🥃 Pittsburgh distillery tours

Downtown Vacancy Rate is Still High

Pittsburgh is still struggling to rebound from the pandemic, with an 18.3% vacancy rate in the central business district. But the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is hopeful that more tenants will move in and office-to-housing conversions will attract new residents. [Pittsburgh Magazine]

• What will it take to make Downtown cool again? [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

Giant Eagle Teams Up With Mark Cuban

Certain medications will be more affordable at the grocery’s pharmacies through a partnership with billionaire Mark Cuban’s drug company. Customers can register for a Team Cuban Card at the pharmacy or teamcubancard.com. [TribLive]

• Giant Eagle recently took over prescriptions from closing Rite Aid stores across the region. [KDKA]

Federal Funding Restored to Ed Groups

Local organizations like Literacy Pittsburgh and Allegheny Intermediate Unit are expected to have their federal funding reinstated through the next fiscal year. Gov. Josh Shapiro joined a multistate lawsuit in July to sue the Trump administration for withholding the funds. [Next Generation Newsroom]

• Meanwhile, state funding to local schools is delayed because of a budget impasse. [Public Source]
• Why is PA’s budget never on time? And what’s held up in the negotiations? [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

All Together Now! Music Fest Kicks Off

Local acts are performing at venues across the region, today through Sunday, to raise money for organizations supporting our immigrant neighbors. Find a concert near you. [All Together Now]

• Check out more fun this August, from festivals to flea markets. [📝 Hey Pittsburgh]

As the birthplace of American Whiskey, southwestern Pennsylvania has a special place in the history of liquor. Monongahela Rye was known around the country in the late 1700s and early 1800s, and generations of locals made spirits with grains grown on our region’s fertile soils.

While the variety of spirits and the technology to produce them has changed, the basic ideas remain the same — and you can get a taste of both the history and modern practices on distillery tours throughout the Pittsburgh area.

Iron City Distilling

📍Creighton

💰 $20-$125

Iron City Distilling is located in a beautifully converted boiler room of an 1883 Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company plant, right along the Allegheny River. The tour offers samples of their spirits, plus a delicious treat from their collaboration with Valos Chocolates. As a bonus, you’ll get to walk through Pittsburgh Brewing Company’s facility, also located on the campus.

Wigle Whiskey

📍 Strip District

💰 $25

Wigle Whiskey was the first distillery in the Steel City since Prohibition. Go on a tour to get a history lesson on Philip Wigle, one of the ringleaders behind the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s. At the end, you’ll get a tasting flight led by your guide, which includes the spicy Straight Rye, sweet Straight Bourbon, Dutch Style Gin (perfect for people who don’t like gin), and the vanilla-forward Spiced Rum.

McLaughlin Distillery

📍Sewickley Hills

💰 $10

This small facility specializes in bourbons and flavored moonshines, demonstrating what a family operation can do with a little ingenuity and know-how. My tour, led by McLaughlin’s owner Kim, was filled with insight into the distilling process (and more than a few jokes). Get a look at how the oak barrels are made onsite, and make your pick from more than 40 products to taste test on tour.