Whiskey Walkabout - We visit Mt. Defiance Distillery

27 Nov 24

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday with nothing on the schedule.

  Autumn had certainly arrived.  With no other better ideas, the missus and I decided to go for a drive and visit a distillery that I’d found on Google maps.  I thought I knew about all the distilleries in the area and never heard of ‘Mt Defiance’.  I was surprised when I learned that they’d been there for over ten years!  

From Fairfax County Mt. Defiance is about an hour away.  Once you get past Dulles, the drive turns pleasant and as you approach Middleburg, it becomes really beautiful.  We were at the tail end of leaf-peeping season and there was still some beautiful nature to behold.  Middleburg is a great town.  Lots of shops and restaurants.  We were somewhat pressed for time because of an event in the evening so we couldn’t stroll around like we wanted.  We intend to stay at a bed and breakfast in the near future and explore the town properly.

The cidery is at a different location than the distillery.  Not knowing that, we stopped at the cidery first.  I was about to place an order when I asked if they sold whiskey (didn’t see it on the menu).  They said the distillery is down the road a bit.  But, let me tell you, the cidery is pretty great.  It looks like a spacious, new building with rocking chairs outside.  The inside smells amazing.  If you don’t want whiskey, I’d check out the cidery.  

But we wanted whiskey so we loaded the dog back in the minivan and continued on.  The distillery is an old gas station that was ably converted into something even better than a filling station.  There’s outdoor seating at both locations so both are dog friendly.  Parking is tight.  We were lucky to find a spot in their lot.

Ed was working the bar.  I was wearing a baseball hat that had my old Air Force squadron on the front.  He told me he had been an aeronautical engineer in the Air Force and we had a good discussion about that.  Then the talk turned serious - whiskey.  He told me about the smoking process for their smoked whiskey.  It’s pretty much a bourbon, but the way the whiskey is flavored with natural smoke is counter to the strict federal bourbon rules.  I won’t explain it here (I’m sure I won’t do it justice).  When you visit, ask them how it’s done.  He also gave me good info on the other whiskies.  I enjoy gin but didn’t have time to try those (next time!).  Ed’s a very good brand ambassador for Mt. Defiance.  He knows a lot and can explain it clearly.

I enjoyed a flight of their three whiskies:  Old Volstead’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Smoked Virginia Whiskey, and their Sherry Finished Bourbon. I enjoyed all of them and bought a bottle of the Sherry Finished Bourbon.  My wife had a rocks glass with their Virginia Velvet bourbon-based cocktail.  It’s like bourbon cream only better.  She liked it so much we bought a bottle of that too.

The next time you’re looking for something to do, visiting Mt. Defiance Cidery and Distillery is a great idea.  Just be sure to give yourself enough time to look around Middleburg.  You’re in for a pleasant day.  É sù!

https://mtdefiance.com/

207 W Washington St, Middleburg, VA 20117

540-687-8100

Cider Barn Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 12pm-6pm

Distillery Hours: Monday-Sunday 12pm-6pm

Live music at the Cider Barn.  You can find their calendar here.