Part 3. Our Visit to the Silverback Distillery
- Jeffrey Lavallee
- Nov 7, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 13, 2025
My wife and I travel well together. We’ve always been a good team - no bickering, just easy conversation and a lot of laughs. She’s one of the smartest people I know, so the one-hour drive from our first distillery flew by as we wound through Virginia’s beautiful back roads toward Silverback Distillery in Afton, VA.
Silverback operates in two locations: the Pocono region of Pennsylvania and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The Pennsylvania site sits in one of several hangars at the now-closed Stroudsburg-Pocono Airport (N53). You can still find the airfield on Google Maps - there’s not much information, but there is a photo. Fittingly, it’s of a V-tailed “Doctor Killer” - somehow appropriate for an abandoned airport. Always sad to see a closed airport.
The Virginia distillery is in a new, purpose-built and attractive gray metal building with black trim. The parking seemed adequate. We happened upon an available spot just as we pulled in so if there is more parking in the back, I didn’t see it. From what I saw, I recommend going early to secure a spot. We were several hours into their business day and like the last distillery described, Silverback got very busy. There was a good crowd both inside and out.
They’ve created a warm, welcoming environment. There’s plenty of outdoor seating if you’d rather enjoy a lazy afternoon in the Virginia sunshine. We opted for an indoor seat so we could take in the atmosphere.
Inside the decoration is neat, clean, and purposeful. Pushing sixty and with a back that’s getting hairier by the day, I felt oddly at home among the gorilla tchotchkies. We were ably served by Jayden behind the bar. He’s new - still in college - very friendly and professional. I was surprised when he said that he’s still in school. He’s mature for his age and got a handle on all their cocktails and knows quite a bit about their whiskey. That guy could sell anything. The whole team was working hard, efficiently keeping everyone happy, and it showed.
Sure, seating seems a little tight, but this isn’t some stuck up Fauquier County winery. This is a distillery, damnit! Folks introduce themselves, share a laugh, and before long you’ve made a new friend. It’s that kind of place.
We had several pleasant conversations while we were there. A friendly couple from Loudoun County finished their cocktails and were replaced by two couples out for an afternoon of fun. We tucked ourselves into a corner to keep our Labradoodle comfortable, and the staff couldn’t have been more gracious—stepping over him with a smile and stopping for the occasional pet. Silverback is Labradoodle approved. Next time, though, we’ll sit outside so the staff can move freely.
Like all distilleries, they have a sign posted that says, “Due to Virginia law, we are only permitted to serve 3 oz of alcohol to any individual per day. “
Now, Virginia has had some spectacularly dumb laws about alcohol. I’m working on compiling all our idiotic booze laws. When that is complete, I’ll write about it. Denver said that it costs about half as much to make a fifth of whiskey in PA than it does in Virginia. The taxes and administrative burdens are very expensive here. I get that we want the revenue from our liquor sales, but the VA laws seem distorted, impractical, and just unusable. All joking aside, we should take action on some of these laws. We will form an army, march on Richmond aannndd…try to convince our legislatures to change the laws - like it should be done.
Anyway. Back to our visit…
I asked if Denver or his wife, Christine - known affectionately as “Hooch Mama” - were around. Christine wasn’t in that day, and I had just missed Denver. A little disappointing, since I’d hoped to meet him. My wife enjoyed her cocktail while I sampled a flight of their whiskies, and when I went to buy a few bottles, I mentioned to the woman at the counter that I was disappointed that I missed Denver. She immediately offered to see if he was available, even though he was in a meeting.
A minute later, she led me outside, where Denver was seated with a few colleagues. Despite being in the middle of something, he greeted me warmly and took the time to chat. Just as he comes across in his podcast, Denver Riggleman is a force of nature - energetic, sharp, and very busy. At the time, he was juggling social media work for a gubernatorial campaign, running two distilleries, and managing his AI company - fresh off a business trip to the Middle East. I needed another pour of Blackback Rye just hearing about it.
Our conversation was brief but enjoyable. Eventually, he had to get back to his meeting, and I had to get back to my enthusiastic dog. We said our goodbyes and headed to our hotel, impressed by what Denver and Christine have created - a nice tasting room built on a strong foundation of quality whiskey. If you’re in the area, I recommend visiting.
Hooch Mama Christine certainly has a handle on making booze. I bought the Blackback Honey Rye (more on that in the next post), Blackback Rye Whiskey, their Silverback 4-Grain Straight Bourbon, and their Strange Monkey Gin (I’ll save that for summer - gin season). I’ve been enjoying their rye and bourbon. The missus has fallen in love with their honey rye. Look for Silverback in your local liquor store.
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Blackback Honey Rye
Silverback crafts its custom money liqueur with honey from Hungry Hill Farm in Nelson County, Virginia. The liqueur, blended with our famous Blackback Lucky 13 Rye Whiskey, creates a flavor so pure and sweet that you may want to leave with a whole case (which many have done). So, simians, put on your beekeeper suit and get your buzz on.
70 Proof / 750ml
Blackback Rye Whiskey
The finest rye in the global jungle can only be made from hand-selected milled grains, pristine well water and perfectly charred barrels. Our reputation for creating internationally acclaimed craft spirits means that we must distill and age a whiskey that can be sipped and enjoyed at any age anytime. Aged a minimum of thirteen months, our current batches are released at over 2 years old. You will enjoy notes of pepper and spice up front with a smooth, mellow finish thanks to the white corn and carley presence. So pound the table, thump your chest and raise your glass. Blackback Rye Whiskey is proudly distilled in Virginia for all Simians worldwide. Rule your nest, be and alpha.
86 Proof / 750ml
Silverback 4-Grain Straight Bourbon
“Christine “Hooch Mama” Riggleman released an entirely new animal to the Silverback Distillery jungle. Using fewer than 10 barrels, this small-batch blend is a combination of Silverback Straight Bourbon Whiskey and industry-selected straight bourbon.
92 Proof / 750 ML
Strange Monkey Gin
Charles Darwin said, “No other member in the whole class of mammals is colored in so extraordinary a manner as the adult male mandrills.” STRANGE MONKEY GIN is crafted on site in a dedicated gin still. We do not steep botanicals in bags, such as making a cup of tea. Gorillas don’t drink tea. We do not contract others to add gin flavor for us. STRANGE MONKEY, made the traditional way – by capturing the essence of our quality botanicals (juniper berries, coriander, citrus, and more) through distillation. Our recipe is traditional. Our gin is eminently drinkable.
80 PROOF / 750 ML
AI was used on original content to polish the language for readability, fix grammar and punctuation issues, and slightly adjust structure where needed for smoother flow.
