Cast of Characters

Owners On the Ground Daily:

Meredith Grelli After working for two years on Wigle under the cover of night, Meredith joined Wigle full-time in March 2012 with the notion that it might be good to have some kind of strategy around this venture. Wigle combines her deep love of Pittsburgh and local drink and food. Before Wigle, she worked in brand management at Heinz, went to business school at Carnegie Mellon, cooking school at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, and studied urban history at University of Chicago. She also co-founded Burgh Bees, a local beekeeping organization. She lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband, Alex, and daughter, Effie. To learn more about new products, distribution opportunities, ways to use our space, and anything marketing send a line to Meredith@wiglewhiskey.com.

Eric Meyer Eric has hailed the micro-alcohol flag from all corners of the world--including working for a microbrewery in Kyrgyzstan and imbibing at many microdistilleries while working in the Pacific Northwest.  In summer 2010, Eric spent 6 weeks traveling back by train to his hometown Pittsburgh, visiting distilleries on his way. He arrived home in July 2010 and has had a bottle in his hand ever since. Eric is was a philosophy major in at University of Vermont and studied Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon. You're likely to see Eric if you come by during tasting hours or for tours and hanging out at local bars and restaurants. To learn more about the the distillery and upcoming events contact Eric.

Mark Meyer After more than 35 years as an attorney, Mark decided to retire into manual labor. Always identifying with underdogs, Mark empathizes with the naïve confidence of our namesake, Wigle, who stood up for his right to keep on making whiskey during the Whiskey Rebellion. When he's not laboring for the love of whiskey, Mark can be found bicycling around town in embarrassingly tight spandex. Mark lives with Mary Ellen in Squirrel Hill.

Holding Onto their Day Jobs:

Alex Grelli Alex's love affair with Whiskey runs deep. A Texas transplant and Western Pennsylvania adopted son, Alex is committed to developing whiskeys and spirits that show off the terroir that made this region famous for whiskey. Alex is a lawyer by day at Reed Smith, but is around the distillery most nights and all weekends.

Jeff Meyer A certified archeologist and librarian, Jeff is our resident historian. When not at Wigle, (which is about eight months of the year) he can be found teaching visitors, digging up dirt, and numbering pottery shards at Mesa Verde National Park, where he is a park ranger.

Mary Ellen Meyer If you've tasted a Wigle Krispey, you've enjoyed some of Mary Ellen's handiwork. Mary Ellen is the unassuming one who's holding up this operation on her 5'2" frame. Without her, Wigle Whiskey would be colorless, homeless and destitute. After 35 years working with kids, she now spends her days doing all the things that keep Wigle humming on a daily basis.

Effie Grelli Effie has not yet had her first drop of Wigle's sauce. She's waiting for the 21-year Aged Whiskey.

Ducky, Greeter. The distillery's pug has severe allergies and will never try Wigle Whiskey. She is, however, cute as a button, gives high fives, and snorts like a pig.