Malt Whisky Comes to Nelson County, Virginia

The Virginia Distillery Company (VDC), sometimes called Eades Distillery, consists of 95 acres located along Eades Lane in Lovingston, Virginia, and has begun construction. The concrete foundation of the malt whisky distillery was laid in July of 2010, as this You Tube video shows. In 2009, spokesman and one of the owners,¹ Chris Allwood, was interviewed by NBC29, Charlottesville, Virginia-here is a video of that broadcast.

Is it Scotch?

The area chosen was said to resemble the barley-growing regions of Scotland, where the grain is converted to Scotch whisky. Since it is only when manufactured in Scotland this whisky may be identified as Scotch, the VDC speaks of their malt whisky.² Much of it will be sold as single-malt, though some will be sold as blended-malt whisky. Their product is not going to be the sort of alcoholic beverage one is likely to drink every day, however, as bottles will be sold on-site and at ABC stores in the area for something like $70 per bottle.

The Barley - Where Grown?

Although some of the barley has been planted on site, and will go to making some of the whisky, it is grown in insufficient quantity to provide all the barley the Virginia Distillery Company will manufacture. It is intended that local area farmers will grow much of the barley, thus aiding the economy of Nelson County, considerably. Photographs of some of the equipment to be used may be seen here. The author first became acquainted with this project when he attended religious services across the gravel road at the nearby Lovingston Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On-site Visitation

The distillery, besides manufacturing whisky, will include a warehouse and a visitor's center. The complex will serve as a showpiece of the whisky brewing and distillation process. Tours will be provided for the public. The finished VDC will round out Nelson County's brewing attractions, which include a number of vineyards, plus a number of craft beer microbreweries.

1 Co-owners include Brian Gray and Joe Hungate.
2 Chris Allwood advised the author the correct spelling W-H-I-S-K-Y.

References:

Author's employment interview with Chris Allwood.

Nelson County Life - "Construction Underway at Virginia Distillery Company near Lovingston"

WSLS10, Roanoke - "Distillery Company To Make Scottish-Style Malt Whiskey"

Virginia Distillery Company Website