US capital to house new whiskey distillery

[JAB]

The first president of the United States, George Washington, was a distiller (among his many talents) and now the city that bears his name is to house its first new distillery in decades.

The New Columbia Distillery is to be built in a 3,500-square-foot building in the north-east of Washington D.C.

Local news site dcist.com, reports that John Uselton and his father-in-law, Michael Lowe, spent a week learning the ropes at the Dry Fly Distillery in Washington State and hope to bring that experience to bear producing whiskey at their new home.

In addition, New Columbia intend to produce gin to create income without having to sell unaged whiskey.

Uselton said: "We intend to sell enough gin that we won't have to release whiskey before it is ready. A lot of craft distilleries are releasing whiskey under two years old. We are planning to barrel age for closer to three or four years.

"We are still in the decision making process regarding barrels, but we don't plan to use little barrels to short-cut the aging. There are several barrel makers that will make barrels to our specifications."