The Study at Mary's Vine

"I went to the Study at Mary’s Vine for my birthday with a group of six friends and had a weird experience that left a pretty sour taste in my mouth. It’s stayed in my mind since yesterday night, so I felt that I needed to leave a review. I really do want to start with the good because there is a lot to love about the Study. The free valet makes getting in very easy, the entrance to the study itself is very well done, and the ambiance is awesome. They have a great whiskey selection (more on that below) and their cigar selection is wide enough to please most, I think. It took about 40 minutes for everyone to get their drinks, which I didn’t really mind because there was one server mixing drinks and serving our party of six and a party of four, but it is notable they had one person running The Study on a Friday night. I ordered an ounce William Larue Weller (2020) which I’ve had a few times before, but when it came out it was notably light (looked closer to Elijah Craig Small Batch or Maker’s Mark color), had no nose to speak of, and from the first sip tasted like it was 90 proof, closer to Weller Special Reserve. I let my other two friends take a small sip to see if I was crazy and were all pretty sure the wrong thing had been poured. I had asked to take a picture of the bottle when I ordered because I like to remember what I got for special events, and when it came out as the correct bottle we were all a bit perplexed. We talked to the server who said she had personally poured it from that bottle but would gladly repour it in front of us because she wanted us to have a good time, we declined and said we trusted her if she says she poured it. We all took one more sip and were pondering about what could’ve gone wrong with the bottle (our best guess is the cork has dried since 2020 and the poor seal allowed alcohol to evaporate explaining the lower proof and bitterness), and the sever offered 2-3 more times to repour it. Finally we said, what if we just repour the George T Stagg instead because the WLW bottle is off and they’re the same price. At that point, none of us touched the glass again and set it aside. After that we had a great time. We all had our drinks and cigars so it didn’t matter that there was one server. I guess there was miscommunication because when the bill came we had been charged for both the WLW and GTS. When I spoke to the server her tone completely changed, she said that’s not what she meant but we could talk to the manager, so I did and explained the situation. At that point the server claimed we’d drank 3/4 of the glass which I don’t think was correct because we really didn’t like it and set it aside, but ultimately the manager offered to take half off which I agreed to. I thought that was a fair way to resolve the miscommunication. The manager was really short and seemed annoyed the whole time we talked, maybe he was having a bad night. When I mentioned the bottle tasting off like the cork was loose he snapped back that whiskey doesn’t go bad (which is true if the seal is good and it’s kept in a dark location). I tried to thank him for taking half off on my way back to the table and suggest that he have someone check on that bottle because it really tasted off and he completely ignored me. I stood there for 5-10 seconds before walking away. Then he brought the check back without a word. It was just really strange interactions all around. I thought we were all being respectful. We kept apologizing for causing an issue and saying we didn’t blame any of them the bottle was just off, but we all know whiskey pretty well and can tell when something is wrong. Every other whiskey that night tasted as we’d expect. Ultimately, I’m not really mad about the experience but it just feels strange and left a sour taste in my mouth. I won’t be going back to The Study or Mary’s Vine, but I don’t think others should necessarily avoid it. I just would stick to cheaper, shelf available bottles and know you may have to wait. I would definitely steer clear of their William Larue Weller."

"This is an old Catholic church with a restaurant up top and smoking lounge below. I meant many interesting people here who made me feel important and skinny. The Catholic religion can be seen everywhere here and felt in your soul. I like this place because I like cigars and I like good people."

"Coolest bar ever! Great cigar selection and huge range of whiskies and really creative cocktails! My favorite place in Pittsburgh hands down!!!"