Wigle Whiskey: Pittsburgh's Grain to Glass Rye Distillery

Wigle Whiskey is a small batch whiskey distillery in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Until 2022 it was entirely family owned and run.

History

Wigle began operations in 2011 and opened to the public in March 2012. It was the first distillery to open in Pittsburgh since Joseph S. Finch's distillery closed in the 1920s. Its founders helped pass Pennsylvania House Bill 242 in December 2011, which created a licence letting craft distilleries sell their own products on site.

The founders are Mark Meyer, Mary Ellen Meyer, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Eric Meyer, Alexander Grelli and Jeff Meyer. The name honours Philip Wigle, who was convicted of treason in 1794 for his part in the Whiskey Rebellion and sentenced to hang, then pardoned by George Washington. In 2022 Wigle and its sister company Threadbare Cider and Mead were bought by the Nutting Corporation.

In 2013 the family opened the Barrelhouse and Garden in Spring Garden, on Pittsburgh's North Side. In 2020 Wigle opened an expanded distillery on Smallman Street in the Strip District, with two German copper stills, a cocktail bar, a restaurant and a bottle shop.

How it makes whiskey

Wigle is a grain to glass distiller. It sources nearly all its ingredients within 100 miles of Pittsburgh, from farms in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio, and mills and distills on site. It ran a two year terroir study using rye from Saskatchewan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Its Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon was the first bourbon made in the state in more than 40 years.

Recognition

The American Craft Spirits Association gave Wigle Best in Category for its Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey in 2015 and for its Pennsylvania Straight Wheat Whiskey in 2016, and Gold for its Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon in 2019. It was named the most awarded craft distillery in the country in several years from 2015 to 2025. Founders Mark Meyer and Meredith Meyer Grelli wrote the book The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye: A Pittsburgh Story.

History and process

Wikipedia says Wigle Whiskey began operations in 2011 and opened to the public in March 2012 in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. It was the first distillery to open in Pittsburgh since the 1920s. The name honours Philip Wigle, convicted of treason in 1794 for his part in the Whiskey Rebellion and later pardoned by George Washington.

• Founders: Mark Meyer, Mary Ellen Meyer, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Eric Meyer, Alexander Grelli and Jeff Meyer

• Ownership: family owned until 2022, when the Nutting Corporation bought it and its sister company Threadbare Cider and Mead

• Law: the founders helped pass Pennsylvania House Bill 242 in December 2011, allowing craft distilleries to sell on site

• Process: grain to glass, with nearly all ingredients sourced within 100 miles of Pittsburgh

• 2020: an expanded Strip District distillery opened with two German copper stills

• Firsts: its Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon was the first bourbon made in Pennsylvania in more than 40 years

• Recognition: named most awarded craft distillery by the American Craft Spirits Association in several years including 2015 and 2025

Sources and image credit

Sources: Wikipedia, Wigle Whiskey article (en.wikipedia.org), read on 20 October 2026.

Further source read on 21 October 2026: Wikipedia Wigle Whiskey article.

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