Georgetown Heritage Barrel Selection at Provenance Estate
Christmas 2025 Private Label Provenance Bourbon x Georgetown Heritage
Jennifer looked into the distance, eyes narrowing a bit, concentrating. 'I taste caramel,' she said. 'And ...tobacco?'
'Wow, very discerning,' Jay West, our distillery guide said.
'Wait,' she said tasting again, closing her eyes, pausing. 'And a bit of a pepper finish.'
It was a chilly November afternoon and guests of Georgetown Heritage were at Provenance Estate in Middleburg, participating in the barrel selection for a Christmas 2025 release of a private label Georgetown Heritage Bourbon.
We heard about the use of one's senses to truly appreciate the different bourbons, the final taste dependent on the 7-year aging process, the barrel itself, and ... well, nature. We 'thieved' a draw from each of 3 barrels in the production room and then moved to the tasting room. There, we talked about color (the deeper the color the higher the alcohol content), the 'nose' of course, the feel... and as we lifted our glasses in the afternoon light, we watched the 'legs' (similar to those in wine) run very..very slowly down the sides of the glass, also indicating alcohol content.
Viyas Sundaram, owner of Provenance Estate, 1048 Wisconsin, and founder of The Fountain Inn (formerly Patagonia) feels a strong connection between the historic estate (1850s Mortgage Hall) and the traditions and history of Georgetown and suggested a select bourbon to benefit Georgetown Heritage and its many initiatives.
"The heritage and history of Georgetown is a treasure that makes Georgetown Heritage's mission priceless,’ Sundaram commented. ‘We wanted to support that mission by marrying their conservation efforts with Provenance Bourbon's goal to honor the traditions of making exceptional aged bourbon using historic Middleburg and Georgetown as our foundation.’
As we left the tasting room, we learned that as a thoroughbred operation, the building housed a hydrotherapy treadmill for the rehabilitation of race horses. Drawing a parallel, in the 1850s the foundry building on Thomas Jefferson next to the canal was a veterinary hospital, located across the canal from the mule yard, and used to rehabilitate mules that needed care after pulling the barges on the long journey from Cumberland, MD.
The glass for the bottles is from France and the selected bourbon is cask strength expected to be around 120 proof.
Approximately 250 bottles are available as of December 10th, with proceeds going directly to Georgetown Heritage. The bourbon can be ordered from this link and shipped or picked up from the Bourbon Concierge (open M-F 10-7, Saturday and Sunday 12-7) next to the Georgetown 4 Seasons.
