Sipping the good stuff
| Courtesy photo |
John Frank came to Mount Vernon on Wednesday night and left $35,000 lighter.
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Frank, the vice chairman of New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Sidney Frank Importing Co., which imports Jägermeister and Tommy Bahama Rum, was the winning bidder on a rare bottle of George Washington’s Distillery Straight Rye Whiskey. The bottle of rye, made from Washington’s recipe, was No. 5 in a limited edition of 24 bottles from the first batch produced on the grounds of Washington’s distillery in more than 200 years.
Distilled in 2003 and bottled in 2006, Frank’s bottle was hand-signed by former president George H.W. Bush.
The event was the Distilled Spirits Council’s annual heritage dinner, which raises money for Mount Vernon’s educational programs. About 700 people, including 30 members of Congress and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, toasted and mingled on Washington’s back lawn and watched fireworks before making their way into a massive tent for dinner.
Speaking to the crowd, Gay Gaines, regent of the board of directors of Mount Vernon, raised a few eyebrows and may have made a few heartbeats skip when she characterized the night thusly: “Probably if the al Qaeda members saw what fun we’re having tonight, then something would happen.”
