Women-Owned Asheville Distillery Wins Prestigious Titles at NCRLA Showdown
Chemist Spirits Comes Out on Top Over 60+ NC Distilleries
ASHEVILLE, NC (October 11th, 2019) - In only its second year of operation, Asheville’s Chemist Spirits won both “Distillery of the Year” and “Mixologist of the Year” at the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association’s Chef Showdown on Monday, September 30th at Angus Barn’s Bay 7 event space in Durham, NC. In its fourth year, the Showdown has become North Carolina’s premier statewide annual culinary competition.
Chemist’s founder, Debbie Word, was on-hand at the Showdown to accept the “North Carolina Distillery of the Year” award — an impressive feat for a distillery that just celebrated its one-year anniversary this past June. “We use as many local, Appalachian-grown botanicals as we can and distill everything in a traditional, Old World style, on copper pot stills over direct-fire heat and using vapor infusion,” said Word. “We’re very proud of the spirits we make and are honored to be recognized for our hard work.”
In addition to an American Gin, Chemist also produces a Barrel Rested Gin, Apple Eau de Vie, and a series of highly sought-after Bierbrand collaborations with local craft breweries. This fall, the distillery plans to release a Navy Strength Gin rested on orange peels and wild ginger, and has future plans to release single-malt whiskeys made from North Carolina-grown grains.
Brand Ambassador and Mixologist for Chemist Spirits, Jonny Burritt, won the coveted “North Carolina Mixologist of the Year” title at the Showdown with his Belle Époque dessert cocktail.
“I started with the soft, floral notes of Chemist American Gin and then riffed off of The Twentieth Century Cocktail to create a nice, bright, citrusy, and refreshing dessert drink,” said Burritt, who was also the founding General Manager of Antidote, Chemist Distillery’s adjoining cocktail lounge. The passage of the ABC Regulatory Reform Act this past summer allowed distilleries in North Carolina to operate cocktail bars for the first time in the state’s history and small craft distilleries, like Chemist, are already thriving from the new laws.
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About Chemist Spirits
Founded by Debbie Word, Chemist Gin was born from a small family still and many hours of moonshining with her daughter Danielle, an actual Chemist. Their unique appreciation for classic distilling and modern science led to the creation of their first spirit - a beautiful and inviting gin made with carefully balanced botanicals vapor infused in a velvety rich wheat spirit. This female-led distillery strikes a perfect balance between the traditional craft and the modern American gin movement.
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