• Source: Wigle Whiskey

Wigle Whiskey (pronounced "wih-gul") is an artisan small batch whiskey distillery in the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Wigle's whiskeys are the flagship products of the company, which was entirely family owned and operated until 2022, when the company and its sister company Threadbare Cider and Mead was purchased by the Nutting Corporation.




History



Wigle began operations in 2011 and opened its doors to the public in March 2012. Wigle was the first distillery to open in Pittsburgh since Joseph S. Finch's distillery, located at South Second and McKean streets, closed in the 1920s. At that time, only two other distilleries existed in the rest of Pennsylvania. The founders of Wigle Whiskey were instrumental to the passage of Pennsylvania House Bill 242 in December 2011, establishing a new distillery license allowing craft distilleries to sell their own products onsite, which led to the growth of craft distilleries in Pennsylvania and the ability for Wigle to sell its spirits directly to consumers.
Wigle was founded by Mark Meyer, Mary Ellen Meyer, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Eric Meyer, Alexander Grelli, and Jeff Meyer. They named the distillery after Philip Wigle, a man convicted of treason in 1794 and sentenced to hang for his actions in the Whiskey Rebellion, wherein Alexander Hamilton levied the first excise tax on whiskey, triggering four years of protests and riots. Wigle was one of the Whiskey Rebellion's earliest agitator, culminating in his assault of a Western Pennsylvania district tax collector. George Washington, despite his outrage and contempt for Wigle, later pardoned him, as he feared hanging the rebel would stir a civil war in the young nation.
Wigle Whiskey was at the center of the 'Pennsylvania Rye Revival' and the growth of Pittsburgh's whiskey heritage tourism. The distillery offers tours every Saturday and explores the history of the Whiskey Rebellion, as well as the distilling process, Wigle's spirits, and a tasting. Founders Mark Meyer and Meredith Meyer Grelli authored The Whiskey Rebellion & the Rebirth of Rye: A Pittsburgh Story, which explores rye's origins and the role Pittsburgh played in its rediscovery, while also providing a guide to making rye whiskey and recipes for cocktails.
Wigle partners with community and non-profit organizations regularly. For example, in 2018, Wigle worked with Pittsburgh's Heinz History Center on a Prohibition Rye whiskey to accompany the museum's "American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition" exhibition. Wigle has also partnered with other museums, including Pittsburgh's Mattress Factory and Carnegie Science Center, Cumberland's Allegheny Museum, and Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Wigle actively supports the development of a Whiskey Rebellion Trail following the Great Allegheny Passage, a trail that extends from Pittsburgh through Southwestern and South Central Pennsylvania and Maryland to Mt. Vernon, home to George Washington's homestead and the distilleries he owned. To this end, Wigle partnered with the Omni Bedford Springs Hotel in Bedford, Pennsylvania, a borough about 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh where General Washington led his troops during the Whiskey Rebellion. Formerly, Wigle also supported local non-profits with money raised while participating in the Whiskey Rebellion Heritage Festival.
In 2013, the Meyer family opened a dedicated facility in Spring Garden in Pittsburgh's North Side, the Wigle Whiskey Barrelhouse and Garden. A former produce warehouse, the barrelhouse provided a place for tastings and tours up until 2019 with the purchase of the new facility on Smallman Street in the Strip District. The facility formerly hosted weekly bottle labeling parties every Tuesday, where guests could assist in the packaging process in exchange for drink tokens. The barrelhouse now serves as Wigle's storage and distribution center. Wigle also purchased two vacant lots alongside the barrelhouse to develop gardens for herbs and other botanicals used in its spirits.
In April 2017, Wigle opened a craft cocktail bar and bottle shop, the Wigle Whiskey Tasting Room, at the Omni William Penn Hotel; this space closed during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Also in 2017, Wigle founders established a craft ciderhouse in Pittsburgh's Spring Garden neighborhood as Wigle Whiskey's sister company responsible for non-spirit alcohol production. Threadbare Cider and Mead serves as an homage to Pittsburgh-native Johnny 'Appleseed' Chapman, who spread apple seeds harvested from the banks of the Monongahela River across Ohio and Indiana, providing new orchards for pioneering Americans. Threadbare produces a variety of ciders and meads, as well as a made-from-scratch pizza kitchen.
In 2018, Wigle opened the Wigle Whiskey Tasting Room and Bottle Shop in Ross Park Mall in Ross Township.
In 2019, Wigle opened the Wigle Whiskey Distillery, featuring a state-of-the-art production facility with two German copper stills, craft cocktail bar, farm-to-table restaurant, bottle shop, and two reservable event rooms, in Pittsburgh's Strip District. The Distillery provides more room for tastings, tours, production, events, and community programs.
Also in 2019, Wigle worked with Aramark to open a bar and restaurant lounge in the Pittsburgh International Airport in Concourse A.
In 2023, Wigle launched Wigle North Shore, a gastropub concept, in the ground level of PNC Park near the Roberto Clemente Bridge on Pittsburgh's North Shore.
Throughout the year, Wigle supports various farmers markets and other special community festivals and events through pop-up kiosks. During the holiday shopping season, Wigle also provides pop-up kiosks in Pittsburgh's South Hills Village Mall in Upper St. Clair Township and Giant Eagle at Settlers Ridge in Robinson Township.




Process



Wigle is a scratch "grain-to-glass" distiller, sourcing nearly all of its ingredients within a 60 mile radius from Pittsburgh, obtaining its grains from nearby farms in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio, and mills, distills, and serves its products on site. The Meyer family worked with the Artisan Distilling Program at Michigan State University throughout the distillery's earliest years.Wigle led a two year study into regional terroir by producing batches of Rye Whiskey from rye grain sourced from farms in Saskatchewan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. The distillery found differences in the tastes and compounds of the resulting whiskeys that could be traced back to the regional grains used in the distilling process.




Products



Wigle Whiskey produces Straight Rye Whiskeys, Straight Bourbons, American Wheat Whiskeys, Flavored and Barrel-Finished Whiskeys, Dutch-Style Gins, Rums, Vodkas, Aquavits, Liqueurs, Bitters, and Ready-to-Drink Bottled Cocktails. Wigle's Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon was the first bourbon produced in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in more than 40 years.
In March 2020, Wigle began manufacturing hand sanitizer for Pittsburgh's first responders to help ease coronavirus-induced shortages.
Current Spirits
Whiskeys
Rye Whiskeys

Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Four-Year Rye
Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Four-Year Single Barrel Rye
Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Four-Year Cask Strength Rye
Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Nine-Year Single Barrel Rye**
Phil's Shadow Rye Whiskey**
Bourbon Whiskeys

Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Four-Year Bourbon
Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Four-Year Single Barrel Bourbon
Wigle Reserve Pennsylvania Straight Four-Year Cask Strength Bourbon
Pennsylvania Wapsie Valley Bourbon
City of Champions Bourbon
Oaked & Ember Smoked Bourbon
Oaked & Ember Single Barrel Smoked Bourbon (Ross Park Mall exclusive)**
Runner of Steel Bourbon**
American-Style Whiskeys

Wigle Reserve Eight-Year American Wheat Whiskey**
Five-Year Tax Relief Reserve Whiskey
Rudolph** (collaboration with Great Lakes Brewing Company)
St. Nick** (collaboration with Penn Brewery)
Yule Tidings** (collaboration with Tröegs Independent Brewing)
Oktoberfest** (collaboration with Penn Brewery)
Hopped Zombie**
Flavored Whiskeys

Honey Bourbon
Cinnamon Whiskey
Walkabout Apple Whiskey
Afterglow Ginger Whiskey
Pennsylvania Peach Whiskey** (collaboration with Tröegs Independent Brewing)
Barrel-Finished Whiskeys

Sherry Cask Finished Rye Whiskey
Port Cask Finished Rye Whiskey
Rum Cask Finished Rye Whiskey
Kilted Cask Scotch Finished Rye Whiskey
Madeira Cask Finished Bourbon
Northern Exposure Maple Syrup Barrel Finished Whiskey**
Stout Cask Bourbon** (collaboration with Levity Brewing Company)
Shop 412 Honey Cask Rye Whiskey** (Shop 412 exclusive)
Rums, Gins, Vodkas, and Aquavits
Rums

Landlocked White Rum
Landlocked Spiced Rum
Landlocked Oaked Honey Rum
Gins

Dutch-Style Gin
Barrel-Rested Dutch-Style Gin
Vodkas

Smallman Street Vodka
Watermelon Spritz Ready-to-Finish Vodka (wholesale exclusive)
Cranberry Smash Ready-to-Finish Vodka (wholesale exclusive)
Aquavits

Eau de Pickle Aquavit
Specialty Spirits
Liqueurs

Apple
Limoncello
Coffee
Spiced**
Rhubarb**
Brandys

Six-Year Apple Brandy
Four-Year Peach Brandy**
Bitters

Aromatic
Pomander Orange
Molé
Rosemary Lavender
Ready-to-Drink Bottled Cocktails

Rye Old Fashioned
Bourbon Old Fashioned
Rum Old Fashioned
Manhattan
Bird-in-Hand Sazerac - soon to be discontinued
Saffron Negroni - soon to be discontinued
** denotes seasonal or limited spirits
Discontinued Spirits

Pennsylvania Straight Rye
Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon
Terroir Rye
Deep Cut Rye
Deep Cut Bottled in Bond Rye
Oaxaca Rye
Pennsylvania Straight Wheat Whiskey
O'Zapft Whiskey
Al Centro Whiskey
Rivers and Mountains Whiskey
Pittsburgh Harvest Whiskey
Hopped Whiskey
Prohibition Rye
Dunder Rum
Abajo Rum
Trope Vodka
Absent Minded Absinthe
Ginever Gin
Dzinn! Barrel-Rested Gin
Maple Liqueur
Amaro Vermut
Saffron Amaro Vermut
Shop412 Mesquite Malt Whiskey




Awards


Two of Wigle's co-founders, Alex Grelli and Meredith Meyer Grelli, were named James Beard Award Semi-Finalists in 2018 and 2019.
From the American Craft Spirits Association, Wigle has won Best-in-Category for its Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey in 2015, Best-in-Category for its Pennsylvania Straight Wheat Whiskey in 2016, Best-in-Class for its Dutch-Style Gin in 2016 and 2018, Gold for its Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon in 2019, the Innovation Award for its Eau de Pickle Aquavit in 2019, Best-in-Class for its Saffron Amaro in 2020, Best-in-Class for its Amaro Vermut in 2022, and Best-in-Class for its Peach Brandy in 2022.
The Distillery has been recognized as the most awarded craft distillery in the country by the American Craft Spirits Association in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021.
From 2012 through 2022, the Pittsburgh City Paper recognized Wigle Whiskey as Pittsburgh's Best Distillery. Additionally, from 2012 through 2023, Pittsburgh Magazine recognized Wigle Whiskey as Pittsburgh's Best Distillery.




See also



American Whiskey Trail
Whiskey Rebellion
Philip Wigle
Alexander Hamilton
George Washington
Johnny 'Appleseed' Chapman
American Craft Spirits Association
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania




Notes






References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Wigle Whiskey
• Wigle
• Whiskey Rebellion
• List of whisky brands
• Pittsburgh Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival
• Mead
• Timeline of Pittsburgh
• History of Pittsburgh
• 412 Food Rescue
• Abbie Adams