Jim Hough was in his 40s when he started making whiskey on his back deck in a tabletop, 2-liter barrel with his teenage sons. But it wasn’t long before he became pretty good at it.
By the time his boys had graduated from college and he and his wife, Ellen, had downsized to a patio home in Washington, Pa., he not only had moved to distilling his craft rye and corn whiskey in a 10-gallon copper still, but was creating a good enough product that he decided to retire early from his investment job and start profiting from his spirits.
After eight years of hobby-distilling, in 2014, he and Ellen started to put together the business plan for what would, in 2016, become Mingo Creek Craft Distillers. In the years since, the couple and sons Rob and Kevin — who gave up successful careers as engineers to join the family business making and selling craft whiskey under the Liberty Pole Spirits label — have made good on their goal of not just producing and honoring authentic pot-distilled Pennsylvania whiskey, but teaching people about why they should drink them.
On July 15, the job got a little easier.
That’s when the family officially moved operations from their original location in a former monument factory on Maiden Street in downtown Washington to a two-acre property just off Interstate 79 in North Strabane.
Construction on the 14,400-square-foot campus beside The Street at the Meadows began last May. But the expansion, Hough says, has actually been in the works for about four years. Fairly quickly after the Liberty Pole site opened, sales were such that everyone knew they would soon outgrow it. The family wanted to stay in town, but the size of the trucks an expansion would bring proved too cumbersome for another urban location.
“We found this [place] shortly after,” says Hough.
The fact it’s almost within spitting distance of a main county tourism hub — Hollywood Casino at the Meadows on Racetrack Road — only sweetened the deal.
Hough said the expansion will nearly triple the former location’s production capacity, 5 barrels of whiskey per week in 2019, thanks to the addition of some gleaming new stainless-steel equipment under the 8,000-square-foot production room’s 40-foot ceiling. There’s a 1,000-gallon mash cooker, four 1,000-gallon fermenters and a 1,000-gallon pot still from Kentucky-based Vendome Copper and Brass Works. With the addition of four more fermenters, the distillery has the ability to produce 30 barrels per week down the road.
With each gallon in a 53-gallon barrel producing about five 750-milliliter bottles of spirits, that’s a whole lot of whiskey.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves; To start, Hough says Liberty Pole will only do about 10-15 barrels a week.
The new campus also includes a 2,400-square-foot tasting room with working gas fireplaces that’s modeled after an 18th-century meetinghouse; an outdoor patio; a “cage” bar; and a private cigar lawn with benches that’s licensed for cocktails.
Yet the real star could be the “rickhouse” just across the walk from its state-of-the-art production room. It stands a whopping five stories tall, with enough room to store 3,600 barrels as they age over three or four years. It’s the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania, Hough says.
Currently, there’s only about 700 barrels in the 4,000-square-foot rickhouse. But the Houghs have every intention of one day stacking their spirits all the way to the top on their way to becoming among the best small distilleries, not just in the U.S., but in the world.
Comeback kid
Pennsylvania rye whiskey was almost nonexistent when Hough and his sons starting selling it seven years ago. That irked Hough, who is something of a history buff, especially when it comes to Western Pennsylvania and Washington County. They named themselves Mingo Creek Craft Distillers after The Mingo Creek Society, a group of whiskey rebels that in the late 1700s became involved in the protest against the so-called “whiskey tax” during George Washington’s presidency.
And rye has deep roots in Western Pennsylvania. A hearty grain, it grew well in the region’s rocky soils during colonial times, so they used it in whiskey production. And it wasn’t just for relaxing after a hard day of work. Because the American frontier didn’t yet have a banking system, it was often used as currency to barter for goods and services, Hough says.
Heavily in debt after the Revolutionary War, the new American government decided in 1791 to introduce a liquor tax. It was poorly received and, in fact, many distilleries, especially the smaller ones, simply refused to pay it. The issue came to a head in Pennsylvania in 1794, when as many as 700 men attacked and torched the home of tax collector and wealthy landowner John Neville in what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion.
Prohibition devastated the Pennsylvania rye whiskey industry, then the largest in the U.S. By the time the 21st Amendment ended it in 1933, American tastes had changed, with drinkers preferring lighter and sweeter spirits. As a result, Hough says, “Rye almost dropped out of sight.”
Hough’s growing success makes it clear today’s drinkers are happy rye whiskey is making a comeback. Named for the symbolic poles locals erected in protest during the Whiskey Rebellion, his spirits pay homage to its place in local history.
Not familiar with the peppery kick that makes rye whiskey such a good base for cocktails? Hough suggests comparing bread made from rye to that made of other grains. Rye is naturally spicy whereas corn — the predominant grain in bourbon — is much sweeter.
Also worth knowing: A spirit must be 51% rye to be considered American Rye. Liberty Pole’s is crafted in the style of traditional Monongahela Rye whiskey with 61% rye. Other whiskey products include a wheated bourbon (72% corn and 18% red winter wheat), a peated bourbon (59% ‘Bloody Butcher’ corn and 41% peated malted barley), an 80% corn whiskey and a decadent bourbon cream that’s just as good poured over ice cream as over ice.
The distillery has very deliberately kept its footprint hyper local, Hough says, currently selling only in state. But as their supply of barreled whiskey increases, the family hopes to branch out.
The rye itself is similarly local, sourced from Meadow Brook Farms in Bucks County, and so are the barrels. They’re crafted from tight-grained Appalachian white oak in Lewisburg, West Virginia, by WV Great Barrel Co.
Same great vibe
In designing the distillery’s meetinghouse, South Side-based Lab 8 Designs was careful to maintain the charming character and casual vibe of the original tasting room. A pair of wingback chairs in front of one of two fireplaces is just one cozy place to enjoy one of the distillery’s craft cocktail. There’s also more than a dozen small, separate seating areas to encourage conversation.
“It’s just larger and more efficient,” says Hough.
The colonial decor also includes many of the items that made the Maiden Street tasting room so much fun, in particular the portrait of Alexander Hamilton that hangs cheekily upside down above a see-through fireplace connected to the spirits shop. (Hamilton came up with the whiskey tax.) Hough proudly points out its separate entrance.
“In the old place, with only one point of sale, you might be behind 10 people” to buy a bottle, he says.
Now, patrons can purchase one of the distillery’s five core products without ever stepping foot in the bar. And if you get stuck in a line, the giant family “reenactment” photo by Pittsburgh photographer Brad Martin is sure to make you laugh. It captures every Hough, (including baby granddaughters Hannah and Grace) around a dining table in the Oliver William Homestead — where the first shots of the Whiskey Rebellion rang out in what is now South Park.
The flowered swag curtains decorating the top of each window also lend a personal touch. They were hand-sewn by Hough’s daughter-in-law, Andrea. Whether or not the “greedy ghost” the family says once drained a barrel empty followed them the four miles to the Meadowlands remains to be seen.
One spot that’s sure to be incredibly popular is on the second floor. A small alcove with seating for 12 provides a bird’s-eye view of the production floor below. A large table in one corner, just off the bar area, will soon host paid tours that end with a tasting.
Also sure to please: The distiller is serving food at the meetinghouse for the first time. Ellen Hough crafted the menu, focusing on the simple, colonial dishes that would have been served at a tavern during the late 18th century. Chef Chris Piatt’s “All Day Fare” currently includes various meat pies served with extra gravy; smoked trout tip; a Johnnycake topped with sausage and local honey; and apple dumplings. Prices range from $10-$14.
Heartier appetites can feast on the “pig leg portions,” two for $26. The meat is cured three ways: roasted, candied and mortadella-style, with small cubes of pork fat. There also will be a rotating selection of four $12 craft whiskey cocktails each season, in addition to classic whiskey drinks like a Sazerac or old fashioned. Current selections include a peated bourbon Rebel Tea and a Spicy Mango Delope, named for the first shot deliberately wasted in a pistol duel. It’s made with bourbon, mango puree and arbol chili syrup.
Surprisingly, the pandemic was a factor in the company’s decision to “lean in” and expand, even though they weren’t really sure how it would turn out. The compact, tight tasting room in the old location, Hough says, didn’t lend itself to crowds.
“The size was the scariest,” says his son, Kevin, 31, who, as head of operations, runs both the front and back of the house. “It felt like such a big jump,” especially with all the unknowns of such a big construction project. “But we had such confidence in the product that it kept pushing us.”
Other than a freak accident in May that set them back a couple of weeks, when a flatbed carrying the new still hit the Brent Spence Bridge on Interstate 75 in Cincinnati and smacked off its flange — it was relatively smooth sailing.
“I’m really proud of the way it turned out,” says Ellen Hough. “It’s just cozy and makes the whiskey look good.”
Her husband agrees their leap of faith was a good one.
“What’s more fun than making whiskey?” he asks. “You get to make a product everyone enjoys and meet so many people.
“It’s the highlight of their day,” he notes with a smile. “No one is in a bad mood coming into a distillery.”
Liberty Pole Spirits, 800 Adios Drive, Washington, is open 4-7 p.m. Wednesday (at noon for bottle sales), noon-8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. More info: libertypolespirits.com or 724-503-4014.
Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1419 or on Twitter @gtmckay.
Classic Old Fashioned
PG tested
This is Jim Hough’s favorite cocktail.
2 ounces Liberty Pole Spirits Corn Whiskey
½ ounce burnt sugar syrup
2 shakes Angostura bitters
2 shakes orange Angostura bitters
Orange peel, for garnish
Add all ingredients except orange peel to a rocks glass.
Gently add a large ice cube and stir 25 times.
Rub the outside of an orange peel around the rim. Fold the peel lengthwise and spritz the top of the ice cube with the orange oils that you get from squeezing the fold
Drop the folded peel into the cocktail, and serve immediately.
Makes 1 cocktail.
— Jim Hough, Liberty Pole Spirits
Spicy Mango Delope
PG tested
In a duel, someone who shot into the air rather than shoot their opponent was said to have “deloped.” This cocktail delopes when you drink it. It starts out sweet and fruity, but ends up spicy and memorable.
1½ ounces Liberty Pole Spirits Bourbon
1 ounce house-made mango liqueur (recipe follows)
1 ounce mango juice
1 ounce spicy red chili simple syrup (recipe follows)
Dried red pepper, for garnish
Add bourbon, mango liqueur, mango juice and red chili simple syrup to a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into Nick and Nora Glass, then fill with ice. Garnish with a dried red pepper and serve.
Makes 1 cocktail
— Jim Hough, Liberty Pole Spirits
For Mango Liqueur, mix 2 parts Liberty Pole Spirits Rye Whiskey with 1 part mango-flavored syrup.
For Red Chili Simple Syrup, stir together 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 0.2 ounces dried Arbol redpeppers in a small saucepan. Simmer 20 minutes, then strain off peppers. Keep refrigerated until use.
First Published: July 31, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
