Wigle Whiskey Tour

One of the Wigle's Whiskey makers themselves contacted me and thanked me for thinking of their whiskey when concocting my cocktail recipe for Braddock's contest.  Meredith Grelli invited me and Husband to come for their tour yesterday, and I was thrilled - I'd tried to book a spot for us while James was visiting, but they were booked solid for weeks! 

Enjoy the tour yourself {if you're in Pittsburgh}, or take a look at a few photos from the incredibly entertaining tour of the facility.

 We stepped into the back room of the Wigle distillery on Smallman Street, and began our tour with...Cocktails!

My cocktail of White Wheat Whiskey and pomegranate juice!

 Meredith was mixing up the cocktails herself:

 And what good cocktails they were! Husband's had White Rye Whiskey with orange juice and ginger ale. 

 Husband felt manly with his cocktail choice. This is his manly look, incidentally. 

 As we toured the facility with a small group of no more than 15 people, our attention was drawn to the bright blue posters.  They were numbered and depicted a silly mannequin-style scene of a point in the Whiskey Rebellion.

A blue posted sitting by the aging barrels of whiskey.

Glancing over our shoulder into the tasting room:

Our two lessons, taught by Wigle Whiskey maker Eric Meyer, started with the story of what Rye was and why they chose local farms to purchase their organic grain from. It's good to know they care about supporting the gems from the area.

The second lesson was about Wigle himself, and how the Whiskey Rebellion played out. 

 Eric did a fabulous job, and I was enthralled the whole time - no kidding!

That's him in the light blue!

As the history lesson drew to a close, we were shown their upcoming plans - to create aged whiskies! Their barrels are lined with oak:

I can't wait until next year when it's ready for tasting! I feel a party coming on. 

Finally, we ended the tour with a tasting of both the White Wheat and Rye whiskies. We were taught several methods of tasting whiskey {Kentucky 'chew,' Pittsburgh way...}

Even lovely ice cubes!

The last board...President Washington pardoned Wigle!  All is well that ends well!

Thank you to the Wigle Whiskey owners! I had a wonderful time, learning tons about western PA and the Whiskey Rebellion.  Let me know when that aged whiskey is ready to taste!!!

{P.S. - They have adorable little aging barrels to set on your counter top.  It will be done in about two weeks! Yum!}

Thanks again!