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Best in Beverage
BEST IN BEVERAGE
The winners of the Alberta Beverage Awards, hosted by Culinaire Magazine, were announced this month and our tasting list just got a whole lot longer! Before we share some of the highlights, a bit about the awards.
THE ABA
Having just wrapped its 11th year, the Alberta Beverage Awards (aka ABA) “is all about celebrating the rich and diverse selection of beverages we have in the Alberta market,” says Tom Firth, the competition director. (Pssst … he’s wearing a Medium Rare custom embroidered mechanic shirt.)
Using local, experienced judges, this is a double-blind competition, meaning each entry is purely evaluated on the merits of the liquid in the bottle. Since its inception, the ABAs has quickly become a platform for Alberta-made products to compete against other products from across Canada and internationally.
Beverages are classified on four broad categories. The first three as one might expect are beer, wine and spirits. And the fourth, which we were most curious about, is “everything else,” which includes bevies like cider, sake, mead, kombucha and non-alcoholic.
Behind the scenes at the tasting and our Medium Rare aprons in action.
We are super stoked to have worked with the ABA crew for the last 3 years creating these custom aprons.
Non-Alcoholic
Gone are the days of opting for a coke or soda water when you’re not partaking in an alcoholic beverage! There are now a plethora of non-alcoholic beer, wine and cocktail options on the market. But finding the good ones that don’t taste like a slightly malted water or adult version of grape juice is often the challenge. So, what left its mark on the ABA judges (and got thumbs ups from the Medium Rare crew)?
NON-ALCOHOLIC WINE
Sobr Riesling (90 points)
Germany
BEER
CR*FT Non-Alcoholic Blonde Ale
Canada
READY TO DRINK NON-ALCOHOLIC
Bibi Bitter Aperitivo Soda
Canada
Alberta-Made
The ABA awards are open to any beverages in Alberta, locally or internationally made. But, we wanted to know what some of the Alberta-made products that came out on top. Here are some of the spirits ranking “Best in Class”:
CLASSIC GIN
Party Line Gin (93 points)
@greenwooddistillers, Alberta
CANADIAN WHISKEY
Bridgeland Single Blend Whisky (93 points)
@bridgelanddistillery, Alberta
RYE WHISKEY
Wild Life Rye Whisky (95 points)
@wldspirits, Alberta
RUM (Tie)
Romero Distilling Dark Sugarcane Spirit (91 points)
Romero Distilling Sherry Cask Finish Cask Strength Rum (91 points)
@romerodistilling, Alberta
And now … it’s about time for a drink. Cheers!