Company Names, addresses, dates:
  Bowman Distillery, Sunset Hills, Fairfax County VA (1934-1988)¹

Notes:
Abram Smith Bowman (1868-1952)² was born in Kentucky. He made his money after WW-I by running a bussing company in Indianapolis Indiana. In 1927, after 7 years of operation, the competing street car companies bought him out for $500,000. He purchased a farm in Sunset Hills (now Reston) Virginia. In 1934, shortly after Prohibition had ended, he started a distillery with his 2 sons, A. Smith Bowman Jr and DeLong Bowman. In 1938, Smith Jr was managing the distillery, and DeLong was managing a dairy that was on their farm. Both sons were Princeton graduates. ³
In 1948, the distillery had a 40 foot tall copper still, and a capacity to distill 50 barrels per day. The barrels were made of oak from trees grown on Bowmans farm. He had a capacity of bottling 500 cases of whiskey per day, which was simplified by using only quarts & pints - no fifths. Bowman had 18,000 barrels of whiskey aging in his warehouses at that time. ⁴
In 1949, Bowman had 3 brands of whiskey: "Fairfax County", "Virginia Gentleman", and "Sunset Hills". He also had a line of gins, cordials & wines. ⁵
In 1988, the distillery moved to Spotsylvania county, where it is still in operation today.¹

	This is a 10.25" clear mouth-blown, un-embossed bottle with a label that says: front: VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN / The ARISTOCRAT OF THEM ALL / (colonial scene) / STRAIGHT / BOURBON WHISKEY / DISTILLED & BOTTLED BY / A. SMITH BOWMAN DISTILLERY / SUNSET HILLS, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA / (c) 1936 The bottle below has a newer label which depicts the man serving the drinks as light-skinned.
	This is a 10.25" clear machine-made bottle with labels: label on neck: The Whiskey of Virginia front label: VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN / The ARISTOCRAT OF THEM ALL / (colonial scene) / STRAIGHT / BOURBON WHISKEY / EIGHTY PROOF / DISTILLED & BOTTLED BY / A. SMITH BOWMAN DISTILLERY / SUNSET HILLS, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA 22090 rear label: VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN / Every drop is genuine Virginia whiskey copper stilled on our original farm in Fairfax County, Virginia. / A. Smith Bowman /E. ?hey Bowman / A. SMITH BOWMAN DISTILLERY / A Smith Bowman FOUNDER
	This is an 11.25" clear machine-made bottle with labels: label on neck: BOTTLED IN BOND / UNDER U.S. GOV'T. SUPERVISION main label: Fairfax County / Bourbon / (picture of George Washington & Lord Fairfax foxhunting) / Heavy Bodied / Straight Bourbon Whiskey / Distilled and Bottled by / A. Smith Bowman Distillery / Sunset Hills, Fairfax County, Va. / COPR. 1940 There's a small label overtop the large label, with codes about the ABC store that sold it. There's also a label on the back, but it's torn and mostly missing.
	This is a 10.25" clear machine-made bottle with a gold Applied Color Label: painted label (front): 50Tth ANNIVERSARY / DEPARTMENT OF / ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL / (map of Virginia with "50 Years of contol, service & revenue") / COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA / 1934 <> 1984 painted label (rear): STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY / Distilled & Bottled by / A. Smith Bowman Distillery Inc. / Sunset Hills, Fairfax County, / Virginia 22090 / 90 PROOF There's a metal tag on a chain around the neck of the bottle. It says: Engraved on tag: LIMITED / EDITION / No. 1209 / VIRGINIA BOURBON

	This is a magazine ad from 1956. It says: ad: An Invitation to Taste A MOST HISTORIC AMERICAN BOURBON VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN (picture of bourbon bottle with colonial scene in the backtground) just below the ad: If you prefer Bottled in Bond Bourbon, we invite you to taste FAIRFAX COUNTY, 100 proof... Both VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN and FAIRFAX COUNTY Bourbons are bottled the traditional American way, in full quarts and full pints.
	This is a magazine ad from 1960. It says: ad: An Invitation to Taste A MOST HISTORIC AMERICAN BOURBON VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN 90 PROOF FAIRFAX COUNTY BOTTLED IN BOND 100 PROOF (picture of both bourbon bottles with colonial scene on the side) just below the colonial scene: Personally made and naturally aged on my farm in the Blue Grass hills of Fairfax County, Virginia A Smith Bowman bottom of the ad: DISTRIBUTED BY Austin Nichols & Co Inc NEW YORK NEW YORK
	This is a black & white label. It's 3.25"x4.25", and it says: label: SUNSET HILLS / BOURBON / (picture of a sunset over hills) / STRAIGHT / BOURBON WHISKEY / DISTILLED & BOTTLED BY / A. SMITH BOWMAN DISTILLERY / SUNSET HILLS, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. / COPR. 1939
	This is a red, white & black label. It's 3.25"x4.25", and it says: label: Old / Virginia / Hills Brand / (picture of farmland/hills) / AN OLD FASHIONED HEAVY BODIED / STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY / BOTTLED EXCLUSEVELY FOR / The GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA CO. / NEW YORK, N.Y. / DISTILLED BY / A. SMITH BOWMAN DISTILLERY / SUNSET HILLS, FAIRFAX COUNTY - VIRGINIA / COPR. 1939 The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co was a grocery store chain, commonly called "A&P".
	This is a red, black & tan label. It's 4"x5", and it says: label: Fairfax County / Bourbon / (picture of George Washington & Lord Fairfax foxhunting) / Heavy Bodied / Straight Bourbon Whiskey / Distilled and Bottled by / A. Smith Bowman Distillery / Sunset Hills, Fairfax County, Va. / COPR. 1940 The fine print under the picture says "GEORGE WASHINGTON, ESQUIRE, and LORD FAIRFAX Foxhunting about 1747"
	These pins depicting bottles of Virginia Gentleman are from the Lions Club. From left to right, they're from the Tysons Corner, Fairfax, and Reston chapters of the Lions club. My guess is that these were made and either sold or given away at some type of Lions Club events that the Bowmans distillery helped fund.
	This pin, depicting a bottle Bowmans Virginia Vodka with a swordsman, is from the Virginia Jaycees. So apparently Bowmans sponsored the Jaycees as well as the Lions Club.