Our Story
Sugar Top Spirit & Beverage Co. was founded on May 25, 2020 but our story starts over 100 years ago…
One of the many blessings of my life was the opportunity to listen to the stories and recollections of my grandmother’s childhood during the 1920s and 1930s. In her later years, I became her caregiver as she battled dementia. Thankfully, her childhood memories stayed in tact: there was the day her youngest brother embarrassed their mother because he thought a visiting preacher would eat all of their Sunday dinner, the day she learned to swim by being tossed into the Monongahela River by her brothers, and the day she met my grandfather while dancing in the Savoy Ballroom of the New Grenada Theater. Her favorite yarns, however, involved her mother and the miracles she worked while trying to raise her children and adjust to life up North in Pittsburgh’s storied Hill District.
According to my grandma, her mother ran several '“hustles” to supplement her pay as a cleaning woman. She rented out spare rooms in the home, hosted parties where people could listen to music or boxing matches, play cards, and order a fried chicken plate. Most relevantly, she sold homemade moonshine that she stored in washed out bleach bottles. She would say these bottles were used as part of her day job if (and when) police stopped by and questioned her. When that wasn’t a strong enough cover, she provided officers with free booze and a few bills to look the other way- which they always did. Apparently, my great grandmother was a pillar of the community and everyone who met her loved and respected her. Plus, everyone enjoyed her cooking and ‘shining skills- it was beneficial to everyone if she didn’t get arrested.
My grandmother always laughed until she cried when she talked about the adventures that happened in her home growing up and I always felt so connected to my great grandmother because of them. Great grandma’s tenacity is at the heart of Sugar Top Spirit & Beverage Co. I want to (legally) build upon my family’s legacy and bring the world premium spirits and other related products crafted from quality ingredients— hopefully inspiring others along the way.
I dreamt about starting this company for nearly a decade, and finally found the courage to get started.
There’s a lot of work to put in until the first product is ready to be enjoyed— but I hope you’ll join me for the ride!
Terri L. White,
Founder and President
(Left) This is my great grandmother, Pearl Smith Austin. Shortly after relocating from Pineville, Kentucky to Pittsburgh she found herself widowed with six children to care for. One of those children was my paternal grandmother, Pauline Smith White (not pictured).