, Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
MOUNT VERNON, Va. » After a three-year aging process, distillers at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate will taste a batch of single-malt whisky made at the estate’s distillery.
Scottish distillers teamed with Mount Vernon’s own distiller in 2012 to make the whisky using 18th century methods employed by Washington and Mount Vernon’s reconstructed, water-powered gristmill.
Washington became one of the young nation’s biggest whisky distillers in the late 18th century after his Scottish-born farm manager recommended the idea.
Mount Vernon reconstructed Washington’s distillery in 2006 in part with a grant from the Distilled Spirits Council.
Bottles of the whisky will be sold at auction tonight. At a similar auction in 2006, two bottles of rye whiskey produced using Washington’s own recipe fetched $100,000.
