Virginia Distillery Co

In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just south of Charlottesville along US-29, Virginia Distillery Co has built something American whiskey did not have a generation ago: a distillery devoted entirely to single malt, at real scale, run by the family of the man who dreamed it up. The company calls itself the most awarded single malt whisky distillery in America, and the trophy shelf backs the claim. At the 2023 London Spirits Competition it took both Distillery of the Year and Whisky of the Year, the latter for Courage & Conviction American Single Malt Whisky. For anyone tracking the rise of American Single Malt as a category, Lovingston, Virginia is one of the places where the argument gets settled in the glass.

History & Heritage

Dr. George G. Moore, an Irishman who came to the United States in the 1970s and built a successful business career, founded Virginia Distillery Co in 2011. He chose Lovingston, in Nelson County, and set out to make single malt whisky in the Blue Ridge. Moore died unexpectedly in 2013 while the distillery was still under construction, and his family chose to finish what he started. His wife Angela Moore serves as board chair, his son Gareth Moore as chief executive, and Gareth's wife Maggie Moore as chief experience officer. The late Dr. Jim Swan, one of the most respected consultants in whisky, assisted the project in its early years, and the distillery later dedicated a batch of its flagship whisky to his memory. Moore's favorite saying, have the courage of your convictions, became the name of that flagship.

The Whiskey

Virginia Distillery Co makes American Single Malt whisky on Scottish-crafted copper pot stills, maturing it in a Virginia climate whose seasonal swings push spirit in and out of the wood. The flagship Courage & Conviction line launched in 2020 and is built around three cask types: ex-bourbon barrels, Spanish sherry casks, and shaved, toasted, and re-charred red wine cuvee casks. The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library carries the marriage of all three as Courage & Conviction American Single Malt Whisky, alongside the single-cask-type expressions Courage & Conviction Bourbon Cask American Single Malt Whiskey, Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt, and Courage & Conviction Cuvee Cask American Single Malt Whiskey. The distillery also runs The Brewer's Coalition, a limited series finished in casks from American breweries. One release lands close to home for Kansas City: the Virginia Distillery Boulevard Brewing Co. Proper Pour Stout Cask Finish, aged over five years in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in stout casks from Boulevard Brewing Co. of Kansas City, drawn from just fifteen barrels.

Why It Matters

American Single Malt became a formally recognized category only recently, and Virginia Distillery Co is among the producers that made the case for it. Industry press has described it as the largest independently owned American Single Malt distillery in the country. The recognition has continued into the category's formal era: at the 2026 World Whiskies Awards, its Blue Ridge Toasted Barrel Finish was named Best American Single Malt in the no-age-statement category. The Courage & Conviction range lets a drinker taste the same Virginia-distilled malt through three different casks, which makes it one of the better side-by-side studies available anywhere. That is precisely the kind of comparison The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library exists to offer, and with 14 expressions on hand, including the Boulevard Brewing collaboration and the Virginia Distillery Blue Ridge Select Single Malt, those who appreciate good whiskey can walk the whole range in a single evening.

Visiting the Distillery

The visitors center at 299 Eades Lane in Lovingston, Virginia is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Guided tours run about an hour, offered Thursday through Sunday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and include a tasting for guests 21 and over. Walk-in tastings are also available, featuring straight whiskies and seasonal cocktails.