Distillery Wins Eight Medals, Including Six Golds in International Spirits Competition
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN (PRWEB) JUNE 07, 2016
The first distillery in Grand Rapids, Long Road Distillers, announced today international acclaim at the 2016 Los Angeles International Spirits Competition. This is the third international spirits competition in which the West Michigan distillery was awarded one of the top honors in 2016. The awards include Best Aquavit, six gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal in various packaging design and spirit categories.
“We aim to be different from other distilleries in the way we source our ingredients and craft our spirits,” said Kyle Van Strien, co-owner at Long Road Distillers. “For us to be recognized again for our Aquavit reaffirms our commitment to creating old-world spirits from locally sourced ingredients. We are proud to call Grand Rapids ‘home’ and to bring these awards and high quality spirits to the community.”
Long Road Distillers’ Aquavit, which earned Best Aquavit in the international competition, is a staple of Scandinavian culture, often found at festive gatherings. Embracing time-honored distillation methods, Long Road distillers crafts an Aquavit that’s made in Michigan yet true to its Northern European roots.
Long Road Distillers received the following awards at the 2016 Los Angeles International Spirits Competition:
- Gold Medal, Best Aquavit – Long Road Aquavit
- Silver Medal – Long Road Gin
- Bronze Medal – Long Road Vodka
In addition to spirit taste-based awards, Long Road Distillers was recognized for their packaging design—a category somewhat unique to the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition. This category awards spirits based on their look and presentation. Long Road Distillers received five of 36 packaging design awards – all five Gold Medals – including Best Series, Best Typography, and Best Design Aesthetics.
“We don’t cut corners with our spirits, and the same is true for the way we present them,” said Jon O’Connor, co-owner at Long Road Distillers. “We’re excited to share this recognition not only with our team at the distillery, but also our graphic designer and copywriter who have been with us since we first dreamt up Long Road over two years ago.”
The 6th Annual Los Angeles International Spirits Competition was held on May 10 & 11, 2016 at Fairplex in Pomona, California. Participants entered products within the categories of rum, whiskey, gin, shochu, vodka, brandy, liqueurs, tequila, mixers, other spirits and packaging design. The products were judged in a blind format ranked on a 100-point scale by a prestigious panel of 20 world renowned spirits authorities.
In addition to these awards, Long Road Distillers has garnered a multitude of international honors for their line of spirits. The most notable accolades were earned at three major spirits competitions and include three double-gold medals, six gold medals, two silver medals, three bronze medals and multiple best in show recognitions. The West Michigan Distillery was recently named one of the “Best New Distilleries in the World”, and has also expanded distribution to over 200 Michigan locations in the past year.
For more information about Long Road Distillers please visit: http://www.staging.longroaddistillers.com
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About Long Road Distillers:
Long Road Distillers was born from the belief that making world-class spirits means never taking shortcuts along the way. After becoming the first craft distillery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Long Road Distillers formed relationships with local farmers to bring that mission to Grand Rapids’ West Side neighborhood. Each spirit produced at Long Road Distillers is milled from locally sourced ingredients, fermented, and distilled on-site. The result is an uncompromised lineup of spirits including Vodka, Gin, Whisky and more. Their spirits, along with a handcrafted collection of cocktails and a wide variety of food can be enjoyed at their tasting room.