Recipients Honored During Annual Distiller’s Convention in Tucson
Tucson, AZ (March 12, 2025) – Today, the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA), the nation’s only national registered nonprofit trade association representing the U.S. craft spirits industry, announced the medalists in its 11th Annual American Craft Spirits Competition and Fifth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards. Medalists were honored in person at the 12th Annual American Craft Spirits Convention & Expo in Tucson.
Also at the Convention, ACSA presented the Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award to Becky Harris of Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. for her unfettered gift of time for the advancement of the craft spirits community.
During an awards luncheon held at the Convention, ACSA proudly bestowed the blind-tasting competition’s ultimate honor, the Best in Show award, to Morristown, New Jersey-based Dismal Harmony Distilling for its Vidisha’s Masala Liqueur. In addition to Best in Show and the Best of Class distinctions, the judging panel awarded 35 gold, 162 silver, and 114 bronze medals.
The Fifth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards awarded 28 medals, and Chicago’s KOVAL Distillery captured Best in Show for its Thresh & Winnow portfolio.
In the American Craft Spirits Competition, awards entries were submitted in seven main categories: whiskey, gin, rum, vodka & grain spirits, brandy, distilled specialty spirits, and ready to drink (RTD). The Best of Class distinctions, the highest honor in each of the seven judging categories, were awarded to a mix of both established, award-winning distilleries and younger newcomers. These winning distilleries will be presented with hand-carved barrel heads courtesy of Thousand Oaks Barrel Co., and all medal recipients will receive custom medals.
ACSA would like to thank its American Craft Spirits Competition partners, which include Cotton & Reed and Republic National Distributing Co. ACSA would also like to thank the Glass Packaging Institute for sponsoring the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards.
CRAFT SPIRITS magazine, ACSA’s bi-monthly digital publication, will showcase the top medalists from each competition in an upcoming issue. The complete list of medalists in the American Craft Spirits Competition is available here and the complete list of medalists from the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards is available here.
Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award
The Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award recognizes the generosity of spirit, resilience, and resourcefulness to advance the interests of our small business entrepreneurs. It is given for an extraordinary commitment of time, working selflessly through weekdays, nights, and weekends. And, it is given to someone who puts the needs of the association and our business community before any personal aims.
The award was named for someone who embodied all of those attributes, whom the craft spirits community lost far too soon. Gable Erenzo was the co-founder (along with his father Ralph, and Brian Lee) of Tuthilltown Spirits and he later founded Gardiner Liquid Mercantile in Gardiner, N.Y. Gable passed away suddenly in 2021. He was known throughout the industry as someone who wouldn’t hesitate to help his craft spirits peers.
During ACSA’s Town Hall on Tuesday, Ralph Erenzo addressed attendees via a recorded video, and Mark Shilling, who received the inaugural Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award in 2021, presented the award to Harris. A past president of ACSA, Harris is also currently a member of ACSA’s Board of Directors, the chair of ACSA’s Government Affairs committee, and a co-chair of the Membership committee.
“I am really grateful for the recognition, but it will make me even more grateful if you call your Representatives … and [do] all the other things out there that we need to get done,” said Harris as she accepted the award. It’s not about me, it’s about us. This is what we do together.”
11th Annual American Craft Spirits Competition – Best of Class Recipients
Best in Show: Vidisha’s Masala Liqueur, Dismal Harmony Distilling (NJ)
Brandy: Nachbrenner, Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery (AZ)
Gin: Gin Through The Sages, Agrodolce Distilling Co. (OR)
Gin: Dutch Style Gin, Wigle Whiskey (PA)
RTD: Strubarb Pie, Backwards Distilling Co. (WY)
Rum: Sailors Reserve, LYON RUM (MD)
Distilled Specialty Spirits: Vidisha’s Masala Liqueur, Dismal Harmony Distilling (NJ)
Vodka: Foundation Vodka, Du Nord Social Spirits (MN)
Whiskey: StilL 2nd Shift Whiskey, StilL 630 Distillery (MO)
Innovation: Vidisha’s Masala Liqueur, Dismal Harmony Distilling (NJ)
Fifth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards Gold Medal Winners
Best in Show: Thresh & Winnow, KOVAL Distillery (IL)
Brandy: Charentais Distilled British Brandy, Burnt Faith Brandy House (UK)
Gin: Listening Rock Gin, Tenmile Distillery (NY)
Gin: Robert’s No. 1 American Dry Gin, Oak House Distillery (GA)
Portfolio: Thresh & Winnow, KOVAL Distillery (IL)
RTD: The Martini, Hoste Cocktails (IL)
Rum: Copalli Organic White Rum, Copal Tree Distillery (Belize)
Specialty: Castillo 1815 Blue Agave Spirit Reposado, End of Days Distillery (NC)
Vodka: Osmia Vodka, Queen Bee Distilling (TX)
Whiskey: Feddie Single Malt Whiskey, Feddie Ocean Distillery (Norway)
Zero Proof: Bittersweet Aperitivo, Wilderton Aperitivo Co. (OR)
2025 Craft Spirits Competition – Methodology
The 11th Annual American Craft Spirits Competition was judged in October at Cotton & Reed in Washington, D.C. Colton Weinstein and Jeff Wuslich served as Judging Co-Chairs. Scores were submitted, tallied, and averaged, creating a competition based purely on numerical scoring rather than typical collaborative discussions. Once again, the judges encompassed a diverse range of spirits experts within the industry.
Spirits were judged by a panel of judges including Holly Abner, Dwayne Bershaw, Lew Bryson, Johnny Caldwell, Clyde Davis, Erlinda A. Doherty, Elayne Duff, Philip Duff, Jake Emen, Tracie Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Becky Harris, Paul Hletko, Sonja Hunt, Denaya Jones, Sydney Jones, Phil Morgan, Kapri Robinson, Robin Robinson, Chris Schmid. Nicole Shriner, and Clay Smith.
ACSA works rigorously to develop and fine-tune its methodology in order to ensure it continues to be one of the most valuable judging competitions in the industry. ACSA works to create a scoring card that generates meaningful, detailed feedback for entrants. Spirits were scored on appearance, aroma intensity, aroma complexity, palate concentration, palate complexity, body, character and nature of alcohol, texture, and finish. Finally, each judge was asked if they would pour the spirit for a peer.
Scoring and Medal Criteria
The scoring of spirits was based on a 100-point system, with spirits judged on the overall, cohesive impression of the spirit. Spirits were then assigned a medal based on the average score determined by the following benchmarks: 70-79 = Bronze; 80-89 = Silver; 90-100 = Gold.
Best of Class / Best in Show
The top awarded spirits were selected based upon their numerical score with the highest scores earning Best of Class and Best in Show distinction.
Innovation Award
The annual Innovation Award, created to showcase true creativity, honors an innovative, remarkable spirit that is not commonly associated with a flavor profile in a known spirits category.
Fifth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards – Methodology
Judging took place virtually in January, with an esteemed panel of judges evaluating each entry on the following criteria. Aesthetics: How does the packaging appeal to you from a design/artistic perspective? Innovation: How original is the design? Does it stand out on a shelf? Emotional Appeal: How does the packaging make you feel? Does it connect with you? Brand Communication: How well does the packaging tell the story of the brand/product through visual/design/copy elements?
Spirits were judged by a panel of industry experts including Emmy award-winning app designer Thushan Amarasiriwardena; journalist Lew Bryson; spirits specialist Sailor Guevara; writer Andrew Kaplan; writer and editor Maggie Kimberl; and CRAFT SPIRITS magazine art director Michelle Villas.
