Virginia Whisky and Old Friends

This past weekend Troy and I ventured to Sperryville, VA to meet up with my dear, old friend Courtney and her husband Kevin. When we got to town Kevin was working and Courtney was napping so we took the opportunity to visit the Copper Fox Distillery where they make Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky. Troy was more than thrilled.



This is a three person operation, two brothers and their mom. The mother gave us a tour and chatted with us and explained the intricacies of whisky-making for over an hour. She was really sweet. Wasmund's is unique because they malt their own barley--they are the only distillery in the U.S. to do so. And instead of using peat (as you would with Scotch) they use fruitwood to give the whisky a distinctive taste. Unfortunately we didn't get to taste any as they can't give tastes or even sell bottles out of the distillery (stupid ABC laws). Not that I'm the biggest whisky fan, but Troy is. A bottle mysteriously has already appeared in our liquor cabinet (they sell it in Charlottesville).


Next we met up with Courtney who was in town for a couple of weeks to check out the area and find a house to rent. Kevin has been working at his cousin's restaurants, the Thornton River Grille and Rudy's Pizza, helping out with whatever is needed and learning all aspects of the business for a year or two. His dream is to open a restaurant in northern MN but he has spent most of his career as a salesman until being laid off this year. I am thrilled to have them moving within an hour of us!

We hung out by a bonfire and then went to eat at the Thornton River Grill. I would highly recommend it, the food was fabulous! Can't wait to go back.

We drank entirely too much and stayed up way to late but it was a blast to see them.

Here I'm covering my ears for fear of one of Courtney's famously horrible wet willy's. Did I mention we've been friends since 6th grade?

They are going to be living in such a pretty area. It's a really nice drive to get there once you get past 29N.


The next day I was terribly hungover (I am getting old) but Troy and I managed to go for a short hike on the way back at White Oak Canyon. It was a beautiful, the pictures hardly do it justice but I know lots of pictures are more fun to look at on blogs than lots of words are.