Rum – Pennsy Local

August 25, 2021August 25, 2021

Wigle Wipes Up at 2021 American Craft Spirits Association Awards

Wigle Whiskey won 40, yes FORTY awards at the virtual 2021 American Craft Spirits Association Awards show last night. That includes six bronze medals, 17 silver medals and a gold in the Whiskey category alone.

But Wigle Whiskey wasn’t the only winner for the evening. Manatawny Still Works took home six medals including three silvers for whiskey. Revivalist Spirits made a solid showing with five medals and Washington County’s Liberty Pole Spirits added three medals to Pennsylvania’s medal count.

Delaware saw multiple medals from Dogfish Head Distillery and Painted Stave Distilling.

More analysis to follow.

February 11, 2021February 19, 2021

4Four6 Releases First Aged Rum

Sharpsburg’s 4Four6 Distillery releases its first aged rum today. The distillery took its spiced white rum and aged it in a new American Oak barrel for four months. The rum mellowed during its time in the barrel and picked up a bit of color. 750 ml bottles are on sale for $35 each.

4Four6 now offers three rums, four gins and cocktails to go. The distillery’s first whiskey release has come and gone, but be on the lookout for more releases throughout 2021.

December 16, 2020

Aged Rum Finished in Pittsburgh, Began Life in Trinidad

Kingfly Spirits out of Pittsburgh has just released a special rum for the holidays, Morphos Amber Rum. Originally from Trinidad (the country, not a small town somewhere in Pennsylvania), the rum was aged for 12 years in used bourbon barrels. It’s described as having a “warm aroma of dates, caramel apple, coffee and vanilla…. Brilliantly copper in color, Morphos delivers balanced tasting notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon and mocha with a velvety finish.”

750 ml bottles are $42 each and are available at the distillery or online for shipping across Pennsylvania. The Strip District distillery also offers something they call “cocktail catering” where their bartenders batch up fresh cocktails starting at $32 for four cocktails.

November 26, 2020November 30, 2020

Maggie’s Farm Celebrates Seven Years with Five New Releases

Maggie's Farm Rum - Cask Strength Release 2020

Black Friday marks the seventh anniversary at Pittsburgh’s Maggie’s Farm Rum and the distillery is celebrating with FIVE different releases.

And it isn’t just rum being released this year. Maggie’s Farm is releasing two eau de vie-style brandies (pear and blueberry), two rums (single-barrel and vanilla flavored), plus the seasonal favorite, Peppermint Coffee Liqueur.

The brandies are both fermented from recent farm pressings and crafted to retain as much fruit flavor and aroma as possible. 375 ml bottles of the pear brandy and blueberry brandy are available for curbside pickup or shipping across Pennsylvania.

November 19, 2020November 30, 2020

Manatawny Has Two Thanksgiving Releases

Pottstown’s Manatawny Still Works has two bottle releases in time for your Thanksgiving feast. A year after releasing its first Bottled in Bond whiskey, the distillery is back with a second go-around, this one aged five years. Bottled in Bond is a kind of seal of quality and a technical term, meaning the whiskey has been distilled by one distiller, in one distilling season and aged for at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse and bottled at 100 proof.

This year’s Bottled in Bond is Manatawny’s oldest whiskey released to date and is described as having, “pleasing notes of sour cherries mix with oatmeal raisin on the nose, reminiscent of cherry cobbler. Bright flavors of apricots and dates fade to a deeper caramel and seasoned oak character with a mellow, dry finish.”

Bottles of the 100 proof whiskey are $70 and can be pre-ordered for pickup or shipping across Pennsylvania.

October 16, 2020

Disobedient’s Ghost Trail Rum Arrives in Time for Halloween

Disobedient Spirits in Homer City (named for the Greek poet, not the Simpson) has just released its Spiced Rum. Ghost Trail Rum is made from can sugar and distilled in Disobedient’s copper still. Then the rum is aged in toasted oak barrels and injected with a “haunting symphony of spices.”

The spiced rum is named for a trail along the long-abandoned Cambria and Indiana Railroad. The Ghost Trail connects Blacklick, PA to Ebensburg, PA, 32 miles away, passing historic coal towns along the way.

Disobedient teases that the label has a “fun feature” that you’ll only see if you buy a bottle.

Ghost Trail Rum is available at Disobedient’s Indiana County distillery plus at Pennsylvania Libations in Pittsburgh, Sarnelli’s Market in Jones Mill, as well as several local farmers’ markets.

October 2, 2020October 1, 2020

Tall Pines Releases Pot Still Spiced Rum

Aaargh! Salisbury, PA’s Tall Pines Distillery is releasing its Pot Still Spiced Rum. The rum’s mash is made with black strap molasses and brown sugar. The rum is then aged with orange peel, cloves and peppercorns.

Tall Pines Distillery is releasing the rum on Saturday, October 3rd and will have “Captain Jack” at the distillery from 2 pm to 5 pm for photos with your new bottle.

September 26, 2020September 28, 2020

Accolades: Boyd & Blair’s Potato Vodka Lands at #4 on Ultimate Spirits Challenge List

Pittsbugh’s Pennsylvania Pure Distillers is celebrating today as its Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka is the number one vodka and number four overall spirit in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge Top 100 Spirits List for 2020. The list is judged by blind panels of experts in multi-stage assessments.

The Challenge includes entries from 45 countries and 96 brands. Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka, which starts with Pennsylvania grown potatoes stood out among brandy, gin, whisk(e)y and other spirits to finish in the top five overall. It was also one of four vodkas in the top 100 and 20 places above the next closest vodka.

September 26, 2020

UPDATED: Barrel Swap Leads To Two New Spirits

Maggie's Farm 50/50 Rum Finished in Bourbon Barrel

Maggie’s Farm Rum and Liberty Pole Spirits have come together to do a barrel trade. Liberty Pole gave Maggie’s Farm a freshly dumped bourbon cask and Maggie’s sent Liberty Pole a used dark rum cask.

Maggie’s Farm took their normal “50/50” dark rum and finished aging it in that bourbon barrel. Maggie’s Farm founder Tim Russell says, “we’ve done bourbon barrel finishes with this rum before, but we really took our time with this one and even did some additional blending. I’m definitely proud of this one now, but I think I’ll still be proud of it a few years from now (which you know is rare if you know me).”

August 20, 2020August 19, 2020

Triple Sun Spirits Releases Spiced 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