Pennsylvania’s Only Gay- and Woman-Owned Distillery Is Right Here in Pittsburgh

PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER | KATIE SIRIANNI BEHIND THE BAR AT LOVE, KATIE

Katie Sirianni got her start in the cocktail business at a mobile bar company, flipping vintage horse trailers into compact bars. Now, she has her own brick-and-mortar bar, vending vodka, gin and coffee liqueur that she and her small team of four distill in-house. 

Her distillery and cocktail lounge, Love, Katie, is located on the main drag in Sharpsburg; she got the keys to the property on St. Patrick’s Day, 2023, and opened to the public later that year on June 28 — International Pride Day, which was a fitting date for the brand’s official launch.

As a gay woman, Sirianni stands among a minority that is estimated to make up less than 1% of distillery owners worldwide,Love, Katie also is the first and only gay- and woman-owned distillery in Pennsylvania.

“It’s an honor, of course. To represent that minority in a very straight male field, it means a lot,” Sirianni says. “But I just can’t wrap my head around it sometimes. I’m just like, ‘How is there not more?’” 

But in this case, it’s quality over quantity.

Each year, Love, Katie has released a Pride-inspired bottle with a rainbow label. While that may seem a little at odds with the interior of her space, which embraces a monochromatic palette, it complements art hanging in the bar’s outdoor patio, which features an installation by The Positive Painting Project that uses bright pops of color to make up a rainbow theme. 

PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER | PRIDE-THEMED BOTTLES FEATURE AN “L” AND A “K,” FOR LOVE, KATIE

The space is also hosting a range of events throughout June to celebrate Pride Month, including a Pride-themed cookie decorating class and a burlesque show, both on June 27, and its Love, Katie Pride Fest on June 28, celebrating its three-year anniversary.

The goal, Sirianni says, is to celebrate love in all its forms.

“The brand itself is actually built on a love letter. It’s my love letter to Jen,” she says of her fiancee, whom she has been with for almost four years. “But it’s also meant to be a love letter to whomever you’re sharing it with.”

On the back of each bottle, there’s a romantic missive that reads in part: “To the one I love … I cherish what we have and don’t want to waste a drop of it.” 

There’s also a brand statement from Sirianni: “As someone who faces discrimination, it was important to me to have this brand represent the saying, ‘Love is love.’” 

It’s a message that she hopes will resonate with everyone who comes out to the lounge, regardless of their sexual orientation.

“Love really has gotten so complicated over the years,” she says. “It shouldn’t be complicated to care about somebody.” 

Love is also evident in the attention to detail Sirianni and her team put into the space’s design. The atmosphere is cozy and elevated, and the cocktail menu is extensive. On its regular menu, there are 31 cocktails, as well as mocktails, soda, a rotating variety of local beers and three different samplers or flights.

The popular Love, Jen drink is a tribute to Sirianni’s fiance, featuring housemade gin, elderflower tonic, rosemary bitters, simple syrup and rosemary garnish. The gin, made from scratch in the 12-foot-by-12-foot space behind the bar, was ranked among the top three gins in February 2024 by The Daily Pour.

“We joke and call it a gateway gin, because it’s a lot smoother,” she says. “People will come in and be like, ‘We don’t like gin,’ and I’m like, ‘challenge accepted.’”

The Coconut Espresso Martini offers a fresh and beachy take on its classic counterpart, and Love Potion #9 — which contains housemade vodka, limoncello, lemon juice, lavender simple syrup, tonic and a thyme garnish — highlights the bar’s retro theme: The space’s monochrome palette, crystal chandeliers and screens showing classic black-and-white TV favorites aim to bring love back to the basics, Sirianni says. She calls it “old soul energy with a modern heartbeat.” 

PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER | THE COCONUT ESPRESSO MARTINI AT LOVE, KATIE IS A BEACHY TAKE ON ITS CLASSIC COUNTERPART

“My goal in life with love was to find a love like my grandparents’, because there was nothing like it,” she says of the space’s vintage inspiration. “You don’t see love like that anymore.”

For June, Love, Katie also boasts nine Pride-themed specials inspired by the colors of the rainbow: the Red Petals cocktail is made up of gin, strawberry rose simple serum and elderflower tonic, and the Blue Collar Lemonade features whiskey, limoncello, simple syrup, blue curacao, lemon juice, lemonade and tonic. 

“For Pride, I go hard,” Sirianni says, referencing the themed drinks and the upcoming events taking place in the space to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. “I embrace the fact that I’m gay. It’s not a secret. You’ve got to celebrate it … not only during Pride, but year round.” 

For tickets to Love, Katie’s upcoming events, visit its website.