PLCB Grants Distilling License to West Overton
It’s official. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Jan. 7 granted a state-sanctioned license to distill spirits at West Overton Village and Museum.
"Our goal and business plan mirrors that of Abraham Overholt's during the 1800s when estate-distilled 'Old Farm' was the preferred rye whiskey of choice,” said West Overton’s board of directors President Rob Ferguson. “We will to bring the distilling process to life for educational and interpretive reasons and produce small quantities for sale.”
Last February, the board formed the West Overton Distilling Company, LLC, to apply for the license and eventually oversee the whiskey distillation.
 “Once West Overton Distilling Co. bottles the first batch, we will officially become the second historical site to distill spirits on the federally designated ‘American Whiskey Trail,’” Mr. Ferguson said. George Washington’s Mt. Vernon home in Virginia is the other site.
Mr. Ferguson said that telling this part of West Overton’s story will further entice the heritage traveler to consider visiting the site and the region.
At a Whiskey Smash fundraiser in November, Ferguson announced that West Overton acquired the rights to the original "Old Farm" designation from the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.  
The next step is to purchase the most appropriate distillation equipment, which is being made possible by a donation from West Overton supporter and volunteer, Charles Fischer of Scottdale, in memory of his late wife, Mary Ellen.
West Overton Distilling Company, LLC, should produce its first batch of whiskey by year’s end, according to West Overton Managing Director Jessica Kadie-Barclay.

About West Overton Village & Museums:
West Overton Village & Museums, the birthplace of Henry Clay Frick, is a pre-Civil War industrial village. 
A stop on the American Whiskey Trail, West Overton Village & Museums is located about 45 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh and 45 minutes north of Morgantown, W.Va.
West Overton is closed for the season except for special events and reopens for tours in May: Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tours are available June – October, Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays, from noon to 3 p.m., or by appointment. 
For more information, visit www.westovertonvillage.org or call 724-887-7910.