Wigle Whiskey celebrates anniversary with its first-ever bourbon

Triblive.com |  May 21, 2015

As reported by Bob Karlovits, in the Triblive.com  May 21,2015:

” Wigle Whiskey is entering the burgeoning bourbon market with a bit of Pennsylvania power.

It’s all about the corn, you know.

Wigle, headquartered in the Strip District, will officially unveil its first bourbon May 29 during a Bourbon Birthday Bash at its Barrelhouse tasting and storage site on the North Side.

“‘When are you going to make a bourbon?’ was a question we had to answer every day for the three years we have been around,” says Meredith Grelli, a co-owner of the distillery begun as a family effort led by her father, Mark Meyer.

Grelli says they wanted to produce a bourbon to “make it more Wigle, make it more Western PA.”

That process developed when one of their grain suppliers — Nigel Tudor of Weatherbury Farm in Avella — suggested using Wapsie Valley corn, a darker-colored corn that was dominant in the state in the 18th century. The historical link was appealing to Wigle, which is named after Phillip Wigle, one of the rebels of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794.

The result is a bourbon with a slightly darker tone than many and a taste that is hearty and rich, but smooth.

Wes Shonk, operations manager of the Barrelhouse, says Wapsie Valley corn has less sugar and more protein than the yellow variety, meaning it creates less alcohol. Yellow corn probably would be more effective for a large distiller for that reason, he says.

The bourbon puts Wigle into a market that is having a sharp upswing. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States reports bourbon sales have increased 40 percent in the past five years in a market where a 2 percent to 3 percent annual growth is good.

The use of the Wapsie Valley corn seems like a good strategy. Wes Henderson, chief innovation officer of the Louisville distillery that makes Angel’s Envy bourbon, says he is excited to hear about a new small-batch, artisanal offering. But the key, he says, is to differentiate it from other liquors.

Wigle has produced about 400 bottles of bourbon, Grelli says, 100 of which are “cask strength” at 105.2 proof and the others at 92 proof. The bourbon will sell for $70 a bottle at cask strength and $58 for the lower.

This first bottling will be followed by one probably in August, she says. Some product will be sent to Philadelphia in June, and then to the other states with which Wigle deals.

“But we wanted to give Pittsburgh first shot,” Grelli says.”

Wigle Whiskey is entering the burgeoning bourbon market with a bit of Pennsylvania power.

It’s all about the corn, you know.

Wigle, headquartered in the Strip District, will officially unveil its first bourbon May 29 during a Bourbon Birthday Bash at its Barrelhouse tasting and storage site on the North S