Get Lost (With a Bottle of Whiskey)
There’s not much happening around Delaplane, Virginia—and that’s part of the location’s charm.
"When we first saw this property, it was pretty well overgrown, and the road was in really rough shape, so I don’t think a lot of other people could see the jewel that was sitting here," says Mark Turner, a founder of the Lost Whiskey Club and founder and owner of design/build firm GreenSpur. "We frankly just got lucky."
What started as a four-man side project for distilling whiskey in 2016 soon transformed into the basis of a larger series of compact, off-the-grid structures where the teammates and their families could truly unplug.
The 50-acre property sits about an hour outside Washington, D.C., between Lost Mountain and Whiskey Hollow—hence the name. The compound now includes a 3,000-square-foot, six-bedroom communal lodge and a concrete cabin in addition to a glass cabin, whiskey bar, and refurbished Airstream. The latter three are all intentionally mobile so that they can be moved for various landscapes and experiences.
Because of its remote location, the lodge—which is modeled after an old tobacco barn and features GreenSpur’s penchant for symmetry—utilizes propane for heating and cooking and for its tankless water heater (as well as for the scenic modular pool). The 160-square-foot concrete cabin relies on a propane cooktop along with a woodburning stove, woodburning hot tub, and solar panels.
"It’s about the analog to the digital. It’s about long conversations. It’s about simplicity. It’s about all the things in life that truly give it meaning," says Nick Cioffi, GreenSpur’s vice president of construction and the "head bourbon guy," as he likes to call himself.
And what’s more simple than pouring a drink in the great outdoors with a fire-cooked meal? "It’s more about what you do here with the whiskey than the whiskey itself," Cioffi adds. Though it certainly helps that the whiskey is very good.
Read more at dwell.com/propane
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