Last week, distillers, distiller hopefuls and all manner of industry professionals descended on Seattle for the American Distilling Institute’s 11th annual conference. The six-day gathering was held at the Washington State Convention Center downtown, and included seminars by experts, like Eric Watson who led the rum workshop at of 3 Howls Distillery, Mhairi Voelsgen of BroVo (three-day Amaro & Infusions Workshop), Matt Hofmann of Westland Distillery (Malt Whiskey Fundamentals) and the team at Fremont Mischief (Vodka Workshop). It also included a showcase of the 2014 Judging of American Craft Spirits, the resulting winners of the 28-judge panel of national and international spirits authorities that was held in February.
As it turned out, it was lucky the conference and judging were held in Seattle—a sizeable proportion of the trophies awarded didn’t have to travel far. For just one example of Northwest over-achievement, 2014 was the first year the ADI awarded Double Gold medals—and all three of them went to Northwest spirits. Here is the complete list of Northwest distillers who took home titles last Tuesday night.
Best of Class
Craft-Distilled:
Liqueur & Specialty Spirits: BroVo Spirits – Amaro No. 1 – John Ueding
Brandy: Merridale Artisan Distillers – Stair’s Pear Brandy
Gin: Oregon Spirit Distillers – Merrylegs Genever
Rum: Cannon Beach Distillery – Donlon Shanks
Craft-Blended:
Vodka: Wildwood Spirits Co. (with Red Cedar Spirits Co. of Mich.) – Stark Vatten
Double Gold
Amaro: BroVo Spirits – Amaro No. 1 – John Ueding*
Absinthe: Oregon Spirit Distillers – Wild Card Absinthe*
Genever: Oregon Spirit Distillers – Merrylegs Genever*
Gold
Amaro: BroVo Spirits – Amaro No. 11 – Jonny DC
Wheat-Based Vodka: Bainbridge Organic Distillers – Legacy Organic Vodka*
Other Base Vodka: BelleWood Distilling – Raspberry Vodka*
Flavored Vodka: Wishkah River – Vodka Distilled from Honey
Merchant-Blended Vodka: Wildwood Spirits Co. (with Red Cedar Spirits Co.) – Stark Vatten
Aged Rum (1 Year & Under): Cannon Beach Distillery – Donlon Shanks*
Alt Whiskey (2 Years & Over): Ransom Spirits – The Emerald Straight American Whiskey*
Straight Bourbon: Tatoosh Distillery & Spirits – Tatoosh Bourbon
Aged Brandy (Other Fruit): Merridale Artisan Distillers – Stair’s Pear Brandy*
Flavored Liqueur: New Deal Distillery – Ginger Liqueur*
Eaux de Vie: Sidetrack Distillery – Bête (A Beet Spirit)*
Aquavit: The Hardware Distillery – Aquavit*
Silver
Amaro: BroVo Spirits – Amaro No. 12 – Jayson Cottam
Barrel-Aged Gin: Captive Spirits – Bourbon Barreled Big Gin*
Contemporary Distilled Gin: New Deal Distillery – Gin No. 1*
Classic Rectified Gin: Wildwood Spirits Co. (with Red Cedar Spirits Co. of Mich.) – Kur Gin*
Contemporary Rectified Gin: Copperworks Distilling – Copperworks Gin
Old Tom Gin: Oola Distillery – Old Tom Gin
Grape-Based Vodka: Heritage Distilling Co. – My Batch Wine Vodka
Wheat-Based Vodka: Seattle Distilling Co. – The Rocket Vodka
Other Base Vodka: BelleWood Distilling– Bellewood Vodka
Flavored Vodka: Heritage Distilling Co. – Cask Club Aged Wine Vodka
Flavored Vodka: Skip Rock Distillers – Badger Pocket Black Peppercorn Flavored Vodka
Flavored Vodka: Oola Distillery – Pepper Vodka
Flavored Vodka: 3 Howls Distillery – Blood Orange Vodka
Aged Apple Brandy: San Juan Island Distillery – Apple Brandy*
Aged Apple Brandy: Merridale Artisan Distillery – Cowichan Cider Brandy
Pear Eau de Vie: Stone Barn Brandyworks – Oregon Pear Brandy*
Rye Whiskey (Under 2 Years): Heritage Distilling Co. – Cask Club Rye Whiskey*
Single Malt Whiskey (Under 2 Years): Rogue Spirits – Rogue Oregon Single Malt Whiskey
Single Malt Whiskey (Under 2 Years): Heritage Distilling Co. – Cask Club Single Malt
Bourbon (2 Years & Over): Woodinville Whiskey Co. – 2013 Limited Straight Bourbon Woodinville 2*
Bronze
Amaro: Elixir, Inc. – Calisaya Liqueur
Navy Strength Gin: 3 Howls Distillery – Navy Strength Gin*
Contemporary Distilled Gin: BelleWood Distilling – Bellewood Gin
Classic Rectified Gin: Heritage Distilling Co. – Elk Rider Crisp Gin
Contemporary Rectified Gin: Batch 206 – Counter Gin
Grape-Based Vodka: Glass Distillery – Glass Vodka
Potato-Based Vodka: Grand Teton Distillery – Grand Teton Vodka
Wheat-Based Vodka: Oola Distillery – Vodka
Flavored Vodka: Heritage Distilling Co. – HDC Char-Barrel Finished Vodka
Flavored Vodka: Blue Flame Spirits – Peppered Vodka
Flavored Moonshine: Batch 206 – See Seven Stars Peach Pie Moonshine
Flavored Liqueur: San Juan Island Distillery – Thimbleberry Brandy
Straight Bourbon: Batch 206 – Barrel Raider Bourbon
Bourbon (Under 2 Years): Heritage Distilling Co. – Cask Club Bourbon
Single Malt Whiskey (2 Years & Over): Westland Distillery – Deacon Seat
Wheat Whiskey (2 Years & Over: Bainbridge Organic Distillers – Bainbridge Battle Point Organic Whiskey*
Bourbon (2 Years & Over): Woodinville Whiskey Co. – 2013 Limited Straight Bourbon Woodinville 1
*Indicates Best of Category
Congrats also to Woodinville Whiskey Co. for Best of Show: Packaging! (2013 Limited Straight Bourbon Woodinville) and congratulations to all the winners! Here’s to another year of distilling winning elixirs!
