Moonshine

A Great Souvenir and You Can Learn Something

Edited by Jennifer L. Price

Moonshine, a slang term for distilled alcohol, is usually assumed to be illegal, but in Virginia, you can visit moonshine breweries and enjoy yourself while you taste that “forbidden” drink.

After years of research and excavation, George Washington's Distillery at Mount Vernon has been reconstructed and is now open for tours. Watch whiskey-making demonstrations by costumed distillers April through October, and learn how Washington turned his enterprise into one of the largest and highest-producing whiskey operations in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The distillery is next door to Washington's Gristmill, where corn was ground into meal and wheat was ground into flour — just another one of Washington's successful enterprises.

Also in Northern Virginia, visit Belmont Farm Distillery in Culpeper, where legal Moonshine is made! Sorry, no samples, but you can tour the distillery April through Dec. 30 for free, browse the information room and visit the gift shop.

Master Distiller Chuck Miller uses his grandfather's secret recipe to make "Virginia Lightning" and "Copper Fox Virginian Whiskey," both sold only at Virginia's ABC liquor stores — not at the farm — because of federal, state and local laws.

But if you purchase a bottle of their moonshine at an ABC liquor store, bring your sales receipt and receive 20 percent off any one item in their gift shop.

Now there’s the chance to get a souvenir for everybody!