SPIRITS RUN

As distillers from across the country gather in Pittsburgh, they’ll be able to sip a wide range of booze from a booming local scene

The event that bills itself as the largest gathering of licensed craft spirits producers in the U.S. is in Pittsburgh through Tuesday for the nonprofit American Craft Spirits Association’s fifth annual distillers convention and vendor trade show. The event is mostly for industry insiders, not for the public (best talk title: “Separation Anxiety: Observational Insights to Understanding Filtration”). But there is a public tasting Monday night. ACSA medals will be awarded to the country’s best craft spirits Tuesday night.

The roughly 1,000 conventioneers — 600 of them representing distilleries — are riding in on a wave of bourbon, gin and other artisanal alcohol. This small, independent segment of the distilling industry (producers who make fewer than 750,000 proof gallons of spirits annually) grew by more than 20 percent over the previous year to 1,589 distilleries in August 2017.

More than 80 are now in Pennsylvania, making it the No. 7 state in terms of numbers of distilleries and one of the top five in terms of growth rate — about 35 percent last year.

“Pennsylvania was the birthplace of rye whiskey and has long been one of the top spirits purchasing and consuming states, and now we are making for ourselves more of the products we’re consuming,” says Meredith Meyer Grelli. She and her husband, Alexander Grelli, co-founded Wigle Whiskey and started distilling in December 2011. They share a semifinalist spot on a list of 20 places in the country up for 2018 James Beard Awards for Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional.

From three to 82-plus distilleries in a decade

As the Grellis write about in their 2017 book, “The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye: A Pittsburgh Story,” in the 1790s Western Pennsylvania was home to about a quarter of the young nation’s distilleries. There were about 1,300 just before Prohibition. Flash forward to 2008, when the entire state had just three licensed “limited” distilleries. A 2011 state law change allowing

Separated alcohol drips into a tin tub from a copper still during the “spirits run” process at Maggie’s Farm Rum distillery.

Jessie Wardarski/Post-Gazette photos Tim Russell is owner of Maggie’s Farm Rum distillery in the Strip District, one of the most award-winning rum distilleries in the United States. He distributes his product across Pennsylvania but has plans to expand his distribution in the near future.

A copper still is used to heat and separate the components of rum made at Tim Russell's Maggie’s Farm Rum distillery in the Strip District.