Sacramento, Calif. (April 18, 2026) – Today, the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA), the nation’s only nationally registered nonprofit trade association representing the U.S. craft spirits industry, announced the medalists in its 12th Annual American Craft Spirits Competition and Sixth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards. Medalists were honored in person at the 13th Annual American Craft Spirits Convention & Expo in Sacramento.
Also at the convention, ACSA presented the Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award to ACSA CEO Margie A.S. Lehrman for her tireless commitment and countless hours of service to the craft spirits community. Lehrman is retiring as CEO May 1 after nearly 12 years in the role. She will continue in an advisory role as CEO Emerita.
During an awards luncheon held at the Convention, ACSA proudly bestowed the blind-tasting competition’s ultimate honor, the Best in Show award, to Moonshine University/Distilled Spirits Epicenter’s Completely Custom Whiskey – PX Finished. In addition to Best in Show and the Best of Class distinctions, the judging panel awarded 10 double-gold, 22 gold, 97 silver, and 124 bronze medals.
The Sixth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards awarded 28 medals, and, for the first time in the competition’s history, there was a tie for Best in Show. Trevethan Distillery and Larrikin Bourbon Co. shared the top honors, Trevethan for its Aureus Vita Dry Gin and Larrikin for its Koala Bare lineup.
There were two other firsts this year in the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards. ACSA and CRAFT SPIRITS magazine presented the inaugural Eco-Award to Whistling Andy Distillery for its Huckleberry Vodka’s recyclable paperboard bottle. Additionally, design firm Stranger & Stranger was awarded the competition’s first Top Packaging Partner honor, given to the packaging or design company with the largest number of distillery clients medaling this year.
In the American Craft Spirits Competition, award entries were submitted in seven main categories: whiskey, gin, rum, vodka & grain spirits, brandy, distilled specialty spirits, and ready to drink (RTD). The Best of Class distinctions, the highest honor in each of the seven judging categories, were awarded to a mix of both established, award-winning distilleries and younger newcomers. These winning distilleries will be presented with hand-carved barrel heads courtesy of Thousand Oaks Barrel Co., and all medal recipients will receive custom medals.
ACSA would like to thank its American Craft Spirits Competition partners, which include Cotton & Reed and Glencairn Crystal. ACSA would also like to thank the Glass Packaging Institute for sponsoring the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards.
CRAFT SPIRITS magazine, ACSA’s online publication, will showcase the top medalists from each competition at CraftSpiritsMag.com. The complete list of medalists in the American Craft Spirits Competition is available here and the complete list of medalists from the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards is available here.
Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award
The Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award recognizes the generosity of spirit, resilience, and resourcefulness to advance the interests of our small business entrepreneurs. It is given for an extraordinary commitment of time, working selflessly through weekdays, nights, and weekends. And, it is given to someone who puts the needs of the association and our business community before any personal aims.
The award was named for someone who embodied all of those attributes, whom the craft spirits community lost far too soon. Gable Erenzo was the co-founder (along with his father Ralph, and Brian Lee) of Tuthilltown Spirits, and he later founded Gardiner Liquid Mercantile in Gardiner, N.Y. Gable passed away suddenly in 2021. He was known throughout the industry as someone who wouldn’t hesitate to help his craft spirits peers.
During ACSA’s Town Hall, Becky Harris, co-founder, president, and master distiller of Catoctin Creek in Purcellville, Virginia, surprised Lehrman with the award. Harris, a past president of ACSA’s Board of Directors and current Board member, was the 2025 recipient of the award.
“The change of hands of this association has been really an incredible step that we’ve had,” Harris said as she presented the award. “We’ve had Margie’s steady hand for the past 10 years. She has gotten us through some of these huge changes we have seen in the industry…We wanted to not let her step aside without recognizing her incredible sense of heart, sense of community, the gift that she gives to us.”
Lehrman is the third recipient of the Gable Erenzo Spirit of Community Award, which was first introduced in 2021. ACSA Board, past, present, and current Board member, and president of Maverick Whiskey, was the first to receive the award.
“I’m deeply, deeply touched,” a visibly emotional Lehrman said upon accepting the award. “It’s an incredible, humbling experience to be up here with this in my hand.”
12th Annual American Craft Spirits Competition – Best of Class Recipients
Best in Show: Completely Custom Whiskey – PX Finished Moonshine University/Distilled Spirits Epicenter (KY)
Brandy: Bottled-in-Bond Apple Brandy, Switchgrass Spirits (MO)
Gin: Absaroka Double Cask Gin 49, Jackson Hole Still Works (WY)
RTD: Vodka Orange Fizz, Maplewood Brewery & Distillery (IL)
Rum: Aged Rum, Cotton & Reed (DC)
Distilled Specialty Spirits: Wake Up Jim, Headframe Spirits (MT)
Vodka: Dangerous Summer Vodka, True Standard Distilling (MD)
Whiskey: Completely Custom Whiskey – PX Finished Moonshine University/Distilled Spirits Epicenter (KY)
Innovation: Method & Muse Spirits Jūbun Shochu (CO)
Sixth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards Gold Medal Winners, Best in Show & Special Honors
Best in Show: Aureus Vita Gin, Trevethan Distillery (UK)
(TIE)
Best in Show: Koala Bare Collection, Larrikin Bourbon Co. (KY)
Eco-Award: Whistling Andy Distillery (MT)
Top Packaging Partner: Stranger & Stranger (UK, NY & CA)
Portfolio: Koala Bare Collection, Larrikin Bourbon Co. (KY)
Rum: Ozama Gran Añejo, Ozama Rum (FL)
Specialty: Bärenjäger Honey Bourbon, Schwarze & Schlichte (Germany)
Vodka: North Grove Vodka, Hinterhaus Distilling Co. (CA)
Whiskey: Chemist American Single Malt, Chemist Spirits (NC)
Zero Proof: Aplós Calme, Aplós (FL)
2026 Craft Spirits Competition – Methodology
The 12th Annual American Craft Spirits Competition was judged in January at Cotton & Reed in Washington, D.C., and in April in Sacramento, California, with Jamie Burns, Colton Weinstein and Jeff Wuslich serving as Judging Tri-Chairs. Scores were submitted, tallied, and averaged, creating a competition based purely on numerical scoring rather than typical collaborative discussions. Once again, the judges encompassed a diverse range of spirits experts within the industry.
Spirits were judged by a panel of judges including Holly Abner, Nicole Austin, Ashley Baillargeon, Joshua Baker, William Breeden, Nick Crutchfield, Clyde Davis Jr., Kymi Douglas, Tracie Franklin, Molly Horn, Sonja Hunt, Denaya Jones, Amy Mesh, Phillip Morgan, Rohit Nayyar, Jason Ornellas, Wendy Peveich, Kapri Robinson, Jeffrey Schwartz, Margarita Scouten, Dan Searing, Adam Spiegel, Heather Wibbels, and Jordan Wicker.
ACSA works rigorously to develop and fine-tune its methodology in order to ensure it continues to be one of the most valuable judging competitions in the industry. ACSA works to create a scoring card that generates meaningful, detailed feedback for entrants. Spirits were scored on appearance, aroma intensity, aroma complexity, palate concentration, palate complexity, body, character and nature of alcohol, texture, and finish. Finally, each judge was asked if they would pour the spirit for a peer.
Scoring and Medal Criteria
The scoring of spirits was based on a 100-point system, with spirits judged on the overall, cohesive impression of the spirit. Spirits were then assigned a medal based on the average score determined by the following benchmarks: 70-79 = Bronze; 80-89 = Silver; 90-100 = Gold.
Best of Class / Best in Show
The top-awarded spirits were selected based on their numerical score, with the highest scores earning Best of Class and Best in Show distinction.
Innovation Award
The annual Innovation Award, created to showcase true creativity, honors an innovative, remarkable spirit that is not commonly associated with a flavor profile in a known spirits category.
Sixth Annual Craft Spirits Packaging Awards – Methodology
Judging took place virtually in March and early April, with an esteemed panel of judges evaluating each entry on the following criteria. Aesthetics: How does the packaging appeal to you from a design/artistic perspective? Innovation: How original is the design? Does it stand out on a shelf? Emotional Appeal: How does the packaging make you feel? Does it connect with you? Brand Communication: How well does the packaging tell the story of the brand/product through visual/design/copy elements?
Spirits were judged by a panel of industry experts including Natasha Bahrami, owner of The Gin Room in St. Louis and founder of Ginworld; Christine Deussen, founder of Deussen Global Communications; food journalist Carrie Havranek, author of “Tasting Pennsylvania” and editor of Edible Lehigh Valley; beverage and packaging journalist Andrew Kaplan; Deborah Smith Read, founder, creative strategist and creative director at MarketBrand Studios; and esteemed drinks writer and James Beard Award winner Noah Rothbaum, author of multiple books and associate editor of the Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails.