OLE SMOKY MOONSHINE WINS FOUR MEDALS AT 2014 CRAFT SPIRITS AWARDS
Gatlinburg, TN (May 23, 2014) – In the wake of earning a coveted Impact Hot Brand Award just last month, Ole Smoky® Tennessee Moonshine has garnered four medals during the 2014 Craft Spirits Awards International Competition. The independently owned distillery based in Gatlinburg, Tennessee received the following distinctions: Ole Smoky Original Moonshine™ and Ole Smoky Apple Pie Moonshine™ won gold, while Ole Smoky Blackberry Moonshine™ won silver and Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries™ earned a bronze medal.
Judging for the Craft Spirits Awards International Competition took place in Los Angeles on May 6-8, with medal winners announced thereafter. In “blind” taste tests before a panel of nearly two dozen spirits experts, numbered flights were evaluated on a 100-point basis, with points given in areas including visual (appearance), aroma (nose), taste (flavor), finish (balance) and overall. Hosting the judging was Forrest Cokely, an expert in the field of spirits, mixology and a seasoned judge at various spirits events worldwide.
“We are proud to be recognized for the quality of our authentic moonshine products by a group of leading spirit experts,” said Ole Smoky CEO John Cochran. “We have come a long way from the Prohibition Era of backwoods moonshine production, and we appreciate the chance to legally and globally share our premium ‘shine with aficionados and regular folks like all of us here at the Ole Smoky Holler in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.”
Ole Smoky is the leading distiller of premium moonshine in the U.S. and the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee. The company’s roots can be traced to the early settlers of the Great Smoky Mountains, where they refined the art of whiskey making in order to survive during tough economic times. When Tennessee state law changed in 2009, allowing the licensed production of whiskey and other spirits across new counties, a group of local families saw an opportunity to showcase the art of superior, mountain-made moonshine.
About Ole Smoky®Tennessee Moonshine®
Currently, Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine nationally retails ten flavors of moonshine made using authentic East Tennessee recipes, jarred and shipped directly from the company’s famed Gatlinburg distillery. The Ole Smoky Moonshine™ distillery, known as The Holler™, is America’s most visited distillery and produces the brand’s signature flavors. Original Moonshine, White Lightnin’™, Moonshine Cherries™, Peach Moonshine, Apple Pie Moonshine™, Blackberry Moonshine, Strawberry Moonshine, Lemon Drop Moonshine™ and Charred Moonshine™ are available selectively in 49 states and Canada. Pineapple Moonshine is available in Tennessee, California and Hawaii only. Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine can be found at local retailers and is sampled and sold at some of the biggest music and sporting events in the country. True to its roots, each Ole Smoky Moonshine flavor is born from the hand-crafted recipes of the Tennessee families who have been filling moonshine jars and jugs in the Smoky Mountains for more than a century. For more information about the brand, please visit www.olesmoky.com.
