George Washington may not have really chopped down the cherry tree, but his love for the fruit was apparently real.
The Associated Press reports that dozens of bottles of perfectly preserved cherries and berries were found in the cellar of his Mount Vernon home — a “spectacular” achievement, according to Jason Boroughs, Mount Vernon’s principal archaeologist.
Records at Mount Vernon show that George and Martha Washington were fond of cherries, at least when mixed with brandy. Martha’s recipe for a “cherry bounce” cocktail survives, and Washington wrote that he took a canteen of cherry bounce with him on a trip across the Alleghenies in 1784, according to the AP.