Great American Distillers Festival Award Winners

This month’s Great American Distillers Festival (GADF) held in Portland, Oregon was an exceptional success! More than 38 American craft distillers participated in the two day festival that included tastings, bottle sales, a luncheon menu created with distilled spirits, an after party, and cocktail contests. The results are below:

GADF/Oregon’s Best “Beer Cocktail” Competition (Held Mon. Sept. 16 @GADF Media Party/Winner Announced at GADF Luncheon, October 5th)

Best of Show Winner:
Ransom Wines and Spirits, Sheridan, Oregon

Finalists included Big Bottom Whiskey, Bull Run Distilling Company, House Spirits Distillery, Ransom Wines and Spirits and Rogue Ales & Spirits.

“Tom’s Swill Pill” Recipe:
2 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1 oz Freshly pressed pineapple juice
1/2 oz Fresh squeezed lime juice
2 slices of fresh jalapeño
2 oz TEN BARREL  Swill Beer

Muddle jalapeño in shaker.  Add ice and first 4 ingredients.
Shake, strain into a frizzle glass that has the 2oz of Swill Beer.
Garnish with a thin slice of jalapeño.

GADF Booth Decorating Contest:
Glaser Estate Winery and Distillery (Halloween Theme/ “Pirates Booty”)
Big Kudos to the Glaser Family, as this is the 2nd consecutive win for them!

GADF/Cocktail Competition (Held Fri. Evening @Show)

• White Category:  Sound Spirits (“The Courtesan”)
  Congratulations to Steven Stone, also won category in 2012
• Brown Category:   Edgefield/McMenamin’s (“New Carre”)
• Specialty Category: Skip Rock Distillers (“Golden Manzana”)

GADF/Spirits Bottle Competition
BEST IN CATEGORY & BEST IN SHOW RELEASE
Nothing says excellence quite like being the best in category at the Great American Distillers Festival Bottle Competition. Each entry had to undergo blind organoleptic analysis by an esteemed panel of Oregon spirits experts before being rated on a proprietary scoring system. After careful consideration of each spirits qualities, the following spirits were judged to be the best in their individual categories:

• Bainbridge Battle Point Organic Whiskey – Best in Category (Whiskey) and Best in Show
• Treaty Oak Aged Rum – Best in Category (Rum)
• Ingenium Gin – Best in Category (Gin)
• Starlite Vodka – Best in Category (Vodka/Flavored Vodka)
• New Deal Ginger – Best in Category (Liqueur)

About The GADF:
The Great American Distillers Festival, now after its ninth year, showcased the products, passion and prowess of over 40 craft and artisan distillers from across the country. In addition to spirits, the festival also offers tastings, a cocktail competition for distillers, a beer cocktail competition for distillers and mixologists, and an educational lunch seminar for consumers, retailers and distillers.  For more information go to www.distillersfestival.com.