Grand Rapids Business Journal: Spirits maker wins statewide Distillery of the Year title

December 12, 2018| By Ehren Wynder |

A local distillery has received some love on the state’s east side.

Grand Rapids-based Long Road Distillers was named Distillery of the Year last weekend at the first-ever Golden Jigger Awards, hosted by Nick Britsky, founder of NickDrinks.com, at the Willis Show Bar in Detroit.

“This is an amazing honor,” said Jon O’Connor, co-founder and co-owner, Long Road Distillers.

“We have a ton of respect for every nominee on this list, as they are the leaders of craft distilling in metro Detroit. To be nominated with them is honor enough — but to top the list coming from West Michigan demonstrates our commitment to crafting world-class spirits.”

Long Road topped a list of five Michigan distillery nominees selected by NickDrinks.com.

The winner was chosen by public vote, a panel of metro Detroit food and beverage media, hospitality industry professionals and the team at NickDrinks.com.

“With the input received by the public vote and our expert panel of judges, it was clear that Long Road Distillers has established themselves as one of the go-to Michigan distilleries for Detroit bartenders and spirits enthusiasts,” Britsky said.

“Their hard work in crafting unique spirits and their intentionality in building relationships in metro Detroit has certainly paid off.”

NickDrinks.com is a news blog that focuses on the Michigan beverage industry.

The site also runs a weekly TV show, “Nick Drinks at Night,” filmed live at CMN TV in Troy every Monday night at 7 p.m.