VIRGINIA BEACH (AP) -- Small distilleries are bubbling up all over Virginia.

Chris Richeson owns Chesapeake Bay Distillery - a small enterprise in the Lynnhaven area, where he crafts and hand bottles a corn-based vodka called Spirits of the Blue Ridge. The vodka has been sold at state liquor stores since September.

His distillery is one of a growing number of small "craft" liquor-making operations.

Across the state, five small distilleries drip out vodka, bourbon, whiskey and a brand of liquor derived from a family moonshine recipe called Virginia Lightning.

Four of them started stoking the stills in the past three years.

Another distillery is under construction south of Charlottesville, and more applications are pending with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Richeson says down the road, he might tinker with making gin from juniper berries from the Dismal Swamp, or infusing his vodka with strawberries from Pungo, or even try his hand at whiskey.

For now, the vodka keeps him busy. The plant is profitable, only if he doesn't plug his own labor into the equation.

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