Local craft distillery Arizona Distilling Company received some exciting recognition this weekend when two of their three currently released spirits medaled in a national liquor competition. The San Francisco Spirits Competition recognizes international distilleries through extensive tasting panels by industry experts and this year saw the most ever entries with 1474 spirits coming in from 63 different countries. This was the first year Arizona Distilling Company entered its spirits in the competition and medaled with both of the products that they entered.
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Although the full list of winners has yet to be released from the competition, the local distillery was notified that the Desert Dry Gin, which is vapor distilled with all local botanicals, received a silver medal in the competition and the Desert Durum Wheat Whiskey received a bronze medal. The Durum Wheat Whiskey is an especially impressive victory for craft spirits in the state because it is the first ever grain-to-bottle Arizona spirit.
Rodney Hu, one of the distillery's owners, said in a statement, "To... be recognized with some of the best in the world and place so high is a dream come true. We will continue to be innovative in releasing new products and we look forward to improving our existing spirits."
Plans for future products include a malted barley whiskey collaboration with Four Peaks Brewing, a rye whiskey, and three different tequila-like agave spirits.
