Maggie’s Farm Rum Makes Award-Winning Libations (And the Food Is Just as Good)

[Erik Owens]

Kristy Graver – 04/17/2024 – Pittsburgh Magazine

https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/maggies-farm-rum-makes-award-winning-libations-and-the-food-is-just-as-good/

The new Upper St. Clair production facility houses a full-service eatery, bar and bottle shop.If you’re planning to go to the Maggie’s Farm Rum restaurant in Upper St. Clair, here’s a head’s up: the big, brick building — a former wig warehouse — is easy to miss since it doesn’t look like your average tiki bar.

Once you reach 1387 McLaughlin Run Road, take the elevator to the second floor: the food and cocktails are literally and figuratively on another level.

In December, owner Tim Russell and his team opened the 22,000-square-foot production facility. After more than a decade making award-winning booze in the Strip District, the company had to expand to keep up with demand.

The suburban site houses a new 800-gallon still that’s three times the size of the original, a retail area and a full-service eatery that seats nearly 100 people.

Even on a rainy Wednesday evening, the place was packed with families toasting with mocktails, couples and a group of friends gathered for a birthday party. The vibe was light-hearted in contrast with the subdued decor. I love a dark bar and this one’s got olive drab walls, black table tops and seats and a rick filled with rum barrels. Some employees wore Hawaiian shirts, but the colors were muted pastels not bright, in-your-face hues.

My girlfriend, Dre, and I took a seat at the bar. As a fan of director George Romero’s living dead movies, I ordered a Zombie. There’s a limit of two ghouls per guest since this drink is made with a potent mix of house-made Sherry Cask Rum, Hidden Harbor White Rum, 50/50 Dark Rum and Falernum along with pomegranate, cinnamon, lime, passion fruit, grapefruit and herbal bitters.

Dre got a purple concoction called Don’t Play Basketball With Prince made with Hidden Harbor White Rum, Pineapple Rum, Spiced Rum and Falernum and purple corn, spices, coconut milk, acid solution and turbinado sugar. His Royal Badness would approve.

Don’t let the dainty, little drink umbrellas fool you; these aren’t beverages you should sip on an empty stomach unless you’re sunbathing on a tropical beach. Chef Abbi Klobusnik makes some killer apps, sandwiches, salads, entrees and desserts. Since the kitchen uses fresh ingredients, the menu changes seasonally.

We ordered a cheese plate that came with seasonal accompaniments such as blueberries and pickled beets and small slices of Mancini’s bread. This alone would’ve been enough to tide us over until breakfast, but I was hungrier than a zombie at the Monroeville Mall food court.

I recommend the wild mushroom soup. If your only exposure to mushroom soup is the condensed kind that comes in a can, this will blow your mind faster than a rum cocktail. It’s hearty and flavorful, and I enjoyed every drop.

We split the entree, which was short rib slow-braised in Maggie’s Farm Spiced Rum served with jus over mashed sweet potatoes, pickled red onion, red pepper and mustard seed. Sharing is caring, but I wanted this plate all to myself.

On my next visit, I want to try the Farm Burger (believe it or not, I’m not burgered out!). It’s an Angus steak patty topped with white cheddar, spiced rum bacon jam, pickled shallots, arugula and dill aioli. I’ll pair it with a Personal Day Hard Seltzer. After a long absence from the market, the company’s popular line of fizzy, canned libations are back. (During the Lenten fish fry season, Klobusnik used the lemon-flavored seltzer in batter.)

Personal Day suds are available at both distillery locations and at a number of breweries, bars and restaurants throughout the region. Four-packs and variety packs will be back on Fine Wine & Good Spirits store shelves by early May.

Maggie’s Farm distributes more than a dozen products across the country and people in the know are taking notice. The Falernum was named the 2023 Liqueur of the Year at the New Orleans Spirits Competition. You can get a taste of Maggie’s Farm (and more than 200 other libations) at Pittsburgh Magazine’s Wine & Spirits Festival on May 31 at Rivers Casino.

In 2012, Russell, who received his distilling certification from the Siebel Institute in Chicago, produced Pennsylvania’s first commercially available craft rum since Prohibition and named the flagship beverage after a Bob Dylan song.

The original, 3,000-square-foot distillery at 3212A Smallman St. was once used to store automobiles and props for movies.

I bet you could still find a zombie or two in there.