BAINBRIDGE – In the USA Spirits Ratings competition, which took place in San Francisco in July 2024, Paps Coffee Moonshine and Paps Caramel Apple Pie Moonshine each won a Silver medal which is a great seal of approval within the spirits industry.
In order to receive this award, Paps needed to score highly in three different categories -Quality, Value, and Packaging – in a blind-tasting competition overseen by a panel of high-profile judges.
In contrast to other international spirits competitions, which typically evaluate a spirit only on the basis of overall taste or quality, the inaugural USA Spirits Ratings competition took into account three different factors: Quality, Value, and Packaging. Quality refers to the overall taste, flavor, and aroma of the spirit. Value refers to the relative pricing of the spirit vis-à-vis other peers. Packaging refers to the overall brand presentation of the spirit, with an emphasis on how well the spirit appeals to a specific customer segment.
The goal of the USA Spirits Ratings competition is to find, evaluate, and award spirits that successfully score well across each of these three major scoring criteria. The judging panel consisted of spirits industry experts with extensive commercial buying expertise.
According to Sid Patel, CEO and Founder of event organizers Beverage Trade Network, “This innovative scoring system has been instrumental in identifying world-class spirits that consumers actually want to drink. We’ve broadened the definition of drinkability, in order to reflect how spirit drinkers actually choose which spirits they buy at a retail store or order from a bar menu.”
“We’re extremely pleased that our Coffee Moonshine and Caramel Apple Pie Moonshine performed so well in competition at the USA Spirits Ratings event,” said Chris Lewis of Paps Hilltop Distillery. “Our goal is to create spirits that are going to be appreciated by specific customers looking for high-quality spirits. Winning the medals is important to us because it shows we are making the right types of spirits.”
Paps Hilltop Distillery is located at 117 East Main Street, Bainbridge They have been hand-crafting their small-batch products since September 2022. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram. Their website is www.papshilltopdistillery.com. The distillery is open to the public on Thursdays, Friday and Saturday.
