On (last) Sunday, Rachel, the Parents, and I headed south a bit to visit the Mt. Vernon Grist Mill & Distillery. We considered also going to Mt. Vernon, but we figured that the old home of a long-dead founding father was unlikely to be greatly different than the old home of a different long-dead founding father, which we’ve already seen. I think we made a good decision because Mt. Vernon also looked fairly busy. The Grist Mill and Distillery, on the other hand, were almost vacant.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States has a pretty good summary. There really isn’t much to get excited about, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth a visit.
When we arrived, there were very few cars in the parking lot and the only person we saw around was a guy dressed in a period costume shading himself under a tree. I feared we were about to be treated to a half-assed tour by people who had long ago given up on life. How wrong I was!
The guy beneath the tree handles the first part of the gristmill tour. Since things were so slow, the tour started as soon as we bought our tickets. Our first guide, like the subsequent guides, was very enthusiastic. It was also pretty nice to have almost a one-on-one tour because you don’t have to worry about other idiots asking stupid questions, and you don’t have to worry about asking questions that will appear stupid to other people.
The grist mill is a fully operational replica, run by a sweet 16 foot water wheel. The mill was built on a design created by Oliver Evans. His design received US Patent #3. His mill “operated continuously through the use of bulk material handling devices including bucket elevators, conveyor belts, and Archimedean screws.” In other words, if you’re an engineering geek, you’ll be amused by the workings of the mill. It’s pretty neat.
The distillery tour follows the grist mill tour. Frankly, the distillery isn’t that exciting. It’s basically a barn that holds a bunch of barrels and kettles. It’s still interesting though.
It’s worth noting that the souvenir shop does not sell any whiskey because they have not (or had not as of last Sunday) received their license from the ABC. However, they expect to get the paperwork finalized soon. Furthermore, the whiskey they will soon sell is not made at the Mt. Vernon distillery. Instead, it will be a special whiskey blended from contributions of the members of the Distilled Spirits Council. Hopefully I can procure a couple bottles soon.
Who you calling engineering geeks?! If it makes the whiskey, they should be damn thankful for those geeks.