In Nelson, distillery to offer taste of the highlands

LOVINGSTON — After facing delays brought about by the economic downturn, construction of what is said to be the nation’s first authentic Scottish-style single malt whiskey distillery is back on track in Nelson County.

The Virginia Distillery Co.’s 15,000-square-foot facility off U.S. 29 north of Lovingston looks to be completed at some point between July and September, with whiskey production and cask aging scheduled to get under way by the end of the year.

The company says its single-malt Eades brand whiskeys will be the first produced at an American distillery that features authentic copper pot stills made in Scotland and that relies on the traditional Scottish distilling craft.

“We’ll be the first distillery to make authentic single malt in the country and that’s because of our copper stills,” said Pat Jones-McCray, the company’s executive vice president for marketing and communications.

Once it opens next year, whiskey fans will have the opportunity to visit the two-story distillery located at the company’s 100-acre Eades Hollow property to observe the production process and to taste the results.

It won’t be for another three or four years, however, before the locally made single-malt whiskey is available for sale, as it needs to age in barrels before it’s ready to drink.

In the Scottish tradition, the product is referred to as spirit until it has been aged for a minimum of three years, at which time it may be called whisky (using the spelling appropriate for whiskies made in Scotland).

In the meantime, the company has been offering bottles of its Eades brand double malt Scotch whisky that is distilled and bottled in Scotland by some of the same people who will oversee the process at the Nelson County distillery.

The company’s three existing double malt Scotch whiskies — Speyside, Highland and Islay — are meant to reflect the characters of Scotland’s three major distilling regions.

These whiskies are considered “double malts” because they blend two single malt whiskies from each region. A double malt is different from the generally cheaper blended whiskeys, as blended whiskey can involve the mixture of multiple single malts as well as the addition of grain alcohol.

Eades’ double malts can be found at select ABC stores around the state, including all of Charlottesville’s ABC locations. Retailing at $70 a bottle, they sit alongside top shelf single malt Scotch whiskies such as Macallan and Oban.

The company’s double malts have been met with kudos. The Beverage Tasting Institute, for example, gave all three whiskies gold medals, praising the Islay’s “dry-yet-fruity full body with excellent depth and vitality. Finishes with a long sweet toffee, grain and evolving smoky peat flourish.”

Eades whiskies are also available at restaurants in the Charlottesville region, Lynchburg, Richmond, Northern Virginia, Washington and elsewhere.

In the Charlottesville region, Eades’ whiskies can be found at Enoteca, Farmington Country Club, the Downtown Grille, Horse and Hound Gastropub and more. At Beer Run, said bartender John Gardner, Eades’s double malts are a certified hit.

“I just asked some of the customers at the bar and they give it two thumbs up,” he said. “Everyone thinks it’s really good.”

Jones-McCray said the Virginia Distillery Co.’s offerings compete not only with high-end single malt Scotches, but also with the growing number of craft distilleries that are opening around Virginia and elsewhere in the country. Among these small batch spirits operations are the Catoctin Creek distillery in Loudoun County that produces rye whiskey, gin and brandy, and Belmont Farm Distillery in Culpeper that produces Virginia Lightning corn whiskey.

When the Eades Hollow distillery opens, visitors will be able to taste the three existing double malt styles, as well as a clear “new spirit” that will be made on site but not aged. Jones-McCray said the “new spirit” will be suited nicely for cocktails, whereas the double malts are more for sipping on their own.

The distillery, which will employ around 20 people, is seen as a key part of Nelson County’s economic development strategy to create jobs and attract tourists to the 10 nearby wineries, three beer breweries and hard apple cidery.

“It’s another outstanding product in our inventory of tourism assets,” said Maureen Kelley, director of Nelson’s department of economic development. “It was a decision the county made to pursue this economic development strategy a number of years ago and you can see it’s paying dividends.”