On Belmont Farm they grow their own corn, then they harvest the crop at this time of year, and store it in their two silos. When ready to handle it, they grind the corn and then they distill it into whiskey.
You can’t miss it, and I was kicking myself about not going sooner. I had got the impression somehow that the place was either for sale, or in transition from one thing to another and had not made it a priority to go there. I was still new to Culpeper back then, and the bright lights always dragged me over to the big box end of town.
These days, if I need something I drive south, away from the town, and patronize the little places along Rt 522 if I can.
Belmont Farms is very much there, and very much in operation about a mile off the big road, with a clearly marked sign:
The farmstead is about a mile up the gravel road. According to my cursory research, Belmont was an old English Land Grant ceded in 1836. During the Civil War, it was occupied by Union troops, and was a staging point for the fight at Cedar Mountain, where nearly 3,000 men perished in one day.
Upon the North’s departure, the main house was burned to the ground. During the great Depression a tenant house was built on the property that lasted until 1975, when it was replaced with the present brick Colonial home that sits in front of the industrial complex of the distillery.
There were convertible BMWs in a neat line out front, and dogs on the porch, and a former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence in the check-out line with a bottle of moonshine. General chaos ensured as we talked about what the hell our two parties were doing there, and why, and we tasted six different products distilled inside.
According to the nice young woman who was pouring the white lighting, they add only choice malt to the corn meal, which is cooked in a large stainless steel cooker for about a day.
We saw it all in person when Maggie, a new transplant from NoVA who lives across the creek, took us inside. The yeast preparation is done in a stainless steel yeast tank, which is carefully stirred and watched attentively, according to Maggie, who was initially peeved that we had arrived in time for the last tour of the day.
“Our copper pot still is truly the secret of our whiskey,” she said, clearly wanting us to be through the plant and on our way so she could close up for the weekend. “We follow a unique family recipe to cook the corn mash,” she said, pointing a bewildering assortment of tanks and holding containers. “After cooking is completed, the mash is sent to copper fermentation tanks for four days. The fermented mash is then sent to our 2000 gallon copper pot still and is distilled.”
I was curious- the copper pot still was constructed in 1930, which to the best of my recollection was during Prohibition. Apparently the good people at Belmont were in the business preparing for the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution in 1933. A real piece of populist history. I saw a little sign that advertising for “night delivery drivers,” so the tradition continues.
Pot still production has been largely abandoned in the United States, but Belmont Farm continues the old tradition of the hills. “We have dedicated ourselves to the continuation of pot still whiskey,” Maggie said gesturing at the gigantic copper artifact. “Once the whiskey leaves the pot still, it then proceeds to the doubler, where it is further distilled, to increase the proof and insure our quality product.”
She urged us toward a passage into the bottling room, filled with equipment that would have been featured on the “Industry on Parade” newsreels they showed early in the morning when we were kids. “The whiskey is bottled here and labeled and prepared for shipment. Our operation at Belmont Farm Distillery is family owned and operated. We make copper pot still fresh whiskey in both our Virginia Lightning Corn Whiskey and our Kopper Kettle Virginia Whiskey.”
She ushered us down the long corridor lines with casks of whiskey, and eventually into the gift shop, where we stocked up on moonshine, whiskey and vodka. And T-shirts, of course. You can’t visit Belmont Farms without getting the t-shirts.
This is a must visit destination in Culpeper, and like I said, I should have come a long time ago. And I am going to be back, BTW. Next weekend they are featured in the Harvest Festival and will have two bluegrass bands and food.
And they will have whiskey. Real whiskey.
They are doing moonshine, too, but that is going to require another story.
Copyright 2014 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303