Virginia’s MurLarkey Distilled Spirits Names Master Chef George “Papi” Zwetkow as Master Distiller

MurLarkey Distilled Spirits of Bristow, Virginia has named George “Papi” Zwetkow as their new Master Distiller and “nose” of MurLarkey.

With over 35 years of experience as a master chef, brewer, vintner and distiller, George “Papi” Zwetkow brings a unique set of skills to the distillery. Papi is a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America. He got his start opening Disney’s Contemporary Resort and, soon after, returned home to New York to work as a private chef for families including the Mellons, Whitneys, and Klaus and Sonny von Bülow. Later he served as the executive chef at Time Warner’s Private Dining Room in New York City’s Rockefeller Center – a position he held for 15 years. After that, Papi went on to serve as chef manager for Lazard Freres.

“From the first bottle of MurLarkey distilled in 2016 to our multiple gold medals, Papi has overseen each and every batch. We are very pleased to name him our master distiller,” said Tom Murray, MurLarkey CEO. “George has been an integral member and resource to the distillery since we launched. Serving as product master, his artisan crafting of our all-natural infused whiskey line, and his incomparable “nose” overseeing our aged products, have been the cornerstone of our success.”

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Jim Larkin, MurLarkey’s COO also praised former Head Distiller Jesse Puckett on taking a new position. “We congratulate Jesse on his three years of amazing progress and development working with Papi and distilling our fine spirits. We appreciate the hours he dedicated to honing his trade and learning the MurLarkey way under Papi’s tutelage. It is bittersweet to see Jesse go, but we are enthusiastic for his next chapter.”

Founded in 2016, MurLarkey Distilled Spirits got started with a small 23 gallon copper still and has advanced to the system you see above. The distillery produces a broad array of premium, handcrafted spirits. In addition to the distillery, MurLarkey is now available at over 100 Virginia ABC stores, hundreds of restaurants and hotels across Washington, DC and Virginia, and select locations in Maryland.

View all Virginia Distilleries.

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