Big Spring Spirits goes big with skyline view
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The Finch Fusion cocktail with the best view in town. Photo: Ryan Deto/Axios
Pittsburgh's newest rooftop bar might offer the best view in the city.
The intrigue: Bellefonte-based Big Spring Spirits is opening a six-story complex near Station Square on Tuesday, complete with a rooftop bar-and-restaurant and distillery.
- Owners hope the new 53,000-square-foot space will encourage continued development of the neighborhood and extend Downtown's reach across the Monongahela River.
🏙️ Zoom in: The $21 million project, named The Distillery Complex, offers a distillery, tasting room and bottle shop on the first floor, complete with a 600-gallon still making Big Spring's wide variety of spirits.
- The fourth floor houses a members-only cigar club called The Drawing Room.
- A private event space sits on the fifth floor.
- A rooftop bar and restaurant called The Finch offers spectacular views of Downtown Pittsburgh, the Mon and the Liberty Bridge. It can seat 80 people.
What they're saying: "It will open up your eyes to a whole new view of Pittsburgh," Big Spring Spirits CEO Tony Mazzarini tells Axios.
- He said the panorama has views inside Acrisure Stadium on one end and the Cathedral of Learning on the other.
💭 Ryan's thought bubble: Watching the T go by on the Panhandle Bridge is a delight, like the trolley in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Dig in: The Herbelist cocktail is refreshing, but strong, made with basil simple syrup, a tinge of tomato, and tequila proofed with Big Spring water from Centre County.
- The fire-roasted wings achieve that super crispy skin even though they are baked instead of deep-fried.
- Grab a bottle of Big Spring's rye whiskey. It's spicy and perfect for mixing into a Manhattan.
Flashback: The building was a distillery when it was constructed 180 years ago, Mazzarini said.
- It was a labor of love, he said, and Big Spring has been working to complete the building for several years, adding about 30,000 square feet to the original floor plan.
What's next: The second and third floors are still under construction, and Mazzarini said he is trying to bring in a food hall.
If you go: 59 S. Second St. near Station Square
- The Finch is open Tuesday-Thursday 3pm-11pm, Friday 3pm-midnight, Saturday 1pm-midnight, Sunday 1pm-11pm