Thursday, March 3, 2016

ACSA Good to the 'Burgh

The American Craft Spirits Association is holding their annual conference this week and their awards ceremony was last night, March 2. Pittsburgh's distillers spent a lot of time getting out their seats to go on stage. Maggie's Farm entered six spirits and came home with 8 awards, (more on that in a bit). Wigle entered 17 products and came away with 12 awards.
Pittsburgh Distilling, makers of Wigle, won a couple of golds with best in category Wheat Whiskey and Best in category Genever. They were also awarded 3 silver including 2 for their Waipsie bourbons. Their total haul of a dozen medals places them 2nd behind Ballast Point for the most awards.
But the big winner was Pittsburgh's own rum distillery Maggie's Farm. Allegheny Distilling won 2 bronze for their white and spiced rums, 2 silver medals for the Queen's Share white and bourbon barrel aged, 2 gold for the Queen's Share rye barrel aged and for Single Barrel aged. That Single Barrel also won the overall rum category. The night finished off with the Best spirit of the show being awarded to Maggie's Farm Single Barrel rum. Which led to perhaps the best tweet out of the show from Tim: "WE WON EVERYTHING!"
In total Pittsburgh's distillers came home with 18 medals, if you add in Disobedient Spirits in Homer City that's another 5 medals, (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze). Going even farther out to include Manatawny out of Pottstown you get an additional (3 silver and 2 bronze)
The other Best In Class Winners in each category included:

Whiskey:  Still 630, for Double Barrel RallyPoint

Gin: New Holland Artisan Spirits, for Barrel Aged Knickerbocker Gin

Liqueurs and Distilled Spirits Specialty:  Huber’s Starlight Distillery, for Starlight Distillery Blueberry Liqueur

Vodka: Ballast Point Spirits, for Fugu Vodka

There were over 450 entries from 39 states, making the number of medals from a control state all the more impressive.

No comments:

Post a Comment