Arts & Ammo

Producing More than You Consume

George Washington’s birthday continues to be watered down into a lifeless celebration of “Presidents’ Day.” You may be interested in reading that the federal government did not callously mandate this name change and that the designation stems more from public inattention. Even if “Presidents’ Day” is taken to refer to the two presidents, Washington and Lincoln, whose actual birthdays slightly precede and follow the third Monday in February, the depersonalization inherent in this appellation contributes to our collective loss of memory. Thus, the culture withers.

Presidents like Washington and Lincoln are not honored for the considerable achievement of being elected to the presidency, but for making a distinct and lasting contribution to the ethos of the nation. They have a cultural significance beyond that of, say, Franklin Pierce or Warren Harding. Disassociating Washington’s name from the holiday, however, has the unfortunate effect of causing us to view Washington as just another president.

Today, numerous bloggers will recall Washington and praise his accomplishments. A few small-minded bloggers may complain that his America fell short of utopia and point out some of his human flaws.

Let’s take a glass-half-full approach. One of Washington’s accomplishments has received too little attention:

George Washington operated one of the largest whiskey distilleries in early America, producing 11,000 gallons in 1799. After almost 10 years of archaeological excavation, documentary research, planning, and construction, the distillery was authentically rebuilt on its original foundation and opened to the public in 2007. It is the only distillery in the nation to demonstrate the process of whiskey making as it was carried out in 18^th-century America.

When I visited Mount Vernon last summer, the distillery was nearing completion and the The History Channel was busy filming footage. All of the information, including the video, is here. As the good folks at The Distilled Spirits Council remind us:

From the colonial era, where Whiskey had an important economic and social function in the fabric of the community, to the Whiskey Rebellion, through Prohibition and into modern times spirits have played a sometimes controversial but always fascinating role in our nation’s history.

Washington may deserve the distinction of being the only president to have produced more whiskey than he consumed. So let’s toast the president who ended his term with a surplus.

February 22nd, 2008 Posted by Fitzroy | Politics | one comment