This week, the American Distilling Institute (ADI) awarded MurLarkey Distilled Spirits five medals as part of its 11th Annual Judging of Craft Spirits 2017—the most medals of any Virginia Distillery this year—MurLarkey Divine Clarity Vodka won gold in the grain-to-glass vodka category, and the growing Northern Virginia distillery took home bronze medals for four of its certified craft distilled spirits: Brutality Limited Reserve Whiskey, Cincerity Whiskey, Justice White Whiskey and Imagination Gin.
The largest and most-respected judging devoted to craft spirits, ADI accepts entries in all classes and categories of craft spirits from small, independently owned distillers, blenders, bitters makers, and producers of aperitif & fortified wines. Each year, both domestic and international entries are tasted blind and evaluated by expert panels of judges made up of distillers, journalists, bar owners, bartenders, retailer, wholesalers, distributors and importers.
MurLarkey’s all-natural and gluten-free Divine Clarity Vodka was recognized as the favorite grain-to-glass vodka of neutral character and was awarded the Institute’s Gold Medal. Head Distiller Jesse Puckett says of the vodka, “Our Divine Clarity starts off with a unique sweetness that can only be achieved when using potatoes. Then, as it coats the mouth, the natural glycerin comes in to play and allows for an ultra-smooth finish with absolutely no ethanol burn.”
The first cask of the Brutality Limited Reserve was released in September 2016 as MurLarkey’s barrel-aged, dark whiskey. The uniqueness of Brutality comes from the barrels themselves; instead of using traditional charred oak barrels, the team uses oak merlot wine barrels and varying grades of charred oak, which guarantees that each rendition is perfect. The distilling process and notable barrel differences allow for the whiskey to offer a taste and profile of a whiskey years older.
Cincerity Whiskey lends itself to being a cinnamon whiskey that rounds out and finishes with locally milled sweetcorn and fresh Virginia barley. The handcrafted whiskey, which is made from a proprietary blend of locally sourced Virginia corn and barley, is all natural and made with no artificial coloring, flavors or preservatives.
A bright and clean taste of fresh cut hay and farm-milled sweet corn with full-bodied elixir touting herbal esters gives off a long soft finish of the Justice White Whiskey. The whiskey is unaged and made with no additives to allow the taste to have clean floral characteristics.
The last bronze medal winner went to MurLarkey’s Imagination which is an all-natural and gluten-free gin made from a proprietary blend of 12 distinct fresh cut, all-natural botanicals. The spirit is perfect on the rocks or with a splash of tonic.
MurLarkey CEO Tom Murray accepted the awards on behalf of the company at this week’s conference in Baltimore, saying, “We could not be more proud to receive these honors. Our team has worked so hard to create the best products using natural, locally-sourced ingredients and it’s incredible to be the most decorated Virginia distillery at ADI this year.”
MurLarkey Distilled Spirits uses only the best locally sourced and quality products to create all its spirits and keeping with the ‘Farm-to-Flask’ value. MurLarkey’s spirits are available at over 100 retail stores and foodservice concepts throughout Virginia and the District of Columbia.
