Tasting notes

nose

peat and burnt sugar over dark rye toast spread with molasses, with horehound candy, menthol, pipe tobacco, old leather and gingersnap

palate

caramel apple and peppery rye wrapped in wet, creosote-like smoke, turning savory and earthy with dried grass and fresh moss

finish

a strong cinnamon-stick bite over hearty toasted grain

Mash bill

Malted rye and malted barley; Wigle does not publish the proportions. Both grains are grown in the region and milled, fermented and distilled at the Pittsburgh distillery. Because the rye is malted rather than raw, the label calls this a rye malt whiskey instead of a plain rye.

Awards

• Gold — American Craft Spirits Association Awards 2021
• Silver — American Craft Spirits Association Awards 2025

Why it's craft

Rather than smoking the grain, Wigle gets the smoke into this rye by resting it in small quarter casks that held peated Scotch, pairing Western Pennsylvania rye with Scotch smoke. The rye itself is made from scratch: Wigle mills regional malted rye and barley and pot-distills it in the Strip District, where it opened the first Pittsburgh distillery since Prohibition in 2012. The brand has been owned since 2022 by Pittsburgh Spirits, a family company tied to Highlands Ventures.