ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (June 26, 2017) – St. Augustine Distillery is proud to announce two distinguished medal wins at the recent 2017 Spirits International Prestige (SIP) Awards including a gold medal for its Florida Double Cask Bourbon and “Best of Class” platinum medal for its Port Finished Bourbon. The distillery was also recently named “Florida Whisky of the Year” by Whisky Advocate and one of the “Best Whiskey Distilleries in America” by Esquire magazine.

“We are honored to receive these two awards from the SIP competition and recognition from two legendary publications,” said St. Augustine Distillery CEO and co-founder Philip McDaniel. “When both industry experts and consumers recognize the unique finishes we are developing for our whiskies, it validates the approach we have taken to make our spirits. We are extremely proud of our team, and excited about the future of all our brands.”

The SIP Awards is an international spirits competition, and the only blind tasting competition that enlists consumers as judges. This year, SIP Awards hosted its largest competition to date with 673 spirit brands and 118 consumer judges at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, Calif.

“Spirit brands driven by the pursuit of quality exist to serve their consumers, but honest and unbiased feedback straight from those very people is hard to come by,” said SIP Awards founder Paul Hashemi. “We foster a controlled and professional environment for spirit brands to not only get in front of an audience with zero industry entanglements, but also receive feedback straight from their taste buds.”

St. Augustine Distillery, a family-owned and operated company, is housed in the historic FP&L Ice Plant, which dates back to 1907. After a multi-million dollar renovation in 2011, the St. Augustine Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rum, gin and vodka on-site. The Distillery is a contributing building to the Historic Lincolnville Neighborhood, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Noted as the most visited craft distillery in the USA, the company has hosted over 500,000 visitors since opening in March of 2014. St. Augustine Distillery has also garnered more than 50 awards for its broad range of ultra-premium spirits.