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.
The distillery's rye program has grown steadily from small, sold-out batches. Its first-ever rye release was limited to just 176 bottles at 53.7 percent alcohol by volume, according to WPXI, which also reported that the distillery's Reserve Gin picked up gold medals at both the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the SIP Awards in 2024. A later single-barrel rye release expanded to 350 bottles across two barrels priced at $75 each, sold only through the distillery's gift shop with no online sales, per community.triblive.com. An in-house rye called Old Faithful followed, with roughly 140 bottles sold both at the gift shop and online on National Bourbon Day, the outlet reported separately.
A Bourbon Debut Is Coming in November
Iron City is also preparing to release its first Bessemer Bourbon produced entirely on site. The distillery will hold an inaugural release event on November 19 at 6 p.m. at its facility at 150 Ferry St. in Creighton, featuring the first chance to buy the bourbon along with a question-and-answer session with Strickland, a tasting and a dinner, according to TribLIVE. Tickets cost $103 and are available through icdistilling.com, and bottles will go on general sale the following day, November 20, at the distillery's gift shop.
The expansion lands amid a broader resurgence in the state's craft spirits scene. Iron City has framed its rye whiskey as part of a wider Pennsylvania rye revival, with the distillery telling Whiskey Reviewer it is bullish that distillers working together can reestablish the state's rye tradition.
