Founding Spirits Hits its Stride
Our new distillery, Founding Spirits, had quite the 2018. As yet another extension of our scratch-made, source-matters mission, Founding Spirits was created by our very own Distillery Director, Jon Arroyo, in partnership with Distillery Manager, Bob VanLancker.
Having wrapped up our first full year distilling spirits, we wanted to take the opportunity to distill all that we have accomplished. It is crystal clear that our award-winning team’s hard work is paying off and that Founding Spirits has hit its stride.
To date, Founding Spirits has won FIVE major industry awards: we won GOLD, BRONZE, and the BEST of 2018 from the American Distilling Institute; SILVER at 2018’s highly competitive San Francisco World Spirits Competition; and another SILVER from the 2018 International Review of Spirits by Tastings.
Our spirits were featured at the world-famous Tales of the Cocktail. We joined spirit specialists from around the world at the fourth annual Tiki by the Sea, training the Tiki cocktail craft. And our Founding Spirits Vodka was the sponsored spirit for one of the nation’s biggest tennis events, DC’s Citi Open.
The Founding Spirits team has also made its way across the busy DMV event circuit meeting, greeting, and serving our craft spirits in cocktails that can also be found at the bar in our restaurants, Founding Farmers, Farmers Fishers Bakers DC, and in-house at Founding Farmers & Distillers DC, where the distillery is located.
This year, we also began selling our spirits online so more people can enjoy our award-winning Founding Spirits.
We think the remarkable success of Founding Spirits in its first year is based in our company mission. Founding Spirits’ sustainable practices and source-conscious creations are woven into every facet of this custom-built, micro-batch distillery. Whether it’s the wheat for our award-winning Founding Spirits Vodka that arrives direct from American family farms in our FRG/farmer-owned 18-wheeler. Or the Virginia-grown corn, wheat, barley, and oats from the farm of our good friend and farmer, the late Billy Dawson, used in our Founding Spirits American Whiskey. Or the honey harvested through our apiary partnership with The George Washington University that brings the special sweetness to our latest, limited-edition Amaro. Careful sourcing, a connection to our farmers, and small-batch distilling are what makes our spirits special.
Come in and taste the craft spirits that our fans are enjoying, talking about, and awarding us for. Founding Spirits tours and tastings are available on Saturdays by reservation, where walk-ins are also accepted pending availability. Each tour accommodates up to eight guests and includes: six spirit tastings, a cocktail, and a few delicious bites.
Or stop by any of our restaurants for a taste of our Founding Spirits craft cocktails.
Founding Spirits can also be purchased at Founding Farmers & Distillers, through multiple local retailers, and ordered online.