Manatawny Still Works facts for kids
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| Industry | Manufacturing and distillation of liquors |
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| Founded | Pottstown, Pennsylvania (2013) |
| Headquarters |
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US
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Key people
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Paul Czachor (founder) John Giannopoulos (founder) Al Matarazzo (founder) Derek Menaldino (founder/executive committee) Jeff Vaughan (founder) Bill Manginelli (executive committee) Craig Smith (chairman) Max Pfeffer (master distiller) |
Manatawny Still Works (or MSW for short) is a company that makes different kinds of drinks like American whiskey, rum, and gin. They make these drinks in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Their building is right next to the Manatawny Creek.
Contents
How Drinks Are Made
Manatawny Still Works makes their drinks using a special process. First, they get a liquid called "wash" from Sly Fox Brewery. This wash is a fermented liquid, like a very strong beer, that is ready to be distilled.
Next, they use large copper machines from Italy called stills to heat the wash. This process, called distilling, separates the alcohol from the water. After distilling, the drinks are filtered to make them clean and clear.
Adding Flavor and Color
Many of their drinks, especially whiskey, are then stored in new oak barrels. These barrels are very important because they give the drinks their special flavor and color as they age.
Sometimes, Manatawny Still Works adds other flavors. For example, they have made whiskey with cold-brewed coffee or local honey. They also use different types of barrels to change the taste. One special gin was aged in tequila barrels, and a whiskey was aged in barrels that used to hold port wine.
The Master Distiller
The person in charge of making all these drinks is called the master distiller. Since 2013, Max Pfeffer has been Manatawny's master distiller. He studied chemical engineering and also learned how to be a master brewer. Before joining Manatawny, he worked at Sly Fox Brewing Company and Victory Brewing Company.
Max Pfeffer's dog, Piper, is very special to the company. Manatawny Still Works started a charity called The Piper Project, which helps animal rescue groups.
Visiting the Distillery
The main Manatawny Still Works building is in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, right by the Manatawny Creek. The names of some of their drinks, like the unaged rum and whiskey, are a way to honor the early American settlers and ironworkers from the area.
The distillery is a fun place to visit. It has a cocktail bar where you can try different drinks. You can also take tours to see how the drinks are made. They often have food trucks and live music, making it a lively spot.
Other Locations
Manatawny Still Works also has smaller shops and tasting rooms in other places. You can find them in South Philadelphia, at Suburban Station in Philadelphia, and inside the Reading Terminal Market. There is also a shop just for buying bottles in Center City Philadelphia.
Types of Drinks
Manatawny Still Works makes many different kinds of drinks. Here are some of them:
- Hidden River Barrel Rested Gin: This gin has an amber color because it's aged in barrels.
- J. Potts Whiskey: This is a whiskey that is not aged.
- Keystone Whiskey: This is an aged whiskey made from four different grains.
- Odd Fellows No.214: This is a gin that is not aged.
- Small Batch Rum: This is a light rum that has been aged. Each batch is a limited edition.
- Small Batch Whiskey: This is a special blend of whiskey that is aged in barrels. Each batch is unique and numbered. For example, Batch 16 was released in February 2018.
- T. Rutter Rum: This is a rum that is not aged.
- Swarmbustin' Honey: This is a special seasonal drink that tastes like honey. It's a recreation of an earlier small batch whiskey.
- Maple Whiskey: This is a seasonal whiskey aged in barrels and then flavored with maple syrup from Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania Whiskey: This is considered Manatawny's "better whiskey." It's aged for at least two years and blended from special barrels of four-grain whiskey.
- Bottled in Bond: This whiskey is aged for four years. Its name comes from an old law from 1897 called the Bottled in Bond Act.
Popular Cocktails
Manatawny Small Batch Whiskey is used in several popular cocktails:
- The "Stein" is a cocktail served at The Brewer's Art in Baltimore.
- The "Manatawny Smash" is a cocktail offered at the Mt. Washington Tavern in Baltimore.
- The "Old Plow Mule" is a cocktail you can find at Grill at Harryman House in Reisterstown, Maryland.
Where to Find Manatawny Products
As of June 2016, you could buy Manatawny products in Washington D.C., Delaware, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. By April 2017, New York was also added to the list of places where their drinks are sold.
Besides their main distillery in Pottstown, they also have shops in Philadelphia. One is near the "Singing Fountain" on Passyunk Avenue, and another is in the One Penn Center building in Center City Philadelphia.
See also
- Sly Fox Brewery
