After More Than a Century, a Local Whiskey Brand Is Being Resurrected

PHOTO COURTESY OF H. OBERNAUER & CO.

By all accounts, Herman Obernauer was one hell of a guy.

After immigrating to Pittsburgh from Germany in 1880, he became a horseback-riding cigar salesman who galloped from pub to pub selling his wares. Locals dubbed this speed demon “The Flying Dutchman.”

When he realized customers were drinking three glasses of whiskey for every stogie they bought, he landed in the booze business.

H. Obernauer & Co. was a whiskey rectifier, meaning it bought bulk or raw distilled spirits and blended them to create a final bottled product. It operated on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Stevenson Street in Uptown from 1885 to 1915.

Even after the closure of the facility, generations of Obernauers stayed active in the wine and spirits industry.

Now, Matthew Obernaueur, Herman’s great-great-grandson, is resurrecting the whiskey rectifying business at 2613 Smallman St. in the Strip District, a historic building that most recently housed Kingfly Spirits.

The tasting room is expected to open this fall.

When Matthew was 12 years old, his grandfather handed him a full, unopened bottle of H. Obernauer & Co. Whiskey. Gramps wasn’t contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but introducing the boy to a bit of family lore.

“It’s such a vivid childhood memory,” he says. “I thought it was amazing that I had this ancestor who created something and, over 100 years later, I was holding it in my hand.”

Now 48, Matthew sees that moment as a ceremonial passing of the torch.

Although he grew up in New York, Matthew has deep Pittsburgh roots; already he can hear a hint of a yinzer accent in his 4-year-old’s voice.

A lawyer by trade, he spent years working in baseball operations, including a stint with the Colorado Rockies. The pandemic brought him back to his ancestral homebase.

The new whiskey hub was originally built in 1890 and served as a horse stable. Later incarnations included a lumber mill and an upscale home goods store. The owners of Kingfly spent nearly two years restoring the structure, which has a downstairs bar and a large event space in the former hayloft.

Obernauer will add custom furniture to create intimate seating areas throughout the building and hopes to offer food service and collaborations with area businesses, including neighboring Cinderlands Warehouse.

As the Squirrel Hill resident works to reinstate H. Obernauer & Co., he’s having fun uncovering information about the company’s quirky namesake. Ol’ Herman was an avid baseball fan, a Democratic elector for Pennsylvania and an inventor who held a patent for a portable folding stool.

PHOTO COURTESY OF H. OBERNAUER & CO.

An old newspaper article features a photo of a smug-looking Herman being carted through the streets in a wheelbarrow after winning a political bet.

According to the paper, “The ride began at Center Avenue and Miller Street. Several hundred men and boys, carrying banners and redfire, accompanied the barrow, its occupant and its motive power. Music for the procession was furnished by a half-grown boy with a big bass drum, assisted occasionally by two or three other boys with bugles and by still another with a snare drum. The boy with the snare drum fell into a sewer and was trampled by the crowd.”

No doubt whiskey played a part in the celebration.

Herman was also featured in a late-19th-century compendium of prominent Pittsburghers, including Andrew Carnegie. His caricature, printed next to a limerick-style poem and biography, now serves as the H. Obernauer & Co. mascot. Perhaps the one-of-a-kind character will get a star on Pittsburgh’s Walk of Fame someday.

Until then, Matthew can’t wait to add a new chapter to this family’s storied history.

“There’s really no one else who could do this in the right way,” he says. “It’s important to uphold that standard.”