Part 4. We Visit Murlarkey Distillery
- Jeffrey Lavallee
- Nov 6, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 13, 2025
12 Nov 25
Northern Virginia has every kind of food imaginable - except Waffle House. So we bid farewell to the Little Mod Hotel and restarted our journey towards Murlarkey. Google Maps helped us locate a WH along the way. Hopped up on some “Scattered, Smothered, and Covered" (and too much coffee), we were ready for some whiskey.
Murlarkey is an easy trip. From the south, there were more pleasant country roads for us. A Google Maps search shows that the distillery is just forty-five minutes from the center of DC. Now that construction on I-66 is done, it’s a quick jaunt down 66 to the Prince William Parkway (VA-234). You can’t miss the two silos that mark the Two Silos Brewing Company - part of the collections of restaurants, distillery, and coffee shop at that location. That part of Prince William County is growing fast, and having a top-notch distillery nearby certainly doesn’t hurt its appeal.
Founded by second-generation Irish-American cousins Tom Murray, Mike and Jim Larkin, the distillery’s name is pronounced “malarkey,” though it’s spelled differently. That’s because it’s a portmanteau of the names of the original owners - cousins Tom Murray, Mike and Jim Larkin. They're connected through their mothers whose last name was Kelley.
The Larkin brothers gave a great interview on Going Gainesville where we learned that their malted barley comes from Copper Fox Distillery. As we’ve seen with other local distillers, they source their grains from local farms with and place an emphasis on terroir, a term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. (See! You learn so much at Whiskey and Politics).
Murlarkey just moved to a $8.1 million expansion as part of the ongoing development of the Farm Brew Live campus near Manassas. As they explain, “This expansion aligns seamlessly with the ongoing enhancements at the Farm Brew Live campus. Villagio Hospitality Group, owner of 2 Silos Brewing Co., is investing $25 million to elevate the campus, including the expansion of brewing capabilities and the construction of a 100-room boutique hotel.” Villagio also owns Trattoria Villagio is a very nice restaurant in Clifton, Va — a local favorite (and definitely not a place to show up without a reservation). If the distillery tasting room is closed, you can still sample Murlarkey spirits at Proof Kitchen & Bar, right next door.
Murlarkey offers an impressive lineup of at least eighteen different spirits. I didn’t take the tour, but I wish I had. At the gift shop, I met Linda, the manager, who kindly gave me a quick walk-through of their modern and spotless distillery. A tasting was just starting with a group of regulars — some of whom had visited seven times before — clear evidence of their loyal following.
Murlarkey has an interesting blog where they often post information about dieting and whiskey and other interesting stuff. Their new space, attached to the Proof restaurant, is designed to educate as well as entertain. Murlarkey offers two tour options:
The Barrel Aged Legacy Tour with Barrel Sample — a deep dive into their production process and aging rickhouse ($25).
The Legacy Tasting & Seasonal Cocktail Experience — a curated tasting of five selected craft spirits ($45).
Private events are also available through their website.
During our visit, my wife picked up a bottle of their Lemon Whiskey (more on that later). Linda explained that their flavored whiskies are made by placing the base spirit in a barrel with mesh bags filled with natural ingredients — like the cinnamon sticks we saw steeping for their Cincerity Cinnamon Whiskey.
Back home, we realized we had Murlarkey’s Lemon Whiskey and Silverback’s Blackback Honey Rye — the perfect combo for a hot toddy experiment. After testing a few ratios, my wife voted for a half-and-half blend, which turned out beautifully. When she later caught a cold, I reheated that blend with a bit of natural honey. Thanks to that tasty tincture, she’s on the mend and already looking forward to our next Whiskey and Politics adventure.
If honey whiskey’s your thing, Murlarkey makes its own, so there’s no need to trek to Afton for Silverback’s version (though it’s worth the trip). They also offer tea, coffee, cocoa, orange, and banana-infused whiskies — all intriguing, though I’m partial to the straight stuff. Their Birthright Bottled in Bond Bourbon is excellent. Made from a mash bill of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% apple- and cherrywood-smoked malted barley, it’s a pour that satisfies both enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike — and I’m sipping it as I write this.
Since returning home, I’ve been revisiting the whiskies from this trip, comparing them side by side each evening. As with Scotch, even similar mash bills can produce vastly different results — shaped by everything from yeast strains to aging environments. It’s been fun and educational to taste how these Virginia distilleries each interpret bourbon, single malt, and rye.
If you’re planning a whiskey night with friends, have everyone bring a bottle of local spirit and see for yourself how much variety there is in our own backyard.
Ngā mihi nui!
I bought these delicious liquors:
Distilled using a proprietary blend of 12 All-Natural Botanicals, which include: Sichuan Peppercorn, Angelica Root, fresh Lavender, Grains of Paradise, fresh cut Celery, Lemongrass, Juniper and 5 others.
Our Lemon Whiskey is handcrafted with pride and certified gluten-free. It starts with our award-winning Justice™ white whiskey which is gently poured over the highest quality, all-natural lemon and left to infuse in a white oak barrel until it reaches perfection.
This infused whiskey, formerly known as Clemoncy, is made from a proprietary blend of locally sourced Virginia corn and barley.Aged in oak barrels over lemon peels, our Lemon Whiskey is the embodiment of an all-natural small batch whiskey with no artificial color, flavor or preservatives.
At MurLarkey Distilled spirits we lovingly handcraft spirits with pride that we like to drink ourselves. We hope you appreciate this straight bourbon whiskey made with the highest quality ingredients, distilled to perfection in traditional small-batch artisan fashion.
Experience the heart of MurLarkey with our Birthright Distiller's Select 4+ Year, a masterpiece meticulously curated by the skilled hands of Papi and Kevin.
Birthright Bourbon Distiller's Select 4+ Yr.
Birthright Bourbon Distiller's Select is a true single barrel craft bourbon.
Mash Bill: 70% corn, 20% rye, 10% Apple and Cherry wood smoked malted barley.
Mash: Sweet
Ferment: 5-7days
Distilled: 500-gallon hybrid pot-reflux column still
Barrels: 53-gallon American Oak, #4 char
Aged in non-climate controlled metal rickhouse for 5 years.
Non-chill filtered
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.
