PITTSBURG, PA — The 2016 New York International Spirits Competition through their annual blind judging of spirits has awarded Maggie’s Farm Queen’s Share two “Double Gold” medals. Both the rye aged and double oak aged versions were awarded the competition’s highest honor. Of nearly 600 spirits submitted world wide, no other distillery won multiple Double Gold medals.
The NYISC judging took place in late October this year, and is an international spirits competition where not only appearance and organoleptic qualities are judged but also has price factored in and is judged by trade buyers, making value an important factor in this competition. Maggie’s Farm aged Queen’s Share rums retail for $35 per 375 ml bottle.
Maggie’s Farm Queen’s Share is a unique rum produced in the somewhat forgotten “Queen’s Share” process of distilling rums exclusively from the late tails of other distillations. This produces a rum higher in congeners lending to a spirit with more body and flavor, yet smoother due to the additional distillation and distance from the heads cut. The rye-aged Queen’s Share was aged in ex-rye whiskey barrels from Wigle Whiskey for a period of 17 months. The double oak was aged in toasted American oak barrels rather than charred ones for a period of six months, then transferred to finish in neutral rum casks for one year. This process lent it notes of vanilla and buttercream icing. Both versions submitted were samples from barrels still aging. These were submitted at 110 proof.
Maggie’s Farm also sells an unaged version of the Queen’s Share at $24 per 375 ml. This white spirit was declared by tiki historian and owner of Latitude 29 in New Orleans Jeff “Beachbum” Berry as his only American “daiquiri-approved” rum in an interview with Eater.com on the history of the drink earlier this year.
Maggie’s Farm’s only other submissions at this year’s NYISC, Maggie’s Farm Spiced rum and Maggie’s Farm La Revuelta, their new dark rum blend, were awarded silver and bronze medals, respectively. Maggie’s Farm was also named the Pennsylvania Distillery of the Year at this year’s competition. Maggie’s Farm was named PA Distillery of the Year when it last entered the NYISC in 2014 when a younger version of Queen’s Share double oak was awarded a silver medal.
Other Double Gold winners included:
Agave/Tequila: Luxco Exotico Reposado Tequila
Gin: Langley’s No 8 Distilled London Gin; Old Elk Distillery Dry Town Gin
Rum: Liberty Tree Boston Rum
Whiskey: John Dewar & Sons DEWARS White Label Scratched Cask; Whyte & Mackay John Barr; Jim Beam Black Bourbon Whiskey
Allegheny Distilling LLC, located in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District, was incorporated in late 2012 and began production of Maggie’s Farm Rum in October of 2013. Maggie’s Farm opened it’s cocktail bar in the distillery in January of 2014 and has since become one of, if not the most awarded distillery in America since, including awards for Pennsylvania Distillery of the Year (NYISC 2015/2016), Best-in-Category Spiced Rum (ADI 2015), Best-in-Class Rum (ACSA 2015/2016), Best-in-Show Spirit (ACSA 2016), and ranked #2 in USA Today’s 10 Best American Craft Distilleries poll.
Maggie’s Farm Rum is the first commercially available Pennsylvania-made craft rum since Prohibition. All spirits are made from scratch, from the fermentations of raw sugar cane from Louisiana rather than molasses, and pot-distilled for full body and flavor on the Spanish-made copper still located behind the distillery’s cocktail bar.
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