Micro-distilled goodness in PA?

February 26, 2011 11:40 AM

What great small batch, artisinal liqours are available in Pennsylvania?

I'd like to put together a "starter bar" for a friend's birthday of exclusively small batch, artisinal liquors from craft distilleries. What are some great whiskies (preferably bourbon, but interested to hear of rye whiskies as well), gins, tequilas, rums, and other spirits that I can either buy in Pennsylvania or have delivered? I should note that I'm not particularly interested in anything from the Philadelphia Distillery, solely because she's had their liquors in the past.

Much appreciated!

posted by youarenothere to food & drink (14 answers total)

Art in the Age makes Root and Snap, which are root-beer-esque and ginger-snap-esque liquers. They're both actually good, not candy-like, and supposedly based on Pennsylvania Dutch recipes/origins.

As far as whiskies, I'm unaware of any currently being produced in PA at the moment. Michter's has origins in PA, but is currently being produced in Kentucky, same as Old Overholt rye. I'll be keeping my eye on this thread to see if there are any local whiskies being produced, but I'm not optimistic.
posted by The Michael The at 11:59 AM on February 26, 2011

Oh, I didn't mean necessarily produced in Pennsylvania, just easily available for purchase.
posted by youarenothere at 12:05 PM on February 26, 2011

Oh, in that case, Tuthilltown makes some great whiskies in New York's Hudson Valley (a few are available in PLCB stores). There's also WhistlePig Rye from Vermont (you'll have to go to NJ or DE for that one) and Old Potrero from San Francisco (same).

I hear, too, that Astor Wines & Spirits in NY ships to PA. They have a great selection of this stuff.
posted by The Michael The at 12:12 PM on February 26, 2011

All liquor in the state being sold by the PA Liquor Control Board, you'll probably do well to take a look at their product search page. You can basically check the inventory of every single state store.
posted by valkyryn at 12:34 PM on February 26, 2011

Seconding Tuthilltown (rye and bourbon). Great stuff. Fritz Maytag's (Anchor Distilling) Junipero is great gin.
posted by fixedgear at 12:40 PM on February 26, 2011

This is slightly out of range, but Dogfish Head makes various spirits in nearby Delaware that are sometimes available in Maryland. Their beers are generally excellent and I imagine the spirits are great as well.
posted by exogenous at 12:57 PM on February 26, 2011

All liquor in the state being sold by the PA Liquor Control Board, you'll probably do well to take a look at their product search page. You can basically check the inventory of every single state store.
The PLCB Users Group is another great (unofficial) resource with lists of many, many spirits and tips on their availability in PA (like when the minimum SLO count can be waived, etc).
posted by The Michael The at 1:30 PM on February 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

I imagine the spirits are great as well.

Yes they are - they distill on-site at the bar in small batches. Their peanut butter vodka and brown sugar rum are both pretty great.
posted by fixer at 2:16 PM on February 26, 2011

just had a taste of someone else's alcoholic root beer the other night, made with the aforementioned Root. That stuff is amazing.
posted by FlyingMonkey at 3:15 PM on February 26, 2011

Made in PA: Bluecoat Gin.
posted by knile at 3:22 PM on February 26, 2011

The Astor Wine and Spirits online store is indeed great! Will most likely order from there, and the Hudson Corn Whiskey is definitely on the list.

Still looking for any craft-distilled favorites anyone wants to chime in with...
posted by youarenothere at 6:31 PM on February 26, 2011

Boyd and Blair Potato Vodka is made just outside of Pittsburgh. Its pretty good stuff.
posted by buttercup at 6:56 PM on February 26, 2011

I really like the whiskeys from Finger Lakes Distilling in New York State. The rye is awesome.
posted by vorfeed at 12:38 AM on February 27, 2011

Seconding Finger Lakes' products, which I'm beyond a fan of.
posted by knile at 2:01 AM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]