Getting the flavor of...Our Founding Father’s finest

Our Founding Father’s finest

George Washington’s estate is getting into whiskey—and not for the first time, said Julia Edwards in The Washington Post. Three miles from his Mount Vernon home (mountvernon.org), the nation’s first president operated a gristmill and distillery at a site that’s drawing more and more visitors as interest in craft distilling grows. Twice a year at the rebuilt distillery, a small group led by a former master distiller from Maker’s Mark creates rye whiskey using wood fires, water from a local pond, and Washington’s own recipe. The ex-president went big into booze after leaving office: In the two years before his death, he produced more whiskey and brandy than any other East Coast distiller, using just eight men to do the work—two paid and six enslaved. Act fast if you want any of the 1,100 bottles of whiskey that today’s team released on April 4. At the gift shop, the $95 treasures “usually fly off the shelves.”

‘Big-city’ Vermont

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Burlington, Vt., “exists in a friendly and progressive bubble that quickly can feel utopian to a visitor,” said Josh Noel in the Chicago Tribune. Set on Lake Champlain, the state’s largest city—with just 43,000 residents—makes a great destination for anyone seeking simple pleasures, like “a fresh, memorable meal, clean air, and such gentleness that the honk of a car horn seems out of place.” You have to be okay with a very liberal ethos too, reflected in the local crystals-and-incense store, the wealth of farmers markets, and even occasional public nudity. “Until recent years, the University of Vermont not only sanctioned an end-of-school naked bike ride for students, it helped finance it.” Burlington has no shortage of excellent restaurants that cook up locally sourced meats and produce, served with beer from an area craft brewer. Since biking, climbing, and skiing are also popular, you’ll have no problem burning off the calories.