4Four6 Kicks Off Tea Blended Gin Series

4four6 Swamp Monster Gin

4four6 Distillery in the Sharpsburg section of Pittsburgh is releasing Swamp Monster Gin today, Friday, September 4th. The tea-blended gin is made in collaboration with Milvale’s Tupelo Honey Teas, who have made a name for themselves with collaborative beers, including with their neighboring Grist House. This tea was the result of trying a variety of teas with gin to great result. Swamp Monster was actually a blend Tupelo made for The Coffee Buddha Coffee Shop which has since closed (pre-COVID). But with Coffee Buddha’s blessing, it became the featured tea in Swamp Monster Gin.

The gin is described as having “great depth and complexity with herbal and floral notes. The gin botanicals complement the blended tea beautifully.”

Swamp Monster Gin is available at the Northway Mall Market beginning at 3 pm or at the Sharpsburg Tasting Room starting at 4 pm. 750 ml bottles are $36 each.

4four6 Distillery opened in early 2020 and have a line of rums (White and Spiced) and gin (Clementine and American Dry). Swamp Monster is the first in 4four6’s Blended Gin Series collaborations with Tupelo. Look for another tea gin to be released in time for the holidays.

Wardog Spirits Introduces Peach Bourbon

Wardog Spirits Peach Bourbon

Wardog Spirits at Black River Farms Vineyard & Winery in Bethlehem, PA released its Peach infused Bourbon this past week. Co-owner Andy Warner tells us that the peach bourbon has already been a big hit and with Labor Day weekend coming up, we imagine it will continue to be a favorite.

The whiskey starts with Wardog’s Black River Bourbon that then has a handmade peach puree blended in. The final product comes in at 70 proof and goes for $42.42 per 750ml bottle.

Wardog Spirits is open Monday through Thursday, from 2 pm to 5 pm and Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 5 pm.

Popcorn Bourbon? It’s a Thing

Kinsey Popcorn Bourbon

New Liberty Distilling has just announced new limited release under its Kinsey brand. Get ready for Popcorn Bourbon.

The bourbon is made with Zea Mays Everta Corn. And what is the exotically named Zea Mays Everta Corn? Well it’s the variety of corn typically used for making popcorn. Perfect perhaps for whiskey and a movie? The bourbon also blends Yellow Dent Corn and malted barley. It’s described as beginning “warm on the nose with notes of apple blossom and creamy sassafras. Drinking neat, you’ll find a lightness that carries flavors of vanilla, ripe cherries, and a lingering candied spice.”

The six year aged bourbon weighs in at 43.4% ABV and is available for $39.99 for a 750ml bottle. Follow this link to order Kinsey Popcorn Bourbon for pickup or delivery to Pennsylvania residents.

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Crostwater Bourbon Returns

Crostwater Bourbon Bottle

Weekends are typically the time when distilleries release spirits but Crostwater Distilled Spirits in Lewisberry, PA (just south of Harrisburg) is going with a Monday release. Today, August 31st, they are releasing a new batch of their Crostwater Bourbon. Made with Pennsylvania corn and a mash that also contains rye and malted barley, the bourbon is aged at least a year before bottling.

Described as having notes of lingering sweet caramel with “smokey notes on the nose and the back of your throat. It is not harsh or bitey. “

Available for pickup or local delivery, Crostwater Bourbon is $39.99 (80 proof). Due to the small batch size, the distillery is not taking pre-orders.

Crostwater already has October 16th marked on its calendar for a rye whiskey release and is also working on a bottle Pennsy Local has a well know weakness for, a version of the Pennsylvania classic, Rock-N-Rye.

Pennsylvania Distilling Releases First from Scratch Whiskey

Pennsylvania Distilling Single Malt

Malvern’s Pennsylvania Distilling has just released its first entirely from scratch American Single Malt Whiskey. This limited release is made from 100% two-row malted barley grown and malted in Pennsylvania. Some of the malt is smoked over PA cherry wood, giving the whiskey an even more Pennsylvania exclusive terroir.

The whiskey is available for pickup in-store or curbside. Free local delivery is also an option, as is shipping to PA residents.

The Pennsylvania Distilling Single Malt Whiskey is bottled at 88 proof and is $55.99 for a 750ml bottle.

Tall Pines Distillery Releasing Peach Moonshine

Tall Pines Peach Moonshine

Tall Pines Distillery, which has locations in Pineville, Missouri and Salisbury, PA is releasing its Peach Moonshine this Saturday, August 29th. Made with fresh and local peaches, this moonshine is available in 375ml and 750 ml sizes. Bottles can be purchased at the distillery or shipped across the Commonwealth.

If you make the trip to Tall Pines, be sure to look for their custom Bootlegger car, which combines a 2010 Camaro and a copper still.

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Out of State Report: Cooper River Is Back (kind of)!

Cooper River Straight Bourbon

One of the first craft distilleries I went to was Cooper River Distillers along the River Line light rail line in Camden, NJ. The old garage was a ramshackle setup and the epitome of bootstrapped endeavor. But the bartenders were friendly, the cocktails were great, the setting sun blinding, and the promise of something new and exciting was real.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out for James Yoakum and his fledgling distillery. He shut the distillery down two years ago and sold his barreled inventory to Recklesstown Farm Distillery in Columbus, NJ, about 27 miles north from Cooper River’s location. There, the spirits have continued to age and on Saturday, August 29th at 12 pm, the first batch (300 bottles) of Straight Bourbon Whiskey will be placed on sale.

Recklesstown has another connection to Cooper River as head distiller, Ben Donia previously worked at Cooper River and played a part in the production of the bourbon.

The whiskey is described as having sweet vanilla flavor, rye spice and “plenty of age.” The 15-gallon barrels were rested for more than two-and-a-half years.

The bottles are $55 each and there will be a limit of two per customer.

Wigle Releasing Suffragette Rye

Wigle Suffragette Rye

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Wigle Whiskey is releasing a special edition whiskey, Suffragette Rye. The limited release features an eye catching colorful label designed by local Pittsburgh artist, Dakota Rethage. Over the next couple of weeks, Wigle Whiskey will also be celebrating its female employees through a social media campaign, #womenofwigle.

Inside the bottle, Suffragette Rye features an 84 proof, straight whiskey aged a minimum of two years in new charred oak. 375 ml bottles can now be pre-ordered for pickup. The bottles will be available at the distillery as of September 4th. Not able to make it in to the distillery? Get it shipped to your Pennsylvania residence.

Phoenixville’s Bluebird Distilling Preps 5th Anniversary Release

Bluebird Fifth Anniversary Bourbon Finished in a Rum Barrel

Bluebird Distilling officially turned five back on June 23rd of this year and that usually means a blowout party but this year is different, cause ‘rona. But this weekend the Phoenixville distillery is celebrating (safely) with a new open-air pergola, expanded outdoor seating area and a two special spirit releases.

Bluebird is releasing its fifth anniversary, five year bourbon finished in Jamaican rum barrels. Touted as a “Bourbon Vacation,” Bluebird’s four grain bourbon is aged in new American oak for four years and then finished in dark Jamaican rum barrels for an additional year. The result is described as starting “with rich notes of caramel, toffee and tobacco, finishing with a solid punch of bananas, cloves and dried fruit.” 750 ml bottles will be available for $59.99.

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Triple Sun Spirits Releases Spiced Rum

Triple Sun Small Batch Spiced Black Rum

Triple Sun Spirits with locations in Emmaus and Newtown, released a Spiced Rum this past weekend. The rum is made from Caribbean sourced molasses and conditioned in American oak. The black rum is then enhanced with a cinnamon-free maceration featuring Triple Sun’s blend of Madagascar vanilla, orange peel, crushed nutmeg, whole clove, cardamom, peppercorn and star anise.

The Newtown location will have pizza and barbecue this weekend in case you need more motivation to leave your couch to pick up a $39 bottle.

The spiced rum is also being featured in these cocktails at the Newtown tasting room:

  • Frozen Coconut: Lime, coconut, pineapple and spiced rum
  • The Spiced Grapefruit: Ginger beer, grapefruit juice, spiced rum and smoked rosemary