Fans of whiskey, wine and mead have ample opportunities this year to indulge their passions thanks to city officials and event planners who want to highlight the region’s robust offerings of potent potables.
The Williamsburg Whiskey & Wine Weekend, which runs Friday through Sunday, will stage events across the city exploring different facets of various alcoholic concoctions. And throughout the year, 8 Shires Coloniale Distillery is celebrating its 10th anniversary with special events and the re-release of an exclusive label steeped in local history.
The weekend kicks off on Friday with a whiskey tasting hosted by Copper Fox Distillery at the Williamsburg Inn, the first of a three-part class about the history of whiskey, and a new mead release party at Silver Hand Meadery. Continuing until Sunday, the celebration includes more tastings, classes, live music and a walking tour of downtown historic sites associated with whiskey.
Individual events take place at 12 locations throughout the city. Some events require a ticket for entry (some are selling out), and others are free. Tickets and information are available online at williamsburgwhiskeywine.com.
The weekend is being produced by AVAdventure Productions, founded by William & Mary alumni Adam Stackhouse and Liz Sykes. In March 2023, the Williamsburg City Council voted to purchase services from AVAdventure Productions, which has already staged local events such as the Last Word Comedy Festival, in an effort to provide a year-round range of festivities.
The whiskey weekend is one of several gatherings the firm will put on, along with the CLUBWAKA Summer Games in July and a tabletop board game festival in September.
Stackhouse said there has been a lot of interest in the upcoming weekend events so far, thanks to Williamsburg’s thriving beverage scene.
“Williamsburg has great opportunities, when it comes to whiskey and wine, to create and highlight different events, such as tastings, classes and live music,” Stackhouse said. “There are a lot of diverse options.”
Once the weekend concludes, spirits aficionados will be able to continue their appreciation for drink with 8 Shires Coloniale Distillery’s yearlong anniversary celebration. The commemoration officially begins on July 4 and continues through July 2025.
The distillery, located on Merrimac Trail, uses colonial-era recipes and techniques in its modern distilling, providing products that have different attributes than spirits made more conventionally.
“People are fascinated with recipes, methods and ingredients we use,” 8 Shires general manager Tucker Casanova said. “Even before we got into our production, we spent a lot of time in our research phase.”
Throughout the year, 8 Shires will be hosting events designed not only to share an appreciation for historic spirits, but also to educate the public about the history of strong drinks in the region and build networks with other local history-based institutions, according to Casanova.
Chief among the celebration’s events, according to Casanova, is 8 Shires’ re-release of Jamestowne 1608 Single Malt. The whiskey, which originally had a limited release in 2020, was made using historical methods and ingredients.
The distillery partnered with Historic Jamestowne, which is conducting archaeological excavations on the site of James Fort. Among the artifacts that archaeologists found when excavating the fort’s well were parts of a glass still.
The distillery had glassmaker Corning Inc. recreate the still and used water taken from the location of the fort’s well. The distinctive process produced a spirit that was accurate to the 17th century and was remarkably smooth, Casanova said.
“It’s one of the rarest single malts out there, and it tastes pretty good, too,” he said.
Ben Swenson, ben.swenson05@gmail.com
