Spirited Bidding: Rare-Liquor Auction Raises Money for Mount Vernon
What do George Washington, a North Dakota liquor-store owner, and an anonymous United Kingdom spirits fanatic have in common? They all know their whiskey.
Whiskey was cause for celebration at Wednesday night’s rare-spirits auction, held at George Washington’s estate. The Spirit of Mount Vernon has held its annual Industry Heritage Dinner and auction since 2002 to raise money for education programs at Mount Vernon, and this year’s event brought in more than $200,000. Auctioned spirits came from the recently reconstructed distillery at the Virginia property, reopened to the public in 2007 to give researchers insight into Washington’s ahead-of-his-time distillation techniques.
The most sought-after item went to an anonymous bidder from the United Kingdom, who took home five gallons of George Washington Distillery Dedication Rye Whiskey for $25,000. The spirits were specially produced in honor of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, to mark his ribbon cutting at the distillery.
Hal Gershman, owner of Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops in North Dakota, got a limited-edition set of George Washington Distillery Straight Rye Whiskey and Martha Washington Colonial Rum for $12,000. The two bottles were auctioned together in honor of the couple’s 250th wedding anniversary.
The night also saw four new inductees into the George Washington Spirits Society, an organization that, according its mission statement, is dedicated to upholding the Founding Fathers’ “appreciation of the moderate use of spiritous liquors and their appropriate place in our society, culture, and history.”
Representative Shelley Berkley of Nevada; Judge John E. Jones, CEO of Young’s Holdings Vern Underwood; and Red Cavaney, former president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, were honored as Guardians of His Spirit and presented with a medal.
They join the ranks of other society members including Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating.
Michael J. Gaynor has written about fake Navy SEALs, a town without cell phones, his Russian spy landlord, and many more weird and fascinating stories for the Washingtonian. He lives in DC, where his landlord is no longer a Russian spy.
Spirited Bidding: Rare-Liquor Auction Raises Money for Mount Vernon
Whiskey was cause for celebration at Wednesday night’s rare-spirits auction, held at George Washington’s estate. The Spirit of Mount Vernon has held its annual Industry Heritage Dinner and auction since 2002 to raise money for education programs at Mount Vernon, and this year’s event brought in more than $200,000. Auctioned spirits came from the recently reconstructed distillery at the Virginia property, reopened to the public in 2007 to give researchers insight into Washington’s ahead-of-his-time distillation techniques.
The most sought-after item went to an anonymous bidder from the United Kingdom, who took home five gallons of George Washington Distillery Dedication Rye Whiskey for $25,000. The spirits were specially produced in honor of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, to mark his ribbon cutting at the distillery.
Hal Gershman, owner of Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops in North Dakota, got a limited-edition set of George Washington Distillery Straight Rye Whiskey and Martha Washington Colonial Rum for $12,000. The two bottles were auctioned together in honor of the couple’s 250th wedding anniversary.
The night also saw four new inductees into the George Washington Spirits Society, an organization that, according its mission statement, is dedicated to upholding the Founding Fathers’ “appreciation of the moderate use of spiritous liquors and their appropriate place in our society, culture, and history.”
Representative Shelley Berkley of Nevada; Judge John E. Jones, CEO of Young’s Holdings Vern Underwood; and Red Cavaney, former president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, were honored as Guardians of His Spirit and presented with a medal.
They join the ranks of other society members including Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating.
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
Michael J. Gaynor has written about fake Navy SEALs, a town without cell phones, his Russian spy landlord, and many more weird and fascinating stories for the Washingtonian. He lives in DC, where his landlord is no longer a Russian spy.
Editors' Picks
The Real Story of How Virginia Won Amazon’s HQ2
Washingtonian’s Photo of the Day
Washingtonian’s Photo of the Day
The Magic Behind What You’ll See at the Smithsonian’s New Fossil Hall
Most Popular in News
The Real Story of How Virginia Won Amazon’s HQ2
What Happened After My 13-Year-Old Son Joined the Alt-Right
Olympic Figure Skaters Will Perform in Leesburg This Weekend to Celebrate This $25 Million Ice Arena’s Grand Opening
Why Rehoboth’s Haunted Mansion Is One of America’s Best “Dark Rides”
A New Podcast Further Investigates DC’s Mansion Murders
June 2019: Best and Worst of Washington
Related
A Look Inside One of the Country’s Biggest Vinyl Record Plants
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
“Investment Layoff” Is a Masterpiece of Corporate Euphemism
Secret Service: Man Claimed to Be Jesus and Plotted to Kidnap One of the Obamas’ Dogs
More from News
The Real Story of How Virginia Won Amazon’s HQ2
Listen to How Some Members of Congress Talked About Gay People in the Late ’80s
Washingtonian’s Photo of the Day
A Not-So-Fond Farewell to Sarah Sanders from the Press
Olympic Figure Skaters Will Perform in Leesburg This Weekend to Celebrate This $25 Million Ice Arena’s Grand Opening
Washingtonian’s Photo of the Day
How Can We Preserve Go-Go’s History?
Washingtonian’s Photo of the Day