A. Smith Bowman Distillery

A. Smith Bowman Distillery has been quietly making some of Virginia's most decorated bourbon since 1934, all while running a production process unlike almost any other distillery in America: it buys someone else's whiskey, then makes it its own.

History & Heritage

Abram Smith Bowman and his sons, Abram Smith Jr. and DeLong, founded the distillery in 1934 on the family's 7,200-acre Sunset Hills Farm in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the immediate aftermath of Prohibition's repeal. The Bowman name became synonymous with Virginia Gentleman, the distillery's original bourbon brand and one of the state's longest-running whiskey labels. In 2003, the Sazerac Company acquired A. Smith Bowman Distillery, folding it into a portfolio that includes Buffalo Trace. The Fredericksburg property the distillery now calls home is regarded as Virginia's oldest continuously operating distillery site, and the Bowman family name still anchors every label the brand releases.

The Whiskey

A. Smith Bowman's production model sets it apart from nearly every other American distillery marketing itself as a craft or heritage producer: it does not mill, mash, or ferment any grain on-site. Instead, the distillery sources double-distilled new make whiskey from partner producers, widely believed to be sister company Buffalo Trace, and performs a third distillation in Fredericksburg on its own copper stills. Those stills have names: "Mary," a 2,000-gallon pot still dedicated to bourbon, and "George," a 500-gallon still used for gin and experimental spirits. The resulting bourbon ages in new charred oak barrels in the distillery's Virginia rickhouses. Isaac Bowman Port Finished Bourbon takes that further, resting in traditional American oak for roughly 4.5 to 5.5 years before a 3-to-6-month finish in port barrels sourced from Virginia wineries and Portugal. The core range built on this triple-distillation process includes Bowman Brothers Small Batch Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey, John J. Bowman Single Barrel Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Isaac Bowman Port Finished Bourbon, and the experimental Abraham Bowman limited releases, alongside Deep Run Virginia Vodka, Sunset Hills Virginia Gin, and George Bowman Colonial Era Dark Caribbean Rum.

Why It Matters

The results have been hard to argue with. Abraham Bowman Port-Finished Bourbon and John J. Bowman Single Barrel Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey each won World's Best Bourbon at the World Whiskies Awards, in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Bowman Brothers Small Batch Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey took Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. John J. Bowman Single Barrel Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey earned Gold at the 2022 International Wine & Spirits Competition and was named America's Best Non-Kentucky Single Barrel Bourbon at Whisky Magazine's American World Whiskies Awards in 2020. As recently as 2025, A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Batch #4 took top bourbon honors at the International Whisky Competition. The distillery was also named Distillery of the Year by the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association in 2019. For a producer that does not run its own mash bill, that record of blind-tasting wins says something about the value of a careful third distillation and disciplined barrel selection.

Visiting the Distillery

A. Smith Bowman offers complimentary guided tours departing hourly, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. The hour-long tour covers the distillery's history, a behind-the-scenes look at the process, a close-up view of stills Mary and George, a stop in the barrel aging warehouse, and tastings for guests 21 and older. Reservations are strongly recommended, and the gift shop stays open until 5 p.m. daily.