Formation | 2003 |
---|---|
Founder | Bill Owens |
Type | California LLC |
Purpose | Education, conference, competition |
Headquarters | Hayward, CA |
Location |
|
Services | Membership, education, conference, spirits competition |
Fields | Beverage Alcohol |
Official language | English |
President | Erik Owens |
Staff | 5 |
Website | distilling |
The American Distilling Institute (ADI), is a professional association for the craft / micro distillery industry in the United States representing the over 2600 licensed craft distilleries operating in the United States. [1]
The American Distilling Institute was the United States' first association for the craft distillery industry since prohibition. [2] It was founded in 2003 when there were only ~25 craft distilleries as state regulations in the United States eased and began to allow small distilleries to operate again. Prior to prohibition there were over 2000 local distilleries. [3] However, after prohibition was lifted, careful management of government regulation (the three tier system) by the largest distilleries and wholesalers to minimize competition blocked most distilleries from reopening. [4]
ADI's membership comprises mainly small to mid-sized distilleries and their employees.
The first conference was held in 2004 at St. George Distillery in Alameda, CA.
The American Distilling Institute has held its annual spirits competition since 2007 and is the oldest and largest craft spirits competition. [5] Distillers from all over the world submit entries which are blind tasted and evaluated by experts in the Spirits industry. All entries are scored and feedback is provided on all entries. Results for best in class winners are announced at the annual Awards Gala.
Awards:
Best of Category
Best of Class
Excellence in Packaging Awards: awarded to a gold medal bottle
Bronze, Silver, Gold and Double Gold Medals
Announcement of the Distillery of the Year Award called "Bubble Cap" award (a reference to a distilling device called a bubble cap) happens annually at the conference gala.
Bubble Cap Awards: Awarded to Distillery of the Year
2017 Bubble Cap Award
2016 Bubble Cap Award
Every year the Distiller's Resource Directory is published and distributed at the annual conference. The directory contains two primary sections. The first section is a listing of every active craft distillery. The second section is good and services needed to own and operate a craft distillery.
A trade magazine focusing on news, research, and education in the craft distilling industry. [8]
The Glenlivet distillery is a distillery near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky. It is the oldest legal distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. It was founded in 1824 and has operated almost continuously since.
Woodford Reserve is a brand of premium small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced in Woodford County, Kentucky, by the Brown-Forman Corporation. It is made from a mixture of copper pot still spirits produced at the company's Woodford Reserve Distillery, and column still spirits from the Brown Forman Distillery in Shively, Kentucky. Each 45.2% alcohol by volume bottle bears a unique batch and bottle number. The brand was introduced in 1996. Domestic sales of Woodford Reserve surpassed one million cases in 2021.
A microdistillery is a small, often boutique-style distillery established to produce beverage grade spirit alcohol in relatively small quantities, usually done in single batches. While the term is most commonly used in the United States, micro-distilleries have been established in Europe for many years, either as small cognac distilleries supplying the larger cognac houses, or as distilleries of single malt whisky originally produced for the blended Scotch whisky market, but whose products are now sold as niche single malt brands. The more recent development of micro-distilleries can now also be seen in locations as diverse as London, Switzerland, and South Africa.
Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey is a 94 proof, small batch whiskey distilled in Denver, Colorado. Stranahan's was the first modern microdistillery to legally make whiskey in Colorado, and an early craft whiskey distiller in the United States.
Leopold Bros. is a family-owned and operated distillery located in Denver, Colorado. They are well known as an independent distillery that floor malts, mills, mashes, and ferments all the grains in their spirits, as well as distills, ages, and bottles their entire portfolio at their one and only distillery in northeast Denver. They currently have the largest traditional floor malting room of any distillery in the United States, where they malt Colorado barley onsite.
Nelson's Green Brier Distillery is a whiskey distillery located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee that produces different varieties of Tennessee whiskey and bourbons. The distillery offers daily public tours and tastings as well as a large mercantile shop with bottles, barware and apparel available for purchase. In July 2023, Nelson's Green Brier Distillery opened a newly renovated distillery restaurant and full-service bar at their 1414 Clinton St. Nashville, TN 37203 location. The same facility also now offers four new private event and dining spaces available to rent for corporate functions, weddings and celebrations of varying sizes.
Koval Distillery is a craft distillery located in Chicago, Illinois. It is the first distillery within Chicago's city limits since Prohibition. Koval's founders, Robert and Sonat Birnecker, left academic careers to found the distillery, aiming to bring the distilling traditions and techniques of Robert’s Austrian grandfather to America. Certified both organic and kosher, Koval creates whiskeys, brandies, and liqueurs in their distillery in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago's Northside. The distillery is kosher. Koval was founded by Robert and Sonat Birnecker.
Willett Distillery Ltd, is a private, family-owned-and-operated company that produces bourbon and rye whiskey. Over the years, the company has bottled whiskeys that range from two years of aging maturity up to 28 years. The company was named Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) between 1984 and 2012.
The Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, which operates under the trade name of Catoctin Creek, is the first legal distillery in Loudoun County, Virginia, since prohibition. The distillery is a certified organic and kosher microdistillery in Purcellville, Virginia, that produces brandy, rye whiskey, and gin from local fruit, organic grain and Virginia wine.
Benjamin Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced in the small community of Kelso, Tennessee in the United States. Although it is produced by one of only two distilleries operating in Lincoln County – and its unaged variation is named Lincoln County Lightning – Prichard's is not produced using the Lincoln County Process. Due to a special grandfathering exemption under a Tennessee law enacted in 2013, the Prichard's distillery in Kelso is the only producer allowed to label its product as "Tennessee Whiskey" without using this process. Prichard's whiskey is produced entirely using pot stills rather than column stills.
Peach Street Distillers is a privately owned brewery and distillery in Palisade, Colorado. It was established in November 2005 by Rory Donovan with Bill Graham and David Thibodeau, the co-founders of Ska Brewing Company in Durango, Colorado.
Wigle Whiskey is an artisan small batch whiskey distillery in the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Wigle Whiskeys are the flagship products of Wigle Whiskey, which is entirely family owned and operated.
The production of distilled spirits in New Jersey has not been a large industry in the state. Strict alcoholic beverage control laws in place during and after Prohibition (1919–1933) prevented the industry from growing for almost a century. In 2013, the state passed a law creating a craft distillery license. and issued the first new distillery license since Prohibition to Jersey Artisan Distilling.
Philadelphia Distilling is a microdistillery founded in March 2005 in the Byberry neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the first craft distillery to open in Pennsylvania since before Prohibition.
Australian Whisky is whisky produced in Australia. As of December 2021, there were 333 registered distilleries in operation within Australia, of which approximately 50 have a whisky on the market. The industry has shown steady growth since the early 90s especially in the boutique craft distilling scene.
Corsair Artisan Distillery is a small-batch distilling company that operates in Nashville, Tennessee, US. It was originally founded in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in January 2008. The distillery is owned and operated by Derek Bell and Andrew Webber, who are both distillers and natives of Nashville. Corsair Artisan Distillery is known for its production of innovative spirits, which include buckwheat whiskey, quinoa whiskey, malted and smoked whiskies, multi-grain bourbons, barrel-aged gin, red absinthe, naturally flavored vodka, and spiced rum.
Stark Spirits Distillery is an artisan distillery in Pasadena, California, that produces a range of alcoholic beverages under the direction of Head Distiller Greg Stark. The microdistillery is owned by husband and wife, Greg Stark and Karen Robinson-Stark. It is Pasadena's first microdistillery. Stark Spirits is a Certified Craft Distillery, certified by the American Distilling Institute. The Pasadena microdistillery is known for producing hand-crafted small batches of whiskey, rum, gin, and brandy. Stark Spirits Distillery also offers in-person tours allowing people to get an intimate experience with their spirits.
Bryan Davis is an American inventor and distiller. He is most noteworthy for inventing and patenting the first process documented to successfully replicate some of the effects of barrel ageing of distilled spirits in a laboratory. He is the founder of Lost Spirits an award-winning distilled spirits manufacturing company which uses the technology to manufacture its products as well as license the technology to third parties.
Master distiller is a title often used for a distilling expert or a key leader or owner at modern distilleries. The title doesn't have a fixed definition and can mean different things at different companies. Although the craft of distilling has existed for centuries throughout history, the term "master distiller" only dates back as far as the 1800s when it was first used to acknowledge the distilling expertise and knowledge a person gained after practicing and perfecting the craft of distilling for many years. In more recent usage, the term can have a much broader meaning and is sometimes used for owners and company leaders who run their companies but do not actively create the distilling recipes and processes used at their distilleries.