Capital Region whiskeys win Distillers Guild honors

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The New York State Distillers Guild today announced the results of its third-annual Distilled Spirits Competition. Although they didn’t take top honors, two distilleries from Saratoga and Schenectady Counties still performed well.

Both the Gateway American Whiskey—from the Schenectady Distilling Company in Glenville—and the Straight Single Malt Whiskey—from Yankee Distillers in Clifton Park—took gold honors in the American Craft Whiskey category. In the same category, Yankee Distillers also took silver for their Straight Wheat Whiskey.

They took another silver for their Straight Bourbon Whiskey in the Straight Bourbon category. Meanwhile, Schenectady Distilling Company’s Black Rock Bourbon Whiskey also took a bronze placement for Small Batch Bourbons 10 Years and Younger.

The Best of Show award, known as the Governor’s Cup, went to St. Lawrence Spirits in Clayton, Jefferson County, for their Captain’s Flask Bourbon. They also won New York State Distillery of the Year, with the most cumulative points across all categories.

The New York State Distilled Spirits Competition grades entries on a point-based system, with scores from multiple judges contributing to Gold, Silver, or Bronze placements. Awards are based on total scores, rather than in comparison, so some categories have multiple placements per level in a single category. Many national and international competitions use this structure, saying it evaluates the drinks based on individual quality and merit. Likewise, when entires only score enough to achieve bronze, for example, there would be no gold or silver in that category.

New York State Distillers Guild President Cory Muscato, Partner and Distillery Manager of Lockhouse Distillery, said, “Congratulations to all distilleries that won awards in our third annual New York State Distilled Spirits Competition this year. We are very proud to have safely conducted our competition for the third year in a row, during what has been a difficult year for distilleries and their spirited customers alike. We are all much stronger together than we could ever be apart.”

Other major category winners came from Madison and Monroe Counties and New York City. Categories included absinthe, apple brandy, coffee liqueur, cream/dairy liqueurs, flavored whiskey, fruit liqueur, herbal/botanical liqueur, wheat vodka, other grain vodkas, other moonshines, other whiskeys, other white spirits, and white rum.