Drink Local! Northern Virginia is ripe with wineries, cideries, breweries, and distilleries. Here’s a look at some of our favorite tasting rooms and taprooms — and what to pick up when you visit.
Throughout the region, distillers are bottling up fine, Virginia-made bourbon, brandy, vodka, and more. Bring home a bottle of your favorite spirit from one of these NoVA distilleries and mix up a wintry drink with these five cocktail recipes.
Flying Ace Farm
Beer and spirits lovers find common ground at the first farm brewery and distillery in Loudoun County, where December festivities include brunch with Santa and seasonal cocktails in a tasting room complete with a replica Corsair fighter plane hanging above the bar. It’s one of the few farm-to-bottle bourbon producers that uses Bloody Butcher, a heritage corn native to Virginia and grown on site. 40950 Flying Ace Ln., Lovettsville
CIDER THYME
(Served hot, serves 16)
- American Ace 90 Proof Blended Bourbon (about 2 ounces per cocktail)
- 32 ounces (1/4 gallon) apple cider
- 1.5 cups honey
- 1.5 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 handfuls of fresh thyme
- Sliced apples
- Cinnamon sticks
Simmer all ingredients (except bourbon) on low heat until warm. Once ready to serve, add bourbon to a glass and top with apple cider mixture. Enjoy!
MurLarkey Distilled Spirits
This Bristow-based operation frequently appears on lists of the top distilleries in the country. It offers classes (the Distiller for a Day course is capped off with a certificate and a cocktail hour), tours, and tastings of its all-natural spirits. Sustainable sourcing is taken seriously at this self-proclaimed “100% farm-to-flask,” Irish American–owned small business. 7961 Gainsford Ct., Bristow
ESPRESSO MARTINI
- 1.5 ounces MurLarkey Divine Clarity Vodka
- 1 ounce MurLarkey Coffee Whiskey
- 0.5 ounces vanilla creamer
- Espresso bean garnish
Add vodka, whiskey, and creamer into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with espresso bean, if desired.
KO Distilling
This veteran-owned craft distillery, founded in 2016, is best known for its double-distilled Bare Knuckle bourbons — made with corn, wheat, barley, and rye, all sourced from Virginia farms. Visit the Manassas facility for tours, tastings, and events, or simply for cocktails in the tasting room or on the patio when the weather is nice. 10381 Central Park Dr., Ste. 105, Manassas
BARE KNUCKLE BOURBON OLD FASHIONED
- 2 ounces Bare Knuckle Bourbon
- 0.5 ounces simple syrup
- Orange and cherry garnish
In an old-fashioned glass with ice, add Bare Knuckle bourbon and simple syrup. Give a light stir, and garnish with orange and cherry.
Mt. Defiance Cidery & Distillery
The rustic charm of this small-batch cidery and distillery makes for a postcard-perfect wintry day trip. Head to Middleburg for its traditional, French-style verte absinthe created from a late 19th-century French recipe. Botanicals and other ingredients are grown on site; you’ll also find award-winning sweet vermouth, whiskey, and rum. 207 W. Washington St., Middleburg
ORCHARD RAILCAR
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 to 3 dashes bitters
- 1.5 to 2 ounces Mt. Defiance Apple Brandy
- 1 to 2 cups ice
- 0.25 ounces Mt. Defiance Absinthe Supérieure
Chill a rocks glass in the freezer. In a separate mixing glass, add sugar. Muddle the bitters into the sugar until saturated. Add the brandy and mix lightly to combine. Add ice and stir for 1 minute. Remove the chilled rocks glass from the freezer. Add a splash of Mt. Defiance Absinthe Supérieure to the glass (less than 0.25 ounces). Roll the glass in your hands to allow absinthe to coat the sides, then discard excess absinthe. Strain cocktail from mixing glass into chilled absinthe-rinsed rocks glass. Serve immediately, over ice, if preferred.
A. Smith Bowman Distillery
The oldest distillery in the state, around since 1934, this Fredericksburg outpost was actually the sole producer of legal whiskey in the commonwealth of Virginia until the 1950s. Now, it’s renowned for its bourbons and small batches of rum, gin, and vodka. Free tours are offered Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. 1 Bowman Dr., Fredericksburg
MAPLE CINNAMON BOURBON
- 1.5 ounces Bowman Brothers Bourbon
- 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 1.2 ounces maple syrup
- Ice
- Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
Fill a shaker with ice. Combine all ingredients. Shake well. Strain into an old-fashioned glass with ice and enjoy.
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Feature image courtesy KO Distilling
This story originally ran in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
