Wildwood Spirits Co. earns highest honors at New York World Wine & Spirits and Washington Cup competitions

September 14, 2017 1:30 pm

Wildwood Spirits Co., maker of Washington State’s most awarded gin and vodka, last week announced it will add three prestigious awards to its already crowded trophy case.

The New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, which takes place in late August, awarded Kur gin a Double Gold Medal and Stark Vatten vodka a silver medal. This renowned competition is associated with the Triple Crown of Competitions (The San Francisco International Wine Competition and The San Francisco World Spirits Competition). At NYWWSC in 2014, Wildwood Spirits Co. won a Double Gold Medal and Best Gin in Competition for Kur and a Silver Medal for Stark Vatten.

The Washington Cup, a Kansas City-based competition exclusively for American-made spirits that also takes place in late August, awarded Kur gin its highest recognition in the annual blind tasting of spirits by category. Out of approximately 150 entries, only six spirits earned Washington Cup awards. Wildwood Spirits Co.’s Stark Vatten vodka won this prestigious award in 2015.

“We are thrilled to be acknowledged with these awards by some of the best palates in the beverage industry. We are so happy that folks appreciate our labor of love.” said Wildwood Spirits Co. co-owner and distiller Erik Liedholm in a press release.

The New York World Wine & Spirits Competition is judged by a panel of the spirit industry’s most respected judges, including award-winning authors, buyers, journalists, educators and bar owners, who rate each spirits on a 100-point scale. The Washington Cup is unique in that it consists of two distinct phases: the Judges Choice and the Bartender’s Choice. The first round (Judges Choice) is a blind tasting of spirits by category resulting in gold, silver and bronze medals. Winners from the first round advance to the second round, also a blind tasting, then judged by a select group of bartenders from the Kansas City Chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. Only the top spirits are awarded the prestigious Washington Cup.

Wildwood Spirits Co. Awards

The New York World Wine & Spirits and Washington Cup awards are the latest recognition for Wildwood Spirits Co. award-winning portfolio of handcrafted spirits. Upon introduction in August 2015, Kur gin was immediately recognized as one of the Top Ten Spirits by Wine & Spirits Magazine and has won top honors from the most recognized competitions in the spirits industry. Previous awards include:

  • Kur gin: New York World Wine & Spirits Competition – Double Gold Medal Winner & Best Gin in Competition; San Francisco International Spirits Competition – Gold Medal; American Association of Craft Distillers – Gold Medal, Best of Category & Award of Excellence for Packaging; Seattle Ginvitational – Best Washington Gin.
  • Stark Vatten vodka: The Washington Cup – Best Vodka in Competition; New York World Wine & Spirits Competition – Silver Medal; San Francisco International Spirits Competition – Silver Medal; American Distilling Institute – Gold Medal, Best of Class & Best of Category.

Wildwood Spirits Co. Portfolio of Spirits

  • Kur gin (pronounced ‘cure’) is made in the London Dry style gin and produced with Washington heirloom variety red winter wheat that emphasizes a backbone of classic juniper aromas and flavors with subtle citrus (Seville orange), as well as Douglas Fir and Braeburn apples from Erik Liedholm’s backyard.
  • Läka gin (Swedish for heal), is a bold London Dry style gin with intense aromas and the flavors of citrus and exotic spice. Like its popular sibling, Kur, Läka is made with locally sourced produce and shares the same botanicals, but uses a more traditional method of botanical infusion in the base spirit. Läka is exclusively available at the Wildwood Spirits Co. tasting room in Bothell.
  • Stark Vatten vodka (Swedish for ‘strong water’) is produced with Washington heirloom variety red
  • winter wheat and pure, filtered water to create a clean, viscous, oily vodka that displays a definitive classic European style while remaining a distinctive local product.
  • The Dark Door bourbon is the distillery’s much-anticipated first wheated bourbon, set to be available in February 2018. Patrons may purchase now via an advance reservation process for access to the first run of special hand-numbered bottles signed by Wildwood Spirits Co. co-owners and distillers.

Wildwood Spirits Co. – Where Science Meets Art and Art Solves Thirst

Wildwood Spirits Co. employs a grain-to-glass philosophy, blending ‘farm to table’ and vineyard to bottle’ to create distillates in a unique and distinctive ‘farm to distillery’ fashion. Kur, Läka and Stark Vatten are inspired by a Chef and a Sommelier’s passion, combined with the pragmatism of science. Wildwood Spirits Co. uses Washington State produce and sources nearly all its ingredients from local farms.

Wildwood Spirits Co., named for the street in East Lansing, Michigan where Liedholm grew up, is a partnership between co-owners Liedholm and Chef John Howie, and part of the John Howie Restaurant Group. Wildwood Spirits Co. is located in Bothell at The Village at Beardslee Crossing, 19116 Beardslee Boulevard, Suite 102, adjacent to Beardslee Public House. The Village is along Beardslee Boulevard, at the NE 195th Street and I-405 interchange at Exit 24. For more information, visit http://www.wildwoodspiritsco.com/.