PHOTO GALLERY | Ponfeigh distillery growing, adds 'destination' bar

SOMERSET, Pa. – For 90 years, Maximilian Merrill’s family welcomed coal country colleagues and fellow sportsmen to their remote hunting cabin to sip local rye far from the public eye.

That shared sprit of camaraderie and homegrown whiskey heritage led Merrill to open Ponfeigh Distillery last November.

Now, he’s bringing the culture of the cabin itself to his Somerset Township distillery.

Ponfeigh’s on-site Cabin Bar will open to the public July 13, he said.

“My family’s cabin is where I grew up learning about whiskey and Somerset County’s historical heritage as a whiskey producer,” said Merrill, noting that the spirit’s western Pennsylvania origin predates the nation.

“I want (the Cabin Bar) to be a place where people can go to get away – where they can forget about the world.”

From cask to glass

Until this week, Merrill’s company has sold its 90-proof and cask-strength Westsylvania Rye whiskeys only by the bottle.

Both of those blends were created by hauling five truckloads of Somerset County grain to North Carolina-based Southern Distilling to mash, ferment and barrel in 2020.

The distilled rye result has aged in white oak barrels for more than three years while Merrill’s own 3,500-barrel capacity operation was under construction.

Now, with his bar complete, Merrill said he’ll be able to share the spirits by the glass.

Staff have crafted cocktails such as the Monongahela Manhattan and the whiskey-based Mountain Mule, he said.

The Moonshine Margarita is kicked up with high-proof rye moonshine – a raw, clear and unaged product sometimes called white dog.

They’ll also be pouring other Pennsylvania drinks.

That includes beer from the Stoystown-area’s Forbes Trail Brewing and Mount Pleasant-based Helltown Brewing, and spirits from Washington- based Liberty Pole Spirits and Hershey-born Hidden Still Spirits, he said.

The 4,000-square-foot bar was built inside the former 84 Lumber operation that now houses Merrill’s distillery, which was filled with barrels of slow-aging sprits this week.

‘Destination’ bar

Ponfeigh is derived from a Welsh term for “stag’s water.” Merrill’s forefathers operated a dairy farm and mining company for years in Meyersdale under the Ponfeigh name.

While the bar is decorated with nods to the Ponfeigh farm and Somerset County’s whiskey past, the space itself has an all-new look. It features a wide-open design with more than 20-foot-high ceilings and a U-shaped bar with a slate look.

Walls are colored in black matte, with tongue and groove pine accents.

Merrill said the interior is large enough to seat 220 people, and can be rented for parties and other special events.

Modern, tempered glass-style garage doors bring the outside inside, connecting the bar to a patio.

Outdoor seating was being set up last week to enable up to 25 more visitors to sit outside, where food trucks will park Saturdays and Sundays, he said.

The goal is to create an indoor-outdoor destination, Merrill added.

He is planning to complete an amphitheater outside the bar in 2025.

But for now, live acts will perform inside the bar each weekend, including Mount Pleasant country rocker Andy Davis, who will join Ponfeigh for its public grand opening July 13.

Time to growPonfeigh has four full-time employees and 10 part-timers, including the whiskey’s production team, marketing staff and bar workers.

Merrill designed Ponfeigh’s distillery as Pennsylvania’s largest, he said. And his plans to restore Somerset County’s legacy as the birthplace of American whiskey are just as ambitious.

But just like any quality whiskey, it can’t happen overnight, Merrill said.

He said he’s producing 500 barrels this year, with a gin aged in rye whiskey barrels – or “ginsky” – expected to debut in September.

Merrill plans to double his overall production total to 1,000 barrels in 2025 and grow from there, with a corn-blended Maryland rye already being barreled for 2026.

In 2027, it’ll be the flagship Monongahela rye, he said.

On paper, it’ll be the same recipe as Ponfeigh’s current Westsylvania Rye – but it’ll mark the first time since Prohibition that whiskey will be produced in Somerset County using all local ingredients, he said.

On the move

Ponfeigh products are already on the move.

More than 50 bars and restaurants from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia now carry them, including Stone Bridge Brewing Co. and The Fifth in Johnstown, Pittsburgh’s scenic Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, and the White House Restaurant in Meyersdale.

Ponfeigh whiskey carried in state liquor stores

Thirteen Fine Wine & Good Spirits state stores, including in State College and Philadelphia, have also stocked Ponfeigh whiskeys on their shelves, and Merrill hopes that number will grow.

But Merrill wants the distillery’s biggest impact to occur in Somerset County.

In addition to sourcing locally grown ingredients, he’s hoping hotels, restaurants and other small businesses will benefit from Ponfeigh’s draw.

While the distillery will host local food trucks on weekends, he said Ponfeigh will also set up computer tablets, enabling guests to have food delivered to the bar from nearly 30 area restaurants.

“We want to have an impact,” he said. “We want get people off the turnpike and bring them into Somerset.”

Somerset County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ron Aldom said Ponfeigh and its rye whiskey’s “historic lineage” are already making an impact.

“It also compliments the other distilleries, breweries and wineries in the county making Somerset County a destination for visitors, which will certainly create more overnight visits,” Aldom said.