Mid-Atlantic Rye Whiskey Founders
(The Mid-Atlantic States Region includes Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia)
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
VIRGINIA & WEST VIRGINIA WHISKEY FOUNDERS
Below is a list and links to Whiskey Founders that have made huge contributions to the growth of the Mid-Atlantic Rye Whiskey Industry. These may have been historical figures that lived long ago before prohibition or may be living leaders that have advanced the cause of the industry as a whole. Mid-Atlantic Rye Whiskey has been its own whiskey category for years.
1
Abraham Smith Bowman
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
2
Dave Cuttino
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
3
Elijah Craig
Elijah Craig was born in 1743 in Orange, Virginia. Craig opened a distillery in 1789 and in June of that year, one of his barns burned down. Some were burned barrels were just on the inside and some not badly charred on the outside. Being a frugal man, he used them anyway.
On the 6 month trip down to New Orleans the burnt barrels imparted color and flavor. Consumers raved about that “Red Liquor from Bourbon County."
4
Bill Dodson
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
5
Becky Harris
Becky is the President and serves as the Chief Distiller at Catoctin Creek and has focused on creating the finest Virginia Rye Whisky from grain to glass. Catoctin Creek Distillery was started early in the wave of craft distilleries. They started in 2009 with a tiny 100-gallon still and a single full-time employee which happened to be Becky.
6
John Little
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
7
Chuck & Jeanette Miller
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
8
George C. Moore
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
9
George Thorpe
George Thorpe was a notable English landowner, educator, distiller, and early investor in American colonial enterprises. Thorpe's agricultural pursuits included experiments with distilling. He adapted traditional European distillation methods to use corn, introduced by Native Americans, rather than barley. By the fall of 1620, he had produced what is believed to be the first corn whiskey in North America, a precursor to modern bourbon.
