Local Distillery’s Brandy wins Gold Medal and Best in Class

American Craft Distillers Association also Awards Silver to Spy Hop Barreled Gin

Only three years after opening, San Juan Island Distillery has been honored with top awards by the American Craft Distillers Association at their annual craft spirits judging. This recognition for the Apple Brandy, for which the distillery was started, reflects the years of aging in fine French oak barrels necessary for apple brandy to take on the more complex characteristics it’s known for: caramel color, vanilla notes, and complexity.

“Making a Washington state apple brandy that is just as good as French Calvados was always our dream, and San Juan Island’s climate conditions are nearly identical to those found in Normandy, France, where fine ciders and Calvados are made,” said Suzy Pingree, head distiller and president of San Juan Island Distillery. “It has been a long three years of waiting and tasting and family debating about whether it’s ready. This award confirms for us that it is so, so ready.”

The American Craft Distillers Association convened a panel of sixteen expert judges to assess the hundreds of craft spirits submitted for judging from across the country. The Apple Brandy was the only brandy from the Northwest to take home a medal in the brandy category, and was also selected as best in class for all varieties of brandy. The distillery will do a limited release of three cases of the award-winning brandy in mid-June 2014.

The Barreled Spy Hop Gin, which received a silver medal in the gin category, ages for approximately two months so that it takes on some of the oak flavors while still retaining its distinct gin flavor. It’s then bottled with a curl of Madrone bark to add a note of cinnamon and bitter on the finish.

This is not the first national recognition for the young distillery. In 2013, Spy Hop Gin received a silver medal at the American Distilling Institute. And in 2011, the Apple Eau de Vie (the fresh clear distillate that ages into the Apple Brandy) was awarded a gold medal at the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition and a bronze medal by the American Distilling Institute.

About San Juan Island Distillery
Nestled near the shores of Westcott Bay, just around the bend from Roche Harbor, the distillery is tapping into the flavors that make the island so unique. The spirits are all small batch, limited quantity, averaging seven gallons at a time. This has allowed the distillers to experiment and play with the spirits, constantly coming up with new or seasonal varieties of gin and brandy. A small selection of the spirits are distributed locally to island stores, as well as a few Seattle area locations (Wine World in Wallingford, Esquin in Sodo, Total Wines in Lynnwood and Bellevue, and Capco in West Seattle).

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