Iron City Distilling is about to get a lot easier to find. The Pittsburgh-area craft distillery has won approval from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to place its Bessemer Rye Whiskey and Bessemer Gin inside 50 state-run Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores across western Pennsylvania, with product tentatively expected on shelves by late November or early December.
According to TribLIVE, the rye whiskey will land in all 50 stores, while the gin will appear in 20 of those same locations, and the two will also be sold together as a two-pack in those 20 spots so customers can sample both without committing to a full 750-milliliter bottle. Iron City Distilling president Peter Katz called the rollout a milestone for the company, which is based in East Deer, Pennsylvania, though the Pennsylvania Distillers Guild lists the distillery’s address as Creighton. “This is our first step into the market,” Katz said, per TribLIVE.
The placement comes after distillery leaders met with the Liquor Control Board in May, Katz told the outlet.
How Pennsylvania’s Spirits Program Works
Iron City Distilling joined the PLCB’s PA Proud Wine and Spirits Program, which gives Pennsylvania-based producers the chance to select up to 10 products for placement in up to 10 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores of their choosing, according to the Pennsylvania Distillers Guild. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board confirms the program gives licensed limited distilleries the opportunity to sell their products through the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores. To stay in the program, distilleries must sell at least one case per location per month, the guild notes.
Where the Bottles Are Headed
Iron City’s products are expected to reach stores in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Butler, Washington, Armstrong, Lawrence, Beaver, Erie and Mercer counties, among others, according to TribLIVE. “Now it’s on us to get the word out,” Katz said. The distillery uses grain from local farms for its Monongahela rye whiskey, a style tied to the region’s 1800s whiskey-making history. Master distiller Matt Strickland previously told archive.triblive.com that it uses grain grown from heirloom rye seeds on nearby farms…