Spirit Cruises January 2023 Leaderboard

You Can Make Your Own Whiskey at This Virginia Beach Hotel

by The Drink Nation on Oct 15, 2018 in Liquor

If you've always wanted to make your own whiskey, you're in luck — a hotel in Virginia Beach is letting guests make their own barrels of whiskey, according to Forbes.

The Cavalier Hotel, which underwent three years and millions of dollars of renovations over the past few years, has finally reopened and has added an incredibly unique feature; specifically, an on-site distillery called Tarnished Truth. In fact, Tarnished Truth is the first ever distillery that is part of a hotel in the United States, and in partnership with distillery owners Andrew Yancey and Josh Canada, whiskey fanatics can choose the exact recipe for a barrel of either bourbon or rye whiskey, taste the blend they choose, and, best of all, return to the hotel throughout the years. For guests looking for less of a hands-on experience, the distillery also offers standard tours, tastings, and more.

The hotel itself originally opened in 1927 and is home to plenty of history: it's played host to ten U.S. presidents (and it's rumored that Richard Nixon burned crucial Watergate evidence in one of the building's fireplaces); it operated a speakeasy during Prohibition; and it has also been frequented by some of the country's most famous names, including Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. “The Cavalier Hotel has this iconic, Prohibition (image), and there are a lot of stories from that time period of Prohibition so it clicked in my head that the hotel would be the perfect spot for our distillery,” Yancey told Forbes.

If you love whiskey, history, or both, book a stay at the Cavalier, head to Virginia Beach, pick your barrel, and get to mixing.

Photo via The Cavalier Hotel on Facebook

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