Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Whiskey 1L

A. Smith Bowman set out in 1927 to run a dairy and granary on the 7,200-acre Sunset Hills Farm in Fairfax County, Virginia, but an overabundance of grain steered him toward distilling instead. In 1934, with help from his two sons, he built a distillery on the property and produced the first batch of Virginia Gentleman, which reached the market in 1938. The distillery held the distinction of being the only legal whiskey producer in Virginia until the 1950s, later relocated to Fredericksburg by 1988, and has been part of the Sazerac Company since 2003.

Virginia Gentleman follows an unusual two-step process: the whiskey is first distilled in Kentucky, then shipped to Virginia, where it undergoes a second distillation in A. Smith Bowman's copper pot still before aging on-site. The exact mash bill remains undisclosed, though it's built from corn, rye, and barley in the tradition established by the Bowman family recipe. The whiskey carries no age statement but is understood to rest a minimum of four years before bottling at 80 proof, or 40 percent ABV.

The nose brings clean, clear bourbon aromatics with citrus and a noticeable rye edge. On the palate, that rye character comes through strongly, leaning herbal and slightly medicinal with a touch of bitterness, before settling into a dry, rye-forward finish. It's a straightforward, no-frills profile that has made the whiskey a longtime regional staple rather than a showcase bottling.