Michigan Distillery Awarded Top Honors at West Coast Spirits Competition; Largest In The World

The first established distillery in Grand Rapids, Long Road Distillers, was internationally recognized at the 16th annual 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition which is the world's largest and most prestigious spirits competition. The West Michigan distillery was awarded Silver for Long Road Gin, Bronze for Long Road Wheat Vodka and Double Gold for Long Road Aquavit, which is the second double gold best in show the Aquavit has won in an international competition this month.

Out of this year's record-breaking 1,899 entries, only 201 were awarded the prestigious Double Gold medal by the 39-person judging panel.

"The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is the most influential in the industry and winning a medal here is very meaningful," says competition director Anthony Dias Blue. "We have the industry's most respected experts serving as judges, and every entry is blind-tasted under highly focused conditions. There is no better way to discern quality and identify trends."

The 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition was held on March 17-20, 2016 at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, California. The judging panel was comprised of 39 industry experts, with many returning to the roster, including noted spirits writer and author David Wondrich, writer and photographer Richard Carleton Hacker, Master mixologist Dale DeGroff, and Tony Abou-Ganim, aka the Modern Mixologist, serving as Director of Judging for his 7th year.

"At Long Road Distillers we strive to make spirits worthy of people's admiration while staying committed to our core value of doing things the right way, from start to finish," said Kyle Van Strien, co-owner at Long Road Distillers. "This second Double Gold recognition re-affirms what we set-out to do all along and gives us the determination to continue our pursuit of making the best spirits in the world in each category we enter, no matter how big or small."

Aquavit 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.

"We make what we enjoy and try to win people over by introducing them to our unique and bold interpretations of traditional spirits from around the world," said Jon O'Connor, co-owner at Long Road Distillers. "We source all our core ingredients from partners within 20 miles from our distillery which means that we are making a uniquely Michigan product that is not replicable."

Long Road Aquavit and other Long Road Spirits are available in over 100 retailers in Michigan. For more information about Long Road Distillers please visit: http://www.longroaddistillers.com.

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.

About The San Francisco Spirits Competition:
Since its introduction in 2000, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) has become the most respected and influential spirits competition in the world. Emphasizing integrity and impartiality, the SFWSC takes great pride in ensuring that all entries are treated with equal care and consideration by our panels of carefully selected spirits-industry experts. A SFWSC medal has come to be the most reliable indication of spirits excellence, and spirits recognized as medal-worthy by our judges are understood around the world by both the trade and consumers to be the best the industry has to offer.

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