In the News Archives - A. Smith Bowman Distillery

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The Distillery
Spirits
- Cocktail Recipes
Where to Buy
News & Events
- Event Rental
Shop

A. Smith Bowman Distillery Highly Commended for Brand Innovator of the Year by Whisky Magazine

A. SMITH BOWMAN DISTILLERY HIGHLY COMMENDED FOR BRAND [...]

A. Smith Bowman Distillery2022-04-13T11:19:32-04:00March 21st, 2022|In the News|Comments Off on A. Smith Bowman Distillery Highly Commended for Brand Innovator of the Year by Whisky Magazine

Dad’s Drinking Bourbon Podcast Features A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Master Distiller, Brian Prewitt

Dad’s Drinking Bourbon Podcast Features A. Smith Bowman [...]

A. Smith Bowman Distillery2022-04-13T11:21:42-04:00February 23rd, 2022|In the News|Comments Off on Dad’s Drinking Bourbon Podcast Features A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Master Distiller, Brian Prewitt

A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Brian Prewitt Appointed to the Virginia Spirits Board by Gov. Ralph Northam

A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Brian Prewitt Appointed to [...]

A. Smith Bowman Distillery2022-04-13T11:33:47-04:00September 24th, 2020|In the News|Comments Off on A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Brian Prewitt Appointed to the Virginia Spirits Board by Gov. Ralph Northam

Master Distiller Brian Prewitt is Interviewed by WRVA’s Jeff Katz

Master Distiller Brian Prewitt is Interviewed by WRVA's [...]

A. Smith Bowman Distillery2022-04-13T11:34:25-04:00July 7th, 2020|In the News|Comments Off on Master Distiller Brian Prewitt is Interviewed by WRVA’s Jeff Katz

Whisky Magazine Names John J. Bowman America’s Best Non-Kentucky Single Barrel Bourbon

Whisky Magazine Names John J. Bowman America's Best [...]

A. Smith Bowman Distillery2022-04-13T11:34:57-04:00February 21st, 2020|Awards, In the News|Comments Off on Whisky Magazine Names John J. Bowman America’s Best Non-Kentucky Single Barrel Bourbon

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HOLLI MAKIN
Tour Guide

Holli joins the team at A. Smith Bowman Distillery as a tour guide. She previously worked as a health coach for several years because she loved people! We are excited to welcome Holli to the team!

AUSTIN EARLEY-QUAST
Machine Operator

Austin lives by the philosophy that “it’s always a good day when you’re learning something new.” He brings that same spirit of wanting to learn when bottling and quality checking our spirits. Wherever help is needed around the Distillery, you can find him there.

DAVID BOCK
Distiller

Though he’s the newly named Distiller for A. Smith Bowman, David is no stranger to the industry. Coming to us from New Orleans, David was one of the three founding members of NOLA Distilling and was the Distillery Operations Manager at Sazerac House. In his new role, David will oversee all Distillery operations including keeping a close eye on our award-winning spirits.

CHANTAY RICHARDSON
Operations Coordinator

When she’s not spending time with family or enjoying hobbies like reading, volunteering, and traveling with friends, Chantay handles administrative work for our Distillery. She’s dedicated to growing in her role and learning the ins and outs of the business.

ELIZABETH BRUMMETT
Operations Supervisor

Elizabeth entered this industry with high spirits first as a laboratory technician, later promoted to Craft and Processing Supervisor for Buffalo Trace Distillery. Now as our Operations Supervisor she provides oversight of distillery operations.

BOTTLING

Our spirits are proudly bottled by Virginians, all in-house. Our bottling line can comfortably accommodate six people, but we typically operate it with merely half of that. It’s crazy to imagine that a passionate distillery team of just six folks can successfully supply bourbon across the U.S., isn’t it?

MATURING

The third step in our distilling process is maturation. Depending on the product, it can mature for many years. Lucky us, we get to take the first sips and decide when each barrel is ready to be bottled! From the very beginning days up until now, our attention to detail shows up in every tasty sip as we stay true to our traditional founding fathers and make our product the right way.

DISTILLING

Next, the wash is distilled. We’ve named our two stills George and Mary, paying homage to the mother and father of the Bowman brothers. Mary is our oldest still, while George is our newest 500-gallon hybrid pot. Once in the stills, the wash is heated and the vapor is condensed and collected as a liquid. This is known as “white dog.” Fun fact: Our bourbons are typically triple distilled.

FERMENTATION

The first step in the distilling process is fermentation. For this process, we grind NON-GMO corn and cook it to draw out the natural sugar. Then we add our proprietary yeast strains, which convert the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide within a few days time. At this stage, the liquid is called “wash.”

CARRIE BROWNING
Visitor Experience Team Lead

Carrie is originally from Oklahoma, and she has lived in Greece, Hawaii, New York, South Korea, and Virginia. A mother of four, Carrie likes to keep moving and enjoys learning about history, which suits her well for leading tours at the Distillery.

DAVID SWEET
Tour Guide

After 20 years as a Corporate Manager with Lowe’s, David is now enjoying his retirement by giving highly enjoyable and informative tours. With a deep love of learning, he shares his passion for spirits with everyone he meets.

JUSTIN DAVIDSON
Maintenance Technician

Justin works diligently bottling and quality checking our spirits. When not at the bottling line, you will see Justin helping out with barreling and organizing the warehouse.

NEIL CLARK
Machine Operator

Since joining our team, Neil has quickly become a jack-of-all-trades. He operates everything from the grist mills to the stills and barrel dumping to the bottling line.

JIMMY BOOKER
Machine Operator

As a 30+ year distillery veteran, Jimmy has a wealth of knowledge that he loves to share. Always with a smile on his face, Jimmy operates all equipment during distillation, barrel dumping and processing.

DEBBIE STEVENS
Gift Shop & Operations Admin

Over her 30+ years with A. Smith Bowman Distillery, Debbie has taken on various roles including Bottling Line Worker, Krones Labeler Operator, and Bottling Line Foreman. Today, she puts her experience to work managing production compliance, shipping and receiving, and gift shop operations.

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