Picklesburgh returns for its 11th year Thursday, and local businesses are rolling out pickle-flavored food and drinks to celebrate.
Eat’n Park announced the return of its limited-edition Pickle Smiley Cookies on Monday. A spin on the restaurant’s classic Smiley Cookie, the pickled version features green pickle-flavored icing and Smiley’s signature grin.
Pickle Smiley Cookies will be sold individually ($1.99) at select Eat’n Park locations in the Pittsburgh region and in packs that ship nationwide at SmileyCookie.com. Fans can also buy Pickle Smiley Cookies and merchandise at the Eat’n Park booth at Picklesburgh.
On the spirited side, Wigle Whiskey is releasing Spicy Eau de Pickle, a traditional Scandinavian-style aquavit.
Bottles ($36) were created in collaboration with Latrobe-based artisanal pickling company The Pickled Chef.
According to a Wigle news release, the spirit features tasting notes of jalapeño, garlic, dill and brown sugar for “a bold and savory tasting experience.” The 80-proof (40% ABV) aquavit will be sold in 375-milliliter bottles for a limited time. Wigle is also serving a pickle martini cocktail ($15) featuring Eau de Pickle at its distillery in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.
Aquavit is traditionally made by distilling a fermented grain or potato mash before redistilling it with herbs and botanicals. To create Eau de Pickle, Wigle first distilled a rye mash, then macerated it with dill weed, dill seed, garlic, mace, mustard, caraway and coriander before redistilling it with botanicals. The Pickled Chef then aged the spirit in a Wigle bourbon barrel previously used to ferment its Fresno hot sauce, adding a spicy finish.
“It’s bold, briny, spicy and completely Picklesburgh,” said Wigle Whiskey COO Alex Moser in the same release.
The small-batch spirit will be available beginning Tuesday, with only 250 bottles produced. Spicy Eau De Pickle will be sold at Wigle Whiskey in the Strip District, its Ross Park Mall bottle shop, online for shipping in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., and at Picklesburgh from Thursday to Sunday, while supplies last.