George Washington honored as hoochmaker

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- While the Kennedy dynasty made money as rumrunners, the first U.S. president, George Washington made his own booze -- and will be honored for it.

When Washington left the presidency in 1797 and returned to his farm in Mount Vernon, Va., his plantation manager suggested he use excess land to grow rye for whiskey.

Washington agreed reluctantly, said Dennis Pogue, Mount Vernon's associate director. The whiskey sold so well that in October 1797 Washington had his slaves build a 75-by-30-foot distillery. Its five copper stills churned out about 4,000 gallons of rye whiskey the next year. In 1799, Washington did even better, selling nearly 11,000 gallons and earning about $7,500 -- an enormous sum in those days.

The Washington Post said the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States is now funding the $1.5 million reconstruction of Washington's 1797 Mount Vernon distillery, to be completed in 2006.

Historians note in Washington's day, Americans consumed more booze than at any time in history -- more than five gallons of distilled spirits per person per year, compared with today's figure of 1.8 gallons.