Angel’s Share
LOVINGSTON, VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2023
They say Virginia is for lovers, and after our first trip to the state to visit Charlottesville, we have to agree. It may be a cliché, but isn’t cliché the language of those newly in love?
Supper at the beautiful Virginia Distillery, nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was an amazing evening. We lucked out with a perfectly stunning day, weather-wise, and a wonderful group of guests to gather around the table. After a welcome cocktail and tasting room tour, we walked up the hill to a the barn full of barrels of aging whisky, where the table was set outside the open doors of the cask room. The entire area smelled like whiskey due to the legendary “angel’s share” of evaporated spirit hanging in the autumn air.
Chef Kelvino Rodriguez treated us to a fall feast featuring American Lamb and Libellula Olive Oil, each course paired with wines from Rodney Strong and Davis Bynum. As we toasted to the changing seasons, the setting sun set fire to the nearby ridge line, and we sat together to savor a last dram of whisky and one another’s company, enjoying both in equal measure.
WELCOME
We started the experience by the Distillery’s tasting room, where everyone was handed a Virginia Distillery Apple-achian Collins upon check in. As guest rotated through tasting room tours and settled in, we also sipped on Cuvee Cask Ol' Fashioneds while enjoying Chef Kelvino’s first bites.
A MENU BY KELVINO RODRIGUEZ
Chef Kelvino brought us a menu of Peruvian-accented seasonal delicacies cooked over open fire, from fresh grilled watermelon to a host of grilled meats; whole fish and chickens and beautiful American Lamb, all served with a selection of delicious sauces.
Our only regret from the night was that we couldn’t watch him work up close from the table — we had to set the grill far away from the barn full of highly flammable liquid!
MENU
WELCOME
Fried Smoked Trout Wonton spicy mustard
Chicken Skewer roasted rocoto salsa
Avocado Lollipops pickle carrot, cilantro, serrano pepper, tostada chip
Pan con Queso toasted brioche, cumquat marmalade, saint andre cheese
Cocktails
Virginia Distillery Apple-achian Collins
Virginia Distillery Cuvee Cask Ol' Fashioned
ON THE TABLE
Grilled Bread with Libellula Olive Oil bone marrow butter, herb garlic butter
Provoleta dried oregano, dried cherry tomatoes
FIRST
Hamachi Crudo orange segment, pickle serrano pepper, micro cilantro, lime zest, ponzu kiwi shoyu sauce
Wine: 2022 Rodney Strong Vineyards Rose of Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
SECOND
Grilled Watermelon Salad cucumber, heirloom cherry tomatoes, pickle shallots, panela cheese, mint, cilantro balsamic vinaigrette, grill shaved baguette
Wine: 2021 Davis Bynum River West Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
MAIN
Peruvian Charcoal Whole Chickens
Grilled Lamb Leg
Grilled Whole Branzino
Roasted Root Vegetables sweet potato, rutabaga, parsnips, rainbow carrots, brown butter & sage
Mushrooms & Spinach exotic mushrooms, caramelized shallots, Madeira cream sauce, Argentine parm
Sauces
chimol, lemon thyme cream, sweet spicy glaze, garlic aioli
Wine: 2021 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
DESSERT
Chocolate Tres Leches dulce de leche, berries
Cocktail: Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask Neat
WINE PAIRINGS
While wafting whisky vapors may have tempted some to simply enjoy another dram with dinner, we also offered some wonderful pairings from Rodney Strong Winery and Davis Bynum in Sonoma, California. With a similar focus on flavor of place, Rodney Strong enhanced the meal with thoughtfully selected wines to bring out the best in each course — strawberry-cream Rose of Pinot Noir with the citrusy-pickly-ponzu punch of hamachi crudo and the earthy-berry balance of 2021 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir to bring out the smoke and char of grilled meats and garlicky sauces in the main course.
NIGHTCAP
We finished things off with a rich chocolate tres leches cake dressed in dulce de leche. To round out the end of the experience, we enjoyed a neat pour of Virginia Distillery’s Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask aged whiskey, which makes up part of their flagship blend. It’s a rare opportunity to try a piece of the blend separate from the whole. It was a bit sweeter and fruitier than anything we have tried earlier in the nigh, and a perfect pairing with the decadent dessert.
SECRET LOCATION: VIRGINIA DISTILLERY
Virginia Distillery founder Dr. George G. Moore used to tell his friends and family, “have the courage of your convictions.” He did just that when he decided to start a whisky distillery in his adopted home of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Now, his wife, son, and daughter-in-law carry on his legacy, crafting award-winning American Single Malt whisky. It was a joy to tour the tasting room and wander through stacked barrels of aging spirits in the cask room, and absolutely wonderful to learn more about the history of whisky in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
