In the News – Progress Index Article – March 10th 2019

Local distillery hosts inaugural music jam

Dave Reavis pouring cocktails at the Speakeasy

Check out the article from the Petersburg VA Progress Index from March 10th, 2010 By Kristi Higgins

“SUSSEX COUNTY — Three Brothers’ Distillery, located in the backwoods of Disputanta, celebrated their second anniversary on Saturday by hosting the business’ inaugural music jam.

The jam was open to anyone who wanted to share their talent.

“The Speakeasy at the Distillery Jam is open for all players of all instruments of all skill levels,” explained one of the distillery owners, David Reavis. “Musicians who wish to come play are welcome to bring their instrument and a chair, if they choose to sit down. There are some songs where everyone can play along, and we let those who want to get up and lead a song or showcase a new tune take turns at the mic.”

Click on the link to keep reading

Progress Index March 10th Article

Drink of the Day – Cooperstown Cocktail

There are few things more American than Baseball and Whiskey. In January 29, 1936, the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects its first members in Cooperstown, New York: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson.

The Spalding Commission, a board formed in 1905 created by sporting goods magnate and former player A.G. Spalding to establish the genesis of baseball and prove whether the sport originated in the United States or was a variation of rounders, a game played in Britain. The commission formally announced their conclusion that the story from the April 4, 1905 edition of the Akron Beacon Journal newspaper where a Union mining engineer Abner Graves claimed that he had seen Abner Doubleday, a decorated Union Army officer who directed the first shot at Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War and later served at the Battle of Gettysburg create a diagram of a baseball field, and had invented baseball in 1839 in Cooperstown.

Three decades later, Cooperstown philanthropist Stephen C. Clark – seeking a way to celebrate and protect the National Pastime as well as an economic engine for Cooperstown – asked National League president Ford C. Frick if he would support the establishment of a Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown based on the Spalding Commission’s conclusion.

the Baseball Writers’ Association of America chose the five greatest superstars of the game as the first class to be inducted: This first class of Greats included Ty Cobb, the most productive hitter in history; Babe Ruth known both for being an ace pitcher and the greatest home-run hitter to play the game; Honus Wagner a versatile star shortstop and batting champion; Christy Matthewson, the National League pitcher  who had more wins than any other NL pitcher in history; and pitcher Walter Johnson who is still considered as one of the most powerful pitchers to ever have taken the mound.

Three years later, in 1939, the Hall of Fame building officially opened in Cooperstown as all of baseball paused to honor what was called “Baseball’s Centennial” and as the first four Hall of Fame classes were inducted. Time Magazine wrote about the event stating: “The world will little note nor long remember what (Doubleday) did at Gettysburg, but it can never forget what he did at Cooperstown.”

In the years since the founding of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Doubleday Myth has been refuted. Doubleday himself was a first year plebe at West Point in 1839. Yet The Myth has become strong enough that the facts alone do not deter the spirit of Cooperstown or the recognition that the first class of Baseball Heroes deserves for what they brought to the game.

In Celebration of Cooperstown and those giants of the game that are memorialized in its halls today’s drink of the day is the Cooperstown Cocktail

The Cooperstown Cocktail:

1.75 oz Silk Jacket Gin
.75 oz of Vermouth
.75 oz of Dry Vermouth
a few dashes of orange bitters

Combine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass.

In the News – Progress Index Article – Jan 23rd 2019

Check out the article from the Petersburg VA Progressive Index from Aug 13, 2017 By Kristi Higgins

https://www.progress-index.com/opinion/20190123/moonshiners-whiskey-business-filmed-in-backwoods-of-disputanta

My editor, Pat Sharpf, checked with me to see if I was available to cover an event. I, originally, had set that day aside for “me” time, however, being the team player that I am … responded, yes. After Pat shared the details with me, I was glad I didn’t choose cocoon-mode, instead!

Dino Lunsford informed us that the Three Brothers’ Distillery located in Disputanta was going to be on a “reality” hit on the Discovery Channel. Lunsford, owner of DF Lunsford Construction and Old Towne’s Alibi in Petersburg, received a call from a TV producer, last November. Lunsford thought it was bogus and hung up. The producer, Gary Folsom, finally convinced Lunsford to meet with him at Three Bros. to discuss hiring him for a renovation project. Lunsford while laughing, shared, “I still didn’t believe it until I actually walked into Three Bros. and saw, Tim Smith, the star of ‘Moonshiners’.”

According to Tim Smith, ‘Moonshiners: Whiskey Business’ is a spin-off of ‘Moonshiners’ which is in its eighth season and has over two million viewers. Three Bros. is owned by three Reavis brothers, David, Mike and William. David shared, “I called Tim Smith and asked him if he could give us a hand, and he said, yes.”

Co-Executive Producer and Director, Ron Cornwall, explained, ‘Moonshiners: Whiskey Business’ on Discovery is expected to air in April … maybe a little later … but, in the spring. It’s a show starring Tim Smith where he goes to ‘troubling and just up and coming’ distilleries and helps them get on their way … find their path back to the woods and the roots to distilling.”

Lunsford said, “Their designer provided me with a vague rendering for a “speakeasy-themed” tasting room. We kind of just figured it out and ran with it creatively and completed the renovation in the required seven days.”

When I reached out to Lunsford for the deets, I commented to him, “I should dress in Roaring ’20s attire.” Lunsford thought it was a Great Gatsby idea. So, with my morals in check, I arrived wearing a vintage, beaded flapper dress, hat adorned with feathers, long pearl necklaces and a mink coat.

A crowd of sixty friends and family members were invited to attend the Tasting Room Reveal. Guests were required to sign waivers granting authorization for them to appear in the show. Each guest received a wristband along with a certificate for a signature drink, The Aft Kicker: Three Brothers’ Gin, honey syrup and apple juice with a powdered honey-rimmed glass. Navy veteran since 1990, David Reavis, informed me, “Aft is the rear of the boat and a nod to the ship.”

While camera crews and guests were anxiously waiting for the big event, I flapped my way into the tasting room. I’m not at liberty to speak about the speakeasy interior design, so I will get right to my bold moment of introducing myself to the fourth-generation bootlegger donned in denim overalls, Tim Smith. I, almost, didn’t recognize him, since he was wearing a shirt. The, now, “legal” moonshiner is a down-to-earth, nice guy.

The first thing Smith shared with me was an image saved on his phone: “Inventing is a combination of brains and materials. The more brains you use, the less materials you need.” – said by Charles Keating … practiced by Tim Smith.

Smith explained the concept of ‘Whiskey Business’, “It’s kind of like a rehab. We came in and rebuilt it … restoration. It’s like a bar rescue … distillery rescue, because he was like on his last leg. He was losing business. Doesn’t know where he’s at. He’s upside down. Marketing is a problem. We come in and amp things up a bit. We put a fresh face on everything.”

Smith introduced me to his team members: Tim Jones from Lexington, Kentucky and Devin Mills from Denver, Colorado. I asked Mills what he thought of Three Bros.′ craft. He responded, “I really like it. Compound gins are not that common. So, it’s always nice to see craft distilleries that are trying to do something outside of the norm. Not doing the same thing that the big boys are doing. They do a good job so why try to duplicate it or beat it. Doing something that’s a little bit different is a great way to stand out. And, Three Bros. has done a great job of doing that.”

According to Smith, there will be four episodes this season; two in Virginia and two in North Carolina. Smith suggested to me, “You ought to get yourself a wrist band so you can be in it. You’re all dressed up.” At that moment, I heard some commotion outside, so I high-heeled it across the floor and opened the front door. I almost knocked David over. With cameras and guests in place, they were seconds away from filming the reveal!

David Reavis proudly opened the door and said: “Hey everybody! Welcome to the new Three Brothers’ Distillery Tasting Room and Speakeasy. You need a password. The password is Shellback. Come on in and let’s have a drink!” After the crowd roared with cheers and applause, they piled inside. According to David, shellback is a term for sailors who have crossed the equator at sea.

The room buzzed with excitement while David along with distillers, Chip Buzard and Chris Hewitt, served Aft Kickers. Smith, Mills and Jones chatted with the guests and happily answered questions about the renovations and ‘Moonshiners: Whiskey Business’.

Owner, Mike Reavis shared, “This is the kind of bar you just want to hang out at. It’s very exciting! It’s been a bootstrap since the very beginning. This is going to propel us so far, and we need it so bad. It’s a tough business. This is phenomenal! Like the Discovery Channel says; this thing is way down a dirt road. You come down here and it’s a little hidden bar down in the woods. That’s what it feels like. It’s fun.”

David takes a break from sharing his craft to express his gratitude, “I will say we’re blessed to be here, today.” Many guests said, “Amen and Hallelujah!” Another, teasingly said, “There’s no crying in gin-making.”

With raw emotion in his eyes David continued, “Seriously, I want to thank everyone for being here. And, my brothers William and Mike. Today, we’re here to really celebrate … I think the distillery.”

After an emotional pause, David thanked everyone who donated their time, talents and/or money. Wearing his heart on his sleeve he added, “It means the world to me and thank you all for being here. And, thank you for helping me realize this dream.” The crowd erupted into more amens!

David asked the crowd to give Tim Smith a round of applause and invited him to say a few words. Tim stepped behind the bar and quipped, “Do I get like an award or something?” Guests burst into laughter and one rambunctious guest yelled, “You’re drinking it!”

Smith shared, “A small chat out back. That’s how it all got started. David told me it was his dream. Like I did. I had a vision … a dream … one time. And, I shed some tears, too. I know how it is. And, I could see in his heart where he wanted to go. He told me stories about his mom, about being in the Navy and about starting the distillery.

“And, David told me about the other two guys: Chip and Chris. These two guys volunteered to help him with his vision and dream. And, you know … that’s a lot. And, that’s what happens, though. When you have good friends like your military buddies, they stick with you for life and they wish you well. And, I think these two guys here (referring to Chip and Chris), well, I hate to tell you … but, I think they’re going to stick with you for life.”

Smith expressed, “I can’t do it without these guys right here: Tim Jones and Devin Mills. They have a vision. They’re out there. And, that’s what it takes, sometimes. You know, I have a little vision myself, and I pull on Tim over here and Devin. They are outside of the box and experts in their area, which you can see (motions around the room). The engineering, the labeling, the advertising, the marketing; my whole crew put this all together.

“Now, you have a place you can come. You can tell other people about it and how much they need to see it.

“And, I think this is just the beginning. David’s got a little taste of it. He’s got a taste of what he can do. He’s got confidence in what he can do. When I first met this guy, not too long ago, he didn’t have the confidence he has right now. But, right now he has great confidence, and he’s taking off. He knows he can go. It’s kind of like kicking the bird out of the nest. I think he can fly. But, it’s been great working with these guys. And, I wish them the best.”

After the applause wound down, David directed guests to the old tasting room to enjoy barbecue prepared by fellow neighbor Byron Bauer and his son, and sides prepared by Donna Degroat, the owner of The 460 Café & Farmers Market which is located in Ivor.

Out of the wild, blue sea, David’s Navy buddies belted out singing the sacred “Submariner’s Song”!

Tim Smith, being the gentleman that he is, insisted on me budging in line ahead of him. The least the butterfly could do was scoop baked beans, coleslaw and greens on his tray. But, when it came to the pork, he served himself. You just don’t come between a man and his meat!

After dinner, I thanked David for sharing the experience with The Progress-Index. He commented, “This has been fantabulous! I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to have been on this television show. The biggest struggle with this craft distillery, especially being here in Sussex County, is just getting the word out that we’re back here. And, getting people to know about us, getting local restaurants to support us and just getting the community behind us. This show I think has been really positive in getting some really good positive community involvement. The people that are here are vested. And, we’re definitely getting a much better reception to the bottles and the product. It’s been awesome. I’m so blessed to have had this opportunity. I can’t say enough.

“The next piece is building a deck off of the back. The sunsets, here, are fabulous! I would love to have reoccurring music jams. We’re always looking for people that are looking for a place to meet. Another idea I have is “Cocktails and Crafts”. Sharing with other people what we love, and, they share what they love with us; that’s what this place is all about.”

I asked Cornwall how he felt the Reveal played out. Cornwall provided, “Awesome! I think we go into all these projects hoping we’ve helped. We came here and gave a little boost. I think, if you look around and see what everyone has done, our team: Star, Tim Smith, Distillery Engineer, Devin Mills and Marketing and Branding expert, Tim Jones; they’ve really picked up where Dave started and they moved it in a world-class direction.”

Cornwall added, “We’re happy to be here in Virginia. Home of moonshiners and whiskey. The thing that’s so important to America is … Virginia is where it comes from … it’s important that we’re here.”

The distillery and the new tasting room are open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a Sunday-Friday visit, call (757) 204-1357. Visit www.threebrotherswhiskey.com for more information.

Kristi K. Higgins, also known as “The Social Butterfly”, recently joined the Progress-Index newsroom staff. Kristi, who writes about her experiences at various community events, will be contributing her insights and perspective, as well as sharing stories of human interest, for Progress-Index customers. She can be reached at khiggins@progress-index.com or 804-722-5162.

Sussex distillery owner calls ‘Moonshiners’ makeover ‘million-dollar opportunity’

Featured on WTVR CBS 6 Richmond, VA, by WAYNE COVIL AND WEB STAFF

SUSSEX COUNTY, Va. — The owner of Three Brothers’ Distillery in rural Sussex County calls a makeover from a Discovery Channel reality show a potential “million-dollar opportunity” for his “struggling” business.

With the click of ice cubes falling into a low ball glass on Friday, the scene wrapped up for the production company shooting an episode of the popular “Moonshiners Whiskey Business” series.

Click Here to Read More

Steel-to-Table Event

Mark your calendars for December 5th.

Triangle Restaurant, located at 601 Prince George Street, Williamsburg, is holding a Steel-toTable event with Three Brothers Distillery on December 5, 2017. What’s a Steel-to-Table event? Food, drinks, and fun. The restaurant will create a special food menu designed to pair up with a cocktail menu created with products from Three Brothers Distillery – Kablam Corn Whiskey and Silk Jacket Gin.

Details to follow.

Cheers!

Richard Bland College Pecan Festival

We, at Three Brothers Distillery, would like to take a moment to thank all of the gracious event hosts and workers at the Richard Bland College Pecan Festival that took place on October 28th. Sorry it got rained out for the 29th. Lots of crafters, great food, and fun. Here, you can see our tent set-up, most of our ingredients for the gin, and then a familiar cartoon costume made for the bulldog. Right after I snapped the picture, the dog got tired of wearing the mask and pawed it off. There were dogs everywhere.

The Smooth Criminal from Belle & James

I recently called on Micheal Truxton and the gang at Belle & James in Richmond. He introduced me to a new world of savory cocktails.

BTW – the “I” in this post is Chandler Turner, the marketing director of Three Brothers Distillery.

There were four bartenders there, ready to work at the time, and a fifth off duty just relaxing and having a cocktail. All of them loved the Silk Jacket Gin. They liked Kablam un-aged corn whiskey, but were not sure how they were going to use it. Then one of the guys spoke up and said “Hey, why don’t we try the Smooth Criminal with the Kablam instead of bourbon?” I can tell you for sure that I love both bourbon brands that they had been using.

Mike made me the most unusual cocktail I have ever seen or tasted. As he was telling me what he was putting in it, I was thinking “No way” am I going to like this. He started by muddling a couple of basil leaves. Okay, I get that. Then he added balsamic vinegar and black garlic. Really! I cook with these ingredients. He mixed the concoction very well in a shaker, then poured the “coffee-looking” liquid into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. He topped it off with their house-made ginger beer and added a sprig of basil for looks and scent.

I tasted it, and then all five bartenders tasted it. The comments: “We’re changing the formula right now. This is a better cocktail! You can really taste the corn flavor of the product.”

Welcome to the Smooth Criminal. A friend of mine called it an Italian Whiskey Sour.

White Whiskies – What Are They? 

The difference that caught the eye and palate of one of the bartenders was the smoothness of Kablam Un-Aged Corn Whiskey, a new white whiskey. There is a new push in the market for white whiskies from some of the largest bourbon distillers in the country. Who can blame them. White whiskies, are in large part “bourbon-in-waiting”; they are made from bourbon mash-bills but have not been aged. What difference does it make? Consider the cost of aging barrels, the room to store them, and the time it takes for the products to mature. White whiskies, on the other hand, come off of the still and head straight for the bottle – no waiting.

The Kablam Difference

What makes Kablam different? At Three Brothers Distillery we carefully control the quality by not running the still too long and pulling off drinkable, but extremely poor-tasting product. It is a bit more expensive to produce, but it makes for a smooth flavor with a huge “corn” nose (scent).

Royal Navy Contributions – The Gimlet

The Royal Navy gave us Naval Strength Gin through requiring all alcohol stored on board Naval vessels be stored at 57% alcohol or greater. They are also responsible for the Gimlet.

James Lind, a Scottish surgeon discovered in 1747 that eating citrus fruits helped to prevent scurvy and in 1867, British Parliament passed the Merchant Shipping act making it mandatory for all British ships to carry rations of lime juice for the crew.

Some people credit Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette as the namesake of the Gimlet. Acting as a doctor to sailors, he administered gin with lime in order to mask the bitter taste of the limes. Others cite that Lauchlin Rose, a Scottish shipyard owner and patent owner for the process to preserve fruit juice without alcohol created a product known as “Rose’s Lime Cordial”  and sold it to the Royal Navy. Another credible is the story  that the concoction was named after the hand tool used to bore into barrels of spirits on Navy ships – a gimlet.

Regardless of which story you want to believe, the drink is worth your time.
Silk Gimlet

1 1/2 oz of Silk Jacket Naval Strength Gin

Juice from ½ of a medium lime

1-2 teaspoons of Agave Syrup

 

Mix in a rock glass, add ice and serve.

In the News – Progressive Index Article – Aug 13 2017

Check out the article from the Petersburg VA Progressive Index from Aug 13, 2017 

http://www.progress-index.com/news/20170813/new-craft-distillery-aims-to-fuel-economic-growth-in-sussex

Three Brothers to roll out second product line – corn whiskey – next weekend

DISPUTANTA — Driving down the mile-long unpaved driveway off County Line Road, across wide fields thick with soybean plants and through vales of shaded woodland, you cross the unmarked county line from Prince George into Sussex and seem almost to enter another era.

It’s easy to imagine that someone might have chosen this secluded place to set up an illegal still long ago, but Three Brothers Distillery is perfectly legal, and what owner David Reavis is making here is nothing like moonshine.

“I wanted to make something different,” said Reavis, a North Carolina native and Navy veteran whose full-time job is teaching performance management and process improvement for the U.S. Army.

An experienced beermaker, Reavis spent more than three years researching the distillation of spirits, travelling around the country and studying the distilling industry and its history, in preparation for opening Three Brothers. “My goal is to bring back those awesome traditional big flavors” from the era before Prohibition, he said.

A Navy friend invited Reavis to locate his craft distillery on the Sussex site, where his friend was planning to open an agritourism destination farm. That part of the plan is on hold for now, as his friend has been called back to active duty. But Reavis went forward setting up the distillery with the help of his two brothers and their friends.

In April, Three Brothers released its first product, Silk Jacket Naval Strength Compound Gin, and there’s no doubt that it is different. The bottle and label, like the gin, hark back to the period of the Roaring ’20s and the Great Gatsby, when Americans first adopted the cocktail and the sophistication of the cocktail party.

But Silk Jacket’s history goes back even further, to the days when the British Navy issued daily rations of alcohol to sailors – rum for the enlisted ranks and gin for the officers. According to Reavis’ research, the officers wanted to lock up their gin in their ships’ gunpowder lockers to keep it from being stolen, but the Admiralty worried that the liquor might leak and dampen the gunpowder, making it useless. So they ordered that any liquor stored in the powder locker had to have a high enough alcohol content to be combustible – a minimum of 57 percent, or 114 proof. And that’s what Silk Jacket delivers, in contrast to most mass-production gins, which are only 80 proof.

It also looks and tastes very different from standard gin. The color is amber, not clear, and the flavor is rich with Reavis’ proprietary blend of botanical ingredients, starting with juniper – which is what makes gin gin – but including others that give the product the “big flavor” Reavis is looking for.

Next Saturday, Three Brothers will introduce its next product, Kablam Unaged Corn Whiskey. And later on, when it’s had enough time to age, they will roll out George Aged Rye Whiskey, named in honor of George Washington, who operated a distillery himself at Mount Vernon.

All of Three Brothers’ products are made from locally sourced corn and other grains, something Reavis is just as passionate about as the liquor itself and which has earned the distillery the “Virginia’s Finest” designation. “We’re able to provide a secondary market for the local growers,” he noted, adding that he hopes eventually to set up a grain mill and make flour on the property. Meanwhile, he’s providing his used corn mash to local farmers for use as hog feed.

And once word of the distillery gets out, Reavis hopes it will help draw visitors down U.S. Route 460 to the Disputanta-Waverly area, where they could also increase business for the antique shops and restaurants. “We’re all about helping develop Sussex County,” he said. “We’re looking to support other things, to collaborate to draw a bigger crowd. It’s all about creating a community of mutual support.”

Three Brothers Distillery’s products, including both its liquors and non-alcoholic items such as ball caps and drinking glasses with the company logo, are available for sale at the distillery, and the liquors can be ordered through Virginia ABC stores. The distillery and its tasting room are open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays by appointment.

To schedule a visit, call (757) 204-1357. For more information, including driving directions, visit www.threebrotherswhiskey.com

• Michael Buettner may be reached at mbuettner@progress-index.com or 722-5155.

Virginia’s Finest Gin Cocktails

Silk Jacket Gin has earned the label of one of Virginia’s Finest products. There are new cocktails to go with that designation. We have begun to experiment with lots of mixes. Frankly, most of our early users tell us that they prefer drinking it over ice without adding mixed ingredients. Some add a little water. That’s pretty natural for a 114 proof product. Adding a little water reduces the alcohol burn and opens your taste buds up to the full flavor profile, just like master distillers recommend for fin Scotch and bourbon.

Silk Jacket Gin does well with citrus flavors and others; orange juice, pineapple juice, apple juice, to name a few. Its herbaceous flavor profile is wonderful.

This is a gin in the traditional sense in that we use juniper. But some of the similarities stop there. This is NOT your usual gin. Many of our early adopters are telling us that this is absolutely not what they expected. We understand. It isn’t supposed to be like any other gin on the market.

Want a sample? Come visit us at the distillery or go to your local Virginia ABC store and ask them to order you a bottle. They will special order it, using ABC number 32329.

Check out the cocktail corner page for a few ideas.

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