It’s the newest Longwood Homecoming & Alumni Weekend tradition: cracking the wax seal on a new bottle of 1839 Collection limited-edition bourbon and sharing it with tailgating friends.
After the first year that saw the inaugural bottles of 1839 Collection sell out in just 15 minutes, local partner Sandy River Distillery has more than doubled production to meet the demand of Lancer faithful.
“We were over the moon at the number of people–both Lancers and friends of Longwood–who were interested in a bottle of 1839 Collection,” said David Hooper ’00, associate vice president for marketing and engagement. “Those lucky enough to get a bottle shared their Lancer pride with the greater community, and I think this year’s 2024 Reserve will be just as popular. Sandy River Distillery has been a great partner from the beginning, and we are excited to continue this collaboration.”
We were over the moon at the number of people–both Lancers and friends of Longwood–who were interested in a bottle of 1839 Collection.
David Hooper ’00, associate vice president for marketing and engagement Tweet This
1839 Collection is a single-barrel bourbon whiskey aged and bottled in Prince Edward County, the home of the Lancers for nearly two centuries.
Sandy River Distillery will sell bottles of 2024 Reserve through their online store. Purchases will be limited to one bottle per person and can be picked up Nov. 9 at the Homecoming & Alumni Weekend Family Tailgate or anytime after purchase at Sandy River Distillery’s location just five miles away from campus. Bottles can also be shipped within Virginia.
The distillery’s tent at the Lancer Family Tailgate was a popular gathering spot as guests picked up their bottles, sipped signature cocktails and purchased bottles of Sandy River’s range of spirits.
We’ve really enjoyed hearing how much folks loved the 2023 Reserve and think that this year’s bourbon is even better.
Mark Smith, Sandy River Distillery owner Tweet This
“This partnership has been more successful than we ever imagined,” said Mark Smith, Sandy River Distillery owner. “We’ve really enjoyed hearing how much folks loved the 2023 Reserve and think that this year’s bourbon–which has been aged another year–is even better. We are always eager to find partners around Farmville to help spread the word that there’s great food, great fun and especially great drinks in this town!”
This year, 1839 Collection bottles will feature blue labels with reverse type. The white labels from the inaugural year’s reserve will return in odd-numbered years.
“People have told us that they are keeping the bottles on their shelves to display–and we wanted to make sure that as their collections grow the bottles look great sitting side by side,” said Hooper. “We decided to alternate label colors by year–white then blue and so on–so an entire collection will start to take on a decidedly Longwood theme.”
Anyone who is interested in purchasing one of the limited 2024 Reserve bottles of 1839 Collection single-barrel bourbon can sign up at go.longwood.edu/1839collection to receive a message when the sale goes live. Bottles are again expected to sell out quickly, so make sure you are among the first to know when they become available.
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