June 19, 2026
This bottle holds a true Virginia rum, meticulously blended from some of the oldest craft rum barrels in the commonwealth. The rums used to create this historic spirit include:
With an average age of 7.5 years, this distinguished rum showcases the depth and character of Virginia distilling. Bottled at 105 proof, it can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks or in a spirit-forward cocktail such as a Rum Old Fashioned or Manhattan.
To celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, the Virginia Spirits team set out to create something fitting for the occasion. Something that honored our nation’s founding and history while paying homage to the place where it all started: right here in Virginia.
We spent a lot of time brainstorming how to mark a once-in-250-years moment. As we thought about what Virginia Spirits means today, what it meant in 1776 and what it might mean in 250 more years, a few themes emerged. We wanted to work with distillers from all areas of Virginia – the mountains, the heartland and the coast – and to pair those regions with spirits that have historical significance in the grand scheme of Virginia’s growth as a craft spirits producer.
Nearly two years later, we present: The Virginia Spirits 250th Celebration Trio Pack.
Because long before whiskey emerged as America’s native spirit, rum was king …because of the King.
Before the American Revolution, rum was abundant in the colonies thanks to the King’s trade relationships in the Caribbean. Proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and lower James River allowed Caribbean imports of rum, sugar cane and molasses to flow freely through the New World.
Rum was everywhere, and it was more than just a drink. Like gin, people believed rum had healing properties and medicinal uses. Ships embraced rum as a safer alternative to water as it didn’t spoil as easily. By the mid-1700s, rum mixed with water, lime juice and sugar, known as “grog,” was the standard for daily rations aboard ships.
The colonists drank a lot of rum, and they made a lot, too. Molasses, a waste byproduct of sugarcane, was cheap and easy to import from the Caribbean, and rum distilleries were plentiful as early as the 1660s. While rum soon would give way to whiskey following the Revolution and the tariffs that came with it, rum distillation was firmly engrained in the American way of life.
Today, Virginia is home to some of the finest rum makers in the country. They’ve come together to make something particularly special.
In short, it was made to honor Virginia’s rich historic and industrial ties to rum while showcasing the innovation that has taken place in the commonwealth over the past 250 years. Luckily, we had just the team to do it.
Barry Haneberg, owner and co-distiller at Virago Spirits in Richmond led the team. Peter Morgner of Vitae Spirits in Charlottesville, Chuck Miller of Belmont Farm Distillery in Culpeper and Chris Richeson of Chesapeake Bay Distillery in Virginia Beach supported the blending process.
Each distiller chose from their finest barrels to bring forth samples to blending day. When all of the rum samples were gathered, they held a tasting session that Haneberg remembers as quite intensive.
“We had 15-20 samples to taste in all kinds of different styles, at barrel strength,” Haneberg said. “We then started to blend them together to try and create a product that we think represents the composite of all of us.”
One exciting variable in the blending process was the diversity of barrel finishes to draw from – bourbon, wine and port cask-finished rums brought different levels of complexity and richness to the table, and the blending team ensured that each component was evident in the final product.
After blending came proofing, another step that allowed the blenders to fine-tune the profile of the rum closer to what Haneberg describes as “a rum that a whiskey drinker would be intrigued by.”
From the warm, auburn color to the baked fruit and spices that come through in the nose and palate, the VA250 rum delivers a unique, Virginia rum, one that takes your palette through 250+ years of American distilling history.
The VA250 Rum is only available by purchasing the Virginia Spirits 250th Celebration Trio Pack, available exclusively at Virginia ABC stores. Keep in mind, this is an extremely limited release, with only 2,400 available for purchase. Limit one per customer. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!
