Spirits are high in Verona.
Lawrenceville Distilling Co.’s Riverbank Distillery opened last month inside a more than 100-year-old former bank.
The opening marks the official relocation of Lawrenceville Distilling Co. from Lawrenceville to Verona.
Co-owners and brothers Jeremy and Joe DeGroot didn’t renew the lease last year on their small-batch distillery business, which they launched in Lawrenceville in 2018.
“We’re still the same Lawrenceville Distilling, just in a new location. The intention is still to have multiple locations because our license allows us to have six. We just decided to focus on this location in Verona,” Joe DeGroot said.
Riverbank Distillery, with five employees, opened quietly last month.
The interior of the former bank at 742 Allegheny River Blvd. has been transformed into a relaxing and welcoming tasting room with a mid-century/art deco lounge vibe.
There’s no kitchen — it’s not a restaurant — but a traditional tasting room.
“We chose to go with the old design that’s here. We’ve leaned into that for our branding — art deco meets mid-century — and we tried to preserve as much of this building as possible,” Joe DeGroot said.
The DeGroots are the only distillers making authentic absinthe in Western Pennsylvania.
Their 1129 Ridge Ave. Absinthe is named after the address of what is believed to be one of Pittsburgh’s most infamous haunted houses on the North Side.
“It’s a spirit that was very popular in the 1800s, and we use a recipe that dates back to 1855,” Joe DeGroot said. “At one point, it was more popular than wine — and in fact threatened the wine industry.”
It originally was intended to be medicinal, and there was a time when French soldiers used absinthe to ward off disease and sickness. But then, the French developed a taste for it.
French absinthe is traditionally green, distilled from grapes. The key ingredients are wormwood, anise and fennel.
Wormwood is a bitter plant also used in digestives.
“Absinthe is much more herbal. I got into this while I was a schoolteacher,” Joe DeGroot said.
He honed his distilling skills with a tiny still in his backyard, and that same still is on display in the tasting room.
Absinthe takes about a month to make — there are a lot of steps — and it has no artificial ingredients.
Dispelling myths about absinthe is their job. The most common misconception is that it causes hallucinations, which isn’t true.
Absinthe is made at a higher proof than most liquors and is meant to be cut by adding water and sugar.
The distillery also makes and sells small-batch vodka, gin, whiskey, liqueurs and craft cocktails.
The core spirit line is Parking Chair Vodka, Jaggerbush American Dry Gin and Ginzer American Gin, a play on Pittsburgh’s popular “yinzer” moniker.
Ginzer Gin is made with a blend of juniper, coriander, orange and clove.
Their vodka is sourced from French winter wheat and is distilled six times using a copper Portuguese alembic (vodka can be made with any grain or start with a sugar content, including winter wheat, potatoes, rye or grapes).
The brothers were raised in the Wexford area. Now, Joe lives in Murrysville and Jeremy lives in McCandless.
Pennsylvania beer and wine are available for nonspirit drinkers.
“If you want to come in just for an evening and just relax with a cocktail, we have created the vibe so that it feels like a night out,” Joe DeGroot said.
After completing extensive renovations, including a new roof on the bank built circa 1920, the brothers are thrilled to share their love of craft cocktails with patrons.
“I’m relieved at this point, and I’m super-excited to open and get people in the doors,” Jeremy DeGroot said.
The original ceiling had to be replaced, but the original bank vault is still there for patrons to peruse and photograph.
The business rollout is happening in three phases: The first is the interior tasting room, the second is just underway and entails turning a large portion of the parking lot into an outdoor seating area, and the third phase is the still-under-construction vault.
“We’re keeping that a mystery, but when done, customers will have access to the vault,” Joe Degroot said. “The most interesting thing that we found in the vault is an old passport from the 1950s.”
The cocktails are clever, classic and refreshing.
The Green Beast features 1129 Absinthe Traditionnelle, lime cordial, cucumber and mint.
The Verona Sunset is made with Jaggerbush Gin, basil, lemon, blackberry and angostura.
Drink prices range from $8 to $16.
The brothers recognize that many patrons have memories of conducting banking business there.
“There’s a lot of excitement over the vault doors,” Jeremy DeGroot said. “Customers comment on how they remember being at the bank.”
The vault was built in Ohio, and the brothers still have a few original keys from the 500 original safe deposit boxes.
The brothers are grateful for what they said has been a warm welcome.
“We’re excited to be here in Verona. We’re proud to be from Lawrenceville, but to move a few miles up the road to this beautiful bank … we just have fallen in love with this town,” Joe DeGroot said.
