Hampton Roads Magazine....

GENTLEMAN'S RELISH:
BOURBON MADE BEYOND KENTUCKY

Those who think Kentucky has a monopoly on bourbon whiskey in the United States haven’t talked to the descendants of Abram Smith Bowman--or tried his whiskey. “Though they may not know A. Smith Bowman, everyone in this region knows Virginia Gentleman,” says John “Jay” B. Adams, Jr., the company’s president and CEO (and Delong Bowman’s son-in-law). “Many men in Virginia and neighboring states will only drink our bourbon.”

The Bowmans began producing bourbon on their farm in Northern Virginia’s Fairfax County at the end of Prohibition and the fabled Virginia Gentleman became the region’s hallmark bourbon for decades. Originally created as a ‘small batch’ bourbon, the distillery was originally located on Sunset Hills Farm, the Bowman family property in what would eventually become the bustling city of Reston.

The family moved the distillery operation 60 miles south to the historic city of Fredericksburg in 1988. The company purchased the former FMC Cellophane Manufacturing Plant, which had been vacant and decaying for some time. After undertaking a massive renovation of the sprawling buildings, the distillery and corporate headquarters are now an award-winning example of preservation and adaptive reuse.

Ironically, the company is located near the site where Elijah Craig, the ‘inventor’of bourbon whiskey, was born and raised. Craig would eventually move west to Kentucky, leaving a legacy of bourbon whiskey in Virginia.

“With our distillery being so close to where Elijah Craig was born and raised, we also like to point out that Kentucky was once a part of Virginia,” quips Adams, whose southern accent is as smooth as his company’s VG 90.

Made from the finest corn, rye and malted barley, it is aged for at least four years in charred oak barrels. The 80 proof bourbon was rated four out of five stars by the website Epinion.com and has garnered good comments in Whiskey magazine for its consistent flavor. The sweetish Virginia Gentleman 80 has a fairly big body and tends to be a bit higher in malt and lower in corn than many Kentucky bourbons.

For further information, visit www.bowmanco.com.

Sidebar:
Besting the Big Boys of Bourbon

A. Smith Bowman recently won two awards for its premium small batch bourbon at the 2003 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The first, a double gold medallion, signified that the bourbon met and exceeded each of the judging criteria in its category. The second, Best American Whiskey, awarded VG90 top honors for its category in the competition. According to Paul Pacult, director or judging and a leading spirits authority in the United States, VG90 was a clear winner. The achievement bested many of the big boys of bourbon, including higher-priced small batch options from Knob Creek, Woodford, Wild Turkey and Evan Williams.