Did George Washington chop down the cherry tree to make a popular 18th-century beverage? While working on a project to revitalize Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, archaeologists found a pair of sealed glass bottles in the cellar with their contents preserved. The bottles date to when Washington lived in the mansion and were buried beneath a brick floor installed in the 1770s. The contents included cherries, pits, and stems. They may be remnants of cherry bounce, a fruit-infused brandy the Washington family often enjoyed.
