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Visiting the A. Smith Bowman Distillery

In Distilleries by Lee Stang2 Comments

“A. Smith Bowman Distillery Old Reston Avenue.”

That is the title of this painting by Doris Kidder that has hung all winter, in the hall outside of our company office in Leesburg, VA. I was aware the Bowman Distillery was once located in Reston, VA since I bought my first bottle of Bowman Brothers Small Batch Bourbon several years ago. Also, my wife and I had the pleasure to meet and talk with former Master Distiller Truman Cox at Whiskyfest New York in 2012, just a few months prior to his sudden death. We had a trip coming up to Savannah, and we figured on the way south we would stop at the distillery for a tour.

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New Limited Edition High Rye Bourbon from A. Smith Bowman Distillery

In New Brand Releases by Patrick "Pops" GarrettLeave a Comment

For those of you that enjoy whiskey from the A. Smith Bowman Distillery you’ll be pleased to hear about this year’s release. Here’s some information straight from the brand. I’d love to get my hands on a bottle but they’ve made it pretty clear that unless you’re near to Virginia you’re SOL. Never good when that news is delivered as the 2nd line of the release title. Smith Bowman Distillery Releases Limited Edition High Rye Bourbon Release is Extremely Limited, Mostly Only in Virginia Fredericksburg, VA. (Aug. 6, 2015) – A. Smith Bowman Distillery announces the latest release in its …

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Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Wheat Bourbon Review

In Bourbon Whiskey Reviews by Lee StangLeave a Comment

During our recent tour of the A. Smith Bowman Distillery, our guide, Ralph, mentioned that the distillery would be releasing their next limited edition soon.

The Bowman Distillery does a limited edition release periodically. Something different every time. Last year they released a Port Finished Bourbon and a Wine Finished Bourbon. The Port Finished Bourbon was awarded World’s Best Bourbon Whiskey at the North America Whiskies & Spirits Conference in New York where the World Whiskies Awards were announced on February 23, 2016. The Port and Wine Finished bourbons are exceptional. Other releases have included the Last Millennium a mix of 13 and 15-year-old bourbons, Gingerbread Finished Bourbon, Vanilla Bean Finished Bourbon, and High Rye Bourbon.

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John J. Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon Review

In Bourbon Whiskey Reviews by Patrick "Pops" Garrett1 Comment

Living in Louisville makes it easy to develop the mindset that local is better. We excel at homegrown restaurants, arts, and bourbon. Here a bourbon lover can audition a different Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey weekly and never run out of options. While many bars and liquor stores do carry “foreign” whiskies, the focus here is the in-state product. Like genteel pagans, we extoll the virtues of the water, soil, and air that form the soul of our favorite son. As said in these parts…if it ain’t Kentucky, it ain’t bourbon.

I fell victim to this snobbery; after 20 years I’d insulated my curiosity by focusing first on the Kentucky in “Kentucky’s native spirit”. So when I received a bottle of John J. Bowman for Christmas it went to the back of the queue like it was a Dickel or a Jameson. However, when I uncorked it weeks later and took time to dissect and appreciate this Virginia product, I had an epiphany of sorts- great bourbon doesn’t have to be from Kentucky!

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Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Review

In Bourbon Whiskey Reviews by Lee StangLeave a Comment

Virginia Gentleman Bourbon has been produced by the A. Smith Bowman Distillery since 1934 when the distillery opened on the Bowman farm. That farm is now the town of Reston, Virginia and the distillery is currently located in Fredericksburg, VA. Virginia Gentleman first came on the market in 1938 and is still available, mostly in the Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC area but I have found it on web sites elsewhere in the US.