E73: Riverside Rooftop Revival: A Spirited Journey Crafting Community in a Historic Space

What makes Tony Mazzarini with The Distillery Complex a good neighbor? 

Tucked along Pittsburgh's riverside stands a brick and wood structure with a remarkable story spanning nearly two centuries. When real estate developer Tony Mazzarini acquired the vacant 25,000-square-foot building in 2018, he uncovered its hidden legacy as the Joseph Finch Whiskey Distillery—once among the world's largest rye whiskey producers. Rather than simply developing the property, Tony embraced its spirited past, partnering with chemist-turned-distiller Kevin Lloyd to create The Distillery Complex, a multifaceted destination reviving Pittsburgh's craft spirits heritage.

The Distillery Complex offers what Tony calls a "vertical experience" with something special on every level. Visitors start their journey in the lobby-level tasting room, where knowledgeable ambassadors introduce them to Big Spring Spirits' impressive lineup of 42 different alcohols. From whiskeys and bourbons to vodkas, gins, rums, and even authentic tequila, their products share a commitment to local sourcing and quality ingredients—especially their signature spring water that gives the spirits their distinctive character. Their popular Talleyrand Cream Bourbon represents the perfect introduction for those new to spirits appreciation.

Beyond spirits tasting, the building houses The Finch rooftop bar with unparalleled city views, an elegant Drawing Room cigar lounge, and a fifth-floor event space featuring a breathtaking 300-degree panorama of Pittsburgh's skyline. This thoughtful preservation of history combined with modern craft and hospitality creates a destination unlike any other in the city. Whether you're a spirits enthusiast curious about production methods or simply seeking a unique place to gather with friends, The Distillery Complex offers a multi-sensory journey through Pittsburgh's past and present.

Discover this riverside gem for yourself by visiting thedistillerycomplexpgh.com or following their social media channels to witness how a forgotten whiskey landmark has been transformed into one of Pittsburgh's most distinctive destinations.

To learn more about The Distillery Complex go to: 

https://www.thedistillerycomplex.com/

The Distillery Complex

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a reallycool place to hang out in
Pittsburgh?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
tony Mazzarini, with theDistillery Complex.
Tony, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (00:31):
I'm doing great, Lila .
How are you doing today?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Very well, thank you.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business, so
please tell us about yourcompany.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
We're excited to share the new complex that we've
built along the riverfront herein Pittsburgh under the Big
Spring Spirits brand called theDistillery Complex.
It's located down on 2nd Streetand McKean Street in the south

(01:04):
shore of Pittsburgh, right upthe street from Station Square,
right alongside the LibertyBridge.
We are an 11-year-old spiritsbrand that was founded out in
the central part of Pennsylvania, in Bellefont, PA, and we've
expanded rapidly across thestate and now in my hometown,
which is Pittsburgh.
We're excited to share thebrand and this exciting new
building, which has so manythings to offer Pittsburghers.

(01:27):
You know we can't wait to showit off and have people come down
and enjoy it.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
How did you get into this business, Tony?

Speaker 3 (01:37):
It was actually through an interesting journey.
I am, by trade, a real estatedeveloper and I acquired the
building, which was a about atwenty five thousand square foot
brick and all wood structureback in twenty eighteen.
And once we discovered thestory behind the building

(01:59):
because the building was sittingvacant for many years we
discovered that it was a whiskeydistillery.
180 years ago, the Joseph FinchWhiskey Distillery was one of
the largest rye whiskeydistilleries in the world at the
time and, yeah, it wasfascinating to me and I'm like,
wow, how do we tell this storyagain?
I actually just went out lookingfor a tenant to bring in to

(02:21):
tell the story and bring it backto the building.
Looking for a tenant to bringin to tell the story and bring
it back to the building, met mynow current partner, kevin Lloyd
, out in Belfont, pa, who wasalready manufacturing Big Spring
Spirits.
He was about six years old atthe time, maybe five, but I
really liked Kevin.
I loved the product that he wasmaking and when he saw the
building, he really loved thebuilding and I think he liked me

(02:43):
as well.
So we put it all together,formed a company and now I'm in
the distilling business and he'sin the real estate development
business as well, so it's a lotof fun.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Very good, and I understand that the rooftop part
of the building is called theFinch.
Is that to honor him?

Speaker 3 (02:59):
Absolutely, it's a throwback to the original
spirits manufacturer in thebuilding.
Absolutely, it's a throwback tothe original spirits
manufacturer in the building.
It's also a play on words forthe rooftop crow's nest the bird
, the finch.
So we kind of had a couplecreative marketing folks come up
with that name and it's Ireally love it.
I love the name, I love thehomage back to Joseph Finch, the

(03:21):
original user of the building.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, that's excellent.
So are there any myths ormisconceptions in your industry
that you'd like to discuss today?

Speaker 3 (03:30):
I think there are, uh , quite a few actually.
Uh, one is, um, you know, allwhiskeys are made the same and
uh, you know, when I got intothis business I had absolutely
very little knowledge.
I I just knew I enjoyeddrinking alcohol when I drank,
and I primarily do drink darkalcohol, so whiskeys and

(03:51):
bourbons.
But when you actually find outwhat it takes to manufacture it
and make your own special recipe, there's a lot of things that
go into making it special andunique and how you age it, how
you blend it, so many neatthings about it.
But yeah, I think a lot offolks just think you know, you

(04:12):
make a whiskey, you stick it ina barrel and out comes magic.
But there's a lot that goesinto it.
And you know, we at Big Springreally take pride in our
sourcing of the products.
We do it all with local farmers.
We also do all the purchasingof the barrels we age in locally

(04:33):
and we also use what's mostcritical in our method the Big
Spring source of body of water.
So you know, alcohol has a lotof water in it.
When you get it off the stillit's about 140 plus proof.
But by the time it's drinkablein a quality taste, you have to
proof it, and all that proofingis done with water.

(04:54):
So the water is so important tous, and having the big spring
as our source of water hasreally set us apart from some of
our competitors has really setus apart from some of our
competitors, very nice.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
So whenever we think about marketing as the heart of
any business and you'reattracting your target market,
is this people who arespecifically interested in those
darker liquors like you weretalking about, or is it
something else?
Who is your target demographicand how are you attracting them
to the distillery?

Speaker 3 (05:25):
We're so fortunate that it's just the darker.
Spirits are just one of ourmany products that we
manufacture, so we make a fullproduct line 42 different types
of alcohols.
We do have clears as well, soour vodkas, our gins, we have
rums.
We have our own tequila line.

(05:47):
We have which is authentictequila that comes into the
United States concentratedthrough our, our producer down
in the agave region of Mexico,and then when we get it again
here in Pennsylvania, we proofit down with our great water and

(06:09):
it becomes a really very, verypalatable tequila.
But we target, our targetaudience is everybody from 21
years and above, because I thinkwe have something for everybody
.
We also carry out product thatis one of our largest sellers is
called Talleyrand Cream Bourbon, hence the name of our holding
company that owns all the assetsunderneath it.
Talleyrand is a reallypalatable cream bourbon that has

(06:33):
a perfect use of either anafter-dinner drink or a
before-dinner drink.
It's not real high in alcoholcontent but just a beautiful
flavor to it and just one ofmany things that we can attract,
maybe someone who isn't a realstrong spirits drinker but likes
to have something differentthan just beer or wine.

(06:54):
But again, we have so manydifferent things.
We can attract ages of all typeand all flavors and all people
that love to enjoy any kind ofsocial drinking.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Very nice.
It sounds like you have areally refined approach and
there's so much to learn aboutall these different types of
spirits so have you ever thoughtabout possibly starting your
own podcast to discuss themactually we would love to do
that.

Speaker 3 (07:21):
It would be a lot of fun.
I would love to have my partner, kevin, on, who is the actual
master distiller.
I'm I'm more the business sideof our business, but he would be
thrilled, I'm sure, to join mesomeday, or join you someday, in
talking about the actualprocesses and all the things

(07:41):
that go into the differentrecipes.
And now, his story is veryinteresting as well.
He was a.
He was a PhD in chemistry outof.
Penn State and worked in thetesting lab industry for a while
and then sold that business andfound himself looking to do
something else, and makingspirits was what he landed on,

(08:04):
and, fortunately for me and forthe rest of our team, we're
excited that he did that,because now we're all together.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, he sounds like a great asset to your team.
Oh, no doubt.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
He's the guy that makes all the juice, so it's so
important to have a person likethat a good character, great
knowledge and super hard worker.
So, yeah, I love Kevin andwe've been together now almost
five years, and so it's been awonderful journey to grow the
company to where we're at now.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Absolutely Now outside of work, Tony, what do
you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (08:38):
I have a beautiful family and I love to spend time
with my wife and my children andmy grandchildren.
Now I have three wonderfulgrandchildren, one in New York
City and two here in Pittsburgh,but yeah, the kids are great.
I also enjoy my probably mybiggest hobby is golfing outside
of work.
So I love to golf and fish anddo that in a variety of places,

(09:03):
and I also love to travel.
My wife and myself have beenblessed with the ability to do
that.
I think I instilled that spiritof travel into my kids as well.
So my son just got married overin Portugal and we all made the
journey over there.
I've been able to see a lot ofthe world as a result of our
love of travel as well.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
Oh, very nice.
So whenever you're nottraveling the world, you're
working on your swing right?
Oh yeah, no doubt very nice.
So whenever you're nottraveling the world, you're
working on your swing right?

Speaker 3 (09:30):
oh yeah, no doubt, and I'm actually working on my
swing even when I'm travelingthe world, because I uh, I
played twice over in europe whenwe were there.
I played once in portugal andthen we got to go over to the
south of spain for a couple daysand played there as well.
So it's uh, it's fun to seedifferent golf courses and how
they're designed around theworld too.
So I enjoy, I enjoy that, yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:50):
What a beautiful experience there.
So what is one thing thatshould stick with our listeners
about the distillery complex?

Speaker 3 (09:59):
I think the experience that we provide here
is a vertical experience.
When you walk into our buildinghere on 2nd and McKean, you'll
find a tasting room and adistillery on the first lobby
floor level.
You'll find a tasting room anda distillery on the first lobby
floor level and you'll also begreeted by someone who, if you
have any questions about itbecause we are new they'll be

(10:21):
able to tell you about thebuilding and what we have to
offer.
But the vertical experiencestarts right there.
So you can go into our tastingroom, be introduced to Big
Spring Spirits we have aknowledgeable ambassador of our
brand down there on the firstfloor to be able to tell you all
about it, give you a freesample of what you might want to

(10:42):
try or to take home eventually,because we can also sell direct
to the consumer our bottleswith our licensing.
That's one of the big advantagesof craft distilling in
Pennsylvania.
But then from that point there,whatever other destination you
want to find in the building,that is something you enjoy,
whether it be the rooftop bar,which is a tremendous place to

(11:05):
catch a view of Pittsburgh likeyou've never seen before, or if
it's our drawing room cigarlounge, which is just an
absolutely beautiful, unlike anyother cigar lounge I've ever
been in around the world verycomfortable, very private
setting with a tremendous view.
Again or up to our event space,which we have on the fifth

(11:28):
floor, which is a 300 degreeview of the city of pittsburgh,
and I I know there's going to beso many people that start their
lives there together,celebrating weddings and
christenings and baptisms andeverything else that might go
along with that event space.
We have a great, great numberof people coming out and

(11:49):
contracting with us to use thatspace.
So there's just so many thingsto do inside the building once
you get here with us to use thatspace.
So there's just so many thingsto do inside the building once
you get here.

Speaker 2 (11:58):
I think that's the thing to make sure that you
leave yourself enough time toenjoy the mall.
Wow, that location sounds likea gem.
I'm sure, as a real estatedeveloper, you were just
thrilled to be able to investthere.
So how can our listeners learnmore about the Distillery
Complex?

Speaker 3 (12:13):
listeners.
Learn more about the DistilleryComplex.
You can go to our website,thedistillerycomplexpghcom.
You can also follow us onInstagram.
We're also on Facebook and theYouTube channel at all of our
Distillery complex pghcomlanding pages.

(12:34):
But you can also go tobigspringspiritscom.
Our bigspringspiritscom websiteis a really nice website and
tells you all about the historyof our brand and our our current
location here in pittsburgh ournew location, but also our
existing location up in belfort,pa.
It's a very, very space as well.
We have a tasting room up thereand the Penn State relationship

(12:58):
up there has been great.
It's about 10 miles northwestof Penn State College and we,
just we love Center County.
Pennsylvania, where we startedas well.
So you're going to learn allabout us on all those multiple
locations.

Speaker 2 (13:13):
Very nice.
Well, we are so happy to haveyou in Pittsburgh and thank you
so much for your time today onthe show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (13:23):
Thank you so much, Lili.
It was really a pleasure tojoin you and hope to do it again
.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnppittsburghcom.
That's gnppittsburghcom, orcall 412-561-9956.