A. Smith Bowman Distillery Officially Opens Visitor Center and Tourism Operation

FREDERICKSBURG, Va., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A. Smith Bowman Distillery announces today the grand opening of its Visitor Center and tourism operation. The Visitor Center is a multi-purpose room containing an area for branded merchandise, a tasting bar, plus historical artifacts which are incorporated in the tours.   

Visitors taking the guided tour will learn about the history of the Bowman family, which dates back to this country's formative years, while they explore the A. Smith Bowman museum.  A highlight of the tour is a visit to "Mary," the unique copper still which is named after Mary Hite Bowman, the mother of the pioneering Bowman Brothers. After meeting "Mary," visitors are taken to the barrel aging warehouse where they can catch delicious whiffs from the bourbon barrels, ranging in age from the newly filled up to 18 years.

The tour will end in the gift shop, where visitors will have the opportunity to taste some of the bourbons in the Bowman portfolio, as well as browse through the branded merchandise. A collection of signed bottles by Master Distiller Truman Cox are also available for purchase. Tours are complimentary and run Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and by appointment at 540-373-4555. 

The Visitor Center opening completes the first phase of tourism expansion for the A. Smith Bowman Distillery.  Future portions of the phased project will include a hand bottling production area, a new distillation center which will include fermenters, and eventually meeting spaces available for corporate and leisure rentals.  The expansion project will take place in phases over a number of years.

A. Smith Bowman Distillery is located at One Bowman Drive, in Fredericksburg, VA in Spotsylvania County.  Driving directions from Washington DC can be found online at www. http://www.asmithbowman.com.

About A. Smith Bowman

A. Smith Bowman's distilling roots date back to the years before Prohibition. In 1935, after the Repeal of Prohibition, Abram Smith Bowman and his sons continued the family tradition of the distillation of bourbon. The original Distillery was located on the Bowman family homestead in Fairfax County, Virginia called Sunset Hills Farm.  In response to the rapid growth of Northern Virginia, the Distillery was moved in 1988 and is now nestled in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.

As a small and privately owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today's standards, A. Smith Bowman produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits distilled from only the finest natural ingredients and using the latest technology. This micro-distillery focuses on the production of premium spirits honoring the legacy of Virginia's first settlers. For more information on A. Smith Bowman, please visit www.asmithbowman.com.

SOURCE A. Smith Bowman Distillery