Pittsburgh isn’t exactly known for its whiskey these days, but the Wigle Distillery is working hard to revive Pennsylvania’s whiskey fame.
When you think of American whiskey today, you’re fairly likely to picture Kentucky and bourbon whiskey. However, Pennsylvania is actually the birthplace of all American-made whiskey. European settlers started distilling whiskey in Pennsylvania around the 17th and the practice eventually morphed with a unique style of rye whiskey in Maryland and, of course, bourbon whiskey in Kentucky. But in the 1790s, whiskey was concentrated in Pennsylvania and one man made history with it.
Now, you may not have heard of Philip Wigle, but he made a pretty big name for himself in the 1790s. Back then, President Alexander Hamilton had the super great idea to start taxing domestic goods, since the country was pretty broke after that very expensive Revolutionary War a few years back. He had the even greater idea to make whiskey that first taxed good.
As you might expect, people didn’t take the news very well, especially not the people of Western Pennsylvania which was a major whiskey hub at the time. When it came time to collect the taxes, people were ready to protest, fight back, and do whatever it took to put an end to the tax and scrappy Philip Wigle threw the first punch. No literally – he punched a tax collector in the face and after that things really escalated. At one point more than 500 people attacked the tax inspector’s home, leading George Washington and about 13,000 soldiers to ride into Pittsburgh. Luckily no full battle took place that day, but two rebels were arrested including: Philip Wigle.
Wigle was mercifully pardoned two years later, but either way he’s a pretty good person to name a Pittsburgh based whiskey after, wouldn’t you say? And from where we stand, the distillery’s rye whiskey does pretty right by Mr. Wigle. The whiskey is very sweet with a deeply, fruity flavor like vanilla and chocolate covered cherries. This is combined with a strong nutty taste that makes the whole whiskey a little reminiscent of peanut butter and jelly. We don’t know if it’s a big standout as a rye whiskey, but as a regular whiskey, Wigle was a surprising find and a fun nod to whiskey’s history.
STATS: Wigle Rye Whiskey
- Price for us: $45 for 750 mL
- Proof: 84
- Aged: 2-4 Years
- Distillery: Wigle
- Recommendation: Neat
