Farmer-entrepreneur Chuck Miller is selling homemade whiskey from a shed outside the barn — entirely legally. According to an article in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Miller’s Belmont Farm Distillery became Virginia’s only licensed on-the-farm liquor store on July 1.
Miller had been selling his whiskey through state ABC stores. Now, thanks to a bill patroned by Del. Ed Scott, R-Culpeper, Miller now has an ABC license to sell either of two products–Virginia Lightning moonshine and Copper Fox whiskey at the gift shop in front of his distillery. Like Virginia’s wineries, his farm has become a destination — not only can tourists partake of the moonshine, they can see how it is made.
Ventures like Miller’s represent a model for Virginia agriculture — creating a boutique product, whether whiskey, wine, cheese or what have you — and packaging the farm as a destination for weekend tourists from nearby cities. Virginia can encourage this type of agriculture/tourism by making it easier for people like Miller to do business (assuming, of course, that they meet all food-safety requirements). After all, moonshining got its start in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains — Franklin County, Va., was a renowned hotbed of moonshiners. Maybe the next step is a state-sanctioned Moonshine Heritage Trail!
