Long Road Distillers captured eight new honors at the 2020 American Craft Spirits Awards, presented by the American Craft Spirits Association, including 2 Gold medals for Long Road Aquavit and Long Road Raspberry Liqueur.
Under normal circumstances, the winners of the American Craft Spirits Awards are announced at the annual convention for the American Craft Spirits Association, the national non-profit association representing the country’s craft spirits producers. However, with events around the country being cancelled or postponed, this year’s winners were announced via livestream with distillers and spirit enthusiasts tuning in to hear the results.
In addition to Gold medals for Aquavit and Raspberry Liqueur, Long Road won Silver medals for Long Road Grand Absinthe, Long Road Amaro Pazzo, and Long Road Old Aquavit, and Bronze medals for Long Road Rum, Long Road Nocino, and Long Road Apple Brandy.
“The annual ACSA conference and awards banquet is always a highlight of the year,” said Jon O’Connor, co-owner and co-founder of Long Road Distillers. “It’s truly an honor to have the hard work of our team recognized again this year, despite the circumstances that postponed the event.”
The ACSA Annual Convention was scheduled to be held this week in Portland, OR, but will now be rescheduled for later in the year. The judging process is chaired by distiller and industry phenom Maggie Campbell, President of Privateer Rum in Ipswich, MA. A carefully selected group of more than 30 expert judges evaluated more than 500 entries in seven different categories.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of an organization is member owned and member driven,” said co-owner and co-founder Kyle VanStrien. “These awards don’t come easily – those of us in the craft spirits industry are our own harshest critics.”
Long Road’s no-shortcuts approach to crafting spirits and a dedication to using locally sourced ingredients has earned them numerous honors and awards, as well as international acclaim for some lesser-known spirits categories, such as Aquavit. Their spirits can be found at the distillery on Grand Rapids’ West Side, at tasting rooms in Grand Haven and Boyne City, and at over 2,500 retailers, bars, and restaurants throughout the state of Michigan.
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 Grand Rapids and Grand Haven Tasting Rooms, and visitors can enjoy samples of their spirits and purchase merchandise and bottles to-go at their Boyne City Tasting Room. For more information, visit www.LongRoadDistillers.com or find Long Road Distillers on Facebook or Instagram @longroadgr.
About the American Craft Spirits Association:
The American Craft Spirits Association is the only registered national non-profit trade group representing the U.S. craft spirits industry. Members vote for the 15 democratically elected representatives who make up the Board of Directors, and this Board collectively works to govern the ACSA in a transparent, responsive manner and in accordance with association bylaws. Their mission is to elevate and advocate for the community of craft spirits producers. Learn more by visiting www.americancraftspirits.org.