Congratulations are in order for numerous area distillers whose products recently earned honors at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The annual event, held in the City by the Bay, is one of the most reputable and recognized competitions in the spirits industry.

Pinckney Bend, based in New Haven, Mo., grabbed a gold for its Pinckney Bend Gin. Founded last year, the distillery is one of the few in Missouri with gin on the market.

“The cool thing is we were up against all the major distilleries that are on the shelves,” said Pinckney Bend co-owner Ralph Haynes. “I still can’t believe we got gold,” he said, adding that, while the company currently only makes gin, its portfolio is expanding with a vodka product to be released in the next month and a whiskey in the works.

Two other distilleries from the region also took top honors. Mastermind, a new distillery in Pontoon Beach, Ill., earned a gold medal for its vodka, while Crown Valley Brewing & Distilling Co., received gold in the un-aged whiskey category for its Missouri Moonshine. Crown Valley, which is based in Ste. Genevieve, also took a bronze for its vodka. Taking bronze in the herbal/botanical liqueurs category was St. Louis-owned The Big O, whose ginger liqueur has been widely received since its debut late last summer

According to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition website, more than 1,200 products from 61 countries were submitted this year to judging panels comprised of spirits experts from restaurants and hotels, along with spirits journalists, buyers and consultants. Wondering what other bottles you should be on the lookout for? Check out the complete list of winners here.

By Ligaya Figueras

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 at 1:41 pm and is filed under Cheers, Drinking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.