2007年VOA标准英语-America's First President Made Whiskey at Mount

By Zulima Palacio
Washington
13 September 2007
 

Today, at the George Washington distillery, finished wiskey drips into a bucket like it did 200 years ago

George Washington was not just a Revolutionary War general and the first president of the United States.  He was also a farmer, businessman and whiskey distiller.  For two years after his presidency¹ and until his death, Washington produced more than 41,000 liters of whiskey near his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.  That distillery recently was rebuilt and has resumed operation. Producer Zulima Palacio prepared the story, narrated² by Mil Arcega.

More 200 years after George Washington's death, the American hero's colonial-style distillery is back in business making his specialty³ -- rye whiskey.  The man in charge comes with his own pedigree.

Jimmy Russell is the master distiller for Wild Turkey Distillery in Kentucky, and he is making use of more than 50 years of experience to help rebuild Washington's operation the way it was in the late 1700s.

"This is our [copper] pot still, where you put in your fermented⁴ mash⁵ in the still and then you have wood fire underneath⁶ of it," explained Russell.  "The fire is heating up the fermented mash that forms vapor⁷.  The vapor is rising to the top, come in to the coils, and down into the barrel where the [cold] water is flowing in, to condense it back into a liquid.  And this is your finished whiskey coming out from the fermenting⁸ mash."

From the bucket of fresh whiskey, the liquor is moved to a barrel where the distillers plan to let it age for two years.  Back in Washington's day there was no waiting. Drinkers drank their whiskey fresh from the still. 

Steve Bashore

Steve Bashore manages the Mount Vernon Distillery and Gristmill. "Whiskey or spirits were consumed quite a bit back then," he explains. "A lot of estimates indicate that people probably drank three times more spirits than they do today.  One of the reasons for that was that water was often suspect.  Having good clean drinking water - you didn't always get it."

Bashore said Washington's whiskey recipe is 60 percent rye, 35 percent cornmeal and 5 percent malted barley⁹.  He produced whiskey only in the last two years of his life. "In 1799 at this site, Washington made almost 11,000 gallons [41,000 liters] of rye whiskey. That's a huge amount. The value of that whiskey was $7,500, and I believe the profit he made on it was about $1,500."

A few steps from the distillery is a mill, also re-built.  Washington also had a milling business and exported flour to Europe.  Today, some corn meal is sold at the tourist shop, together with souvenirs.  And two years from now, small bottles of whiskey will have a place on these shelves. 

Back in George Washington's times, this was the largest whiskey distillery in the country.     

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

4 fermented   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句

5 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

8 fermenting   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. 发酵的葡萄酒已经冒泡，溢了出来。 来自辞典例句
• It must be processed through methods like boiling, grinding or fermenting. 它必须通过煮沸、研磨、或者发酵等方法加工。 来自互联网

9 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。