Rebellious roots
Effort made to declare rye whiskey as Pennsylvania’s official spirit
Monongahela rye once helped foment an insurrection in Western Pennsylvania during the whiskey rebellion in the late 18th century. More than two centuries later, rye whiskey’s rebellious roots might be spreading elsewhere in the state.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, recently introduced a bill in Harrisburg declaring rye whiskey as the official spirit of Pennsylvania thanks to its spirited history.
“Long before Kentucky became synonymous with bourbon, Pennsylvania rye whiskey set the standard for American distilling,” Bartolotta said in a written statement. “This bill honors that remarkable legacy while recognizing the farmers, distillers and small businesses that continue to carry it forward today.”
It was in these hills where farmers from Washington County gathered at meeting houses to protest the federal government’s excise tax on whiskey. It led to a violent rebellion that challenged the young government’s authority, but ultimately was quashed by federal troops commanded by President George Washington in 1794.
Afterward from the late 1700s until the 1840, Pennsylvania rye was the king of whiskey in these states united. According to Bartolotta, Pennsylvania led the nation in whiskey production, with federal records and the 1810 Census of Manufactures showing that the commonwealth once produced and distributed two to three times more whiskey than the next-largest distilling state.
Senate Bill 1248 has bipartisan support with co-sponsors from across the state – including Republican state Sen. Devlin Robinson of western Allegheny County and Democratic state Sen. Lindsey Williams of the North Hills – as it received near unanimous support in the Senate’s State Government committee last week. To help spur the effort, Jim and Ellen Hough of Liberty Pole Spirits traveled to Harrisburg to lend their support and promote its passage.
Jim Hough said so many distillers in the state make their own version of Pennsylvania rye, so it was difficult to settle on an official recipe. With that in mind, the group of distillers who gathered in Harrisburg decided to take a cue from the federal government – yes, the one that taxed our whiskey – and its definition of rye, which must be least 51% rye grain in mash bill and distilled under 160 proof before being poured into a charred oak barrel to be aged.
Although the fiercely divided state government failed to pass a budget by the June 30 deadline, Republicans and Democrats came together to push Bartolotta’s bill through the Senate committee with a near unanimous vote.
“It felt like we were on to something that was a no-brainer, but it’s great to see Harrisburg agree with us that something like this is important,” Hough said in a phone interview Wednesday. “This recognizes the role of agriculture and history. It’s such a unique opportunity we have to recognize that.”
The passage of the bill out of committee on June 30 coincides with this weekend’s annual Whiskey Rebellion Festival in Washington, along with the 10-year anniversary of the opening of Liberty Pole Spirits.
The festival will take place at the Main Street Pavilion in the city with food, live music and entertainment Friday night and all day Saturday.
There also will be a variety of events happening today, Friday and Saturday at Liberty Pole Spirits. The Houghs opened their first distillery in Washington in 2016, and moved to their new production facility and meetinghouse just off of Racetrack Road in North Strabane three years ago.
Hough called the past decade at Liberty Pole the “joy of my life” as the family went from producing whiskey on a small still at the East Maiden Street location in Washington to opening a large production facility that distributes its product across the country and to state liquor stores across Pennsylvania.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words what this means,” Hough said of the anniversary. “It’s something we never envisioned when we started with a small still. It was a vision and a hope. What it’s meant to our family … and all the friends we’ve met, it’s been a joy.”
For more information about this year’s Whiskey Rebellion Festival and a list of events for the weekend, go online to www.whiskeyrebellionfestival.com. For information on Liberty Pole’s anniversary, search for Liberty Pole on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Libertypolespirits.