Welcome to the 197th issue of Craft Spirits Weekly, a service dedicated to bringing you the news most important to the craft spirits distiller. Check your inbox every Thursday to find a curated selection of articles and news pieces from CRAFT SPIRITS magazine and the American Craft Spirits Association.
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Enter the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards |
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Best in Show to Grace Cover of CRAFT SPIRITS Magazine
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Presented by the American Craft Spirits Association and CRAFT SPIRITS magazine, the Craft Spirits Packaging Awards celebrates excellence and creativity in the design of craft spirits labels and packaging. Medalists will be featured in the January issue of CRAFT SPIRITS magazine, with Best in Show gracing the cover. Entries will be judged by an independent panel of industry experts.
Deadline for entry is Nov. 13, 2020.
The competition is open to all producers of craft spirits. No physical samples are required for entry (some winning entries may be asked to ship samples for photography).
A panel of design experts will judge labels and packaging in the following categories:
- Best Brandy Packaging
- Best Gin Packaging
- Best Ready-to-Drink
- Best Rum Packaging
- Best Specialty Spirits Packaging
- Best Vodka & Grain Packaging
- Best Whiskey Packaging
- Best Portfolio (Recognizing outstanding packaging across a range of products three or more products. Must be entered separately from individual entries.)
- Readers’ Choice Award (Judged by CRAFT SPIRITS magazine readers)
- Best in Show
Cost
ACSA Members: $40 per entry; $100 per portfolio entry
Non-members: $55 per entry; $140 per portfolio entry
The deadline for submissions is Nov. 13. If your spirits packaging is creative, beautiful, unique or all of the above, show it off by entering now!
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Black Button Distilling Equips New York State Voters with Hand Sanitizer |
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Rochester, New York-based Black Button Distilling, the city’s first grain-to-glass distillery since Prohibition, has donated more than 1,600 gallons of FDA approved hand sanitizer the state of New York in an effort to help maintain safe poll sites throughout the state for the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 3. Equivalent to over three million hand washes, Black Button Distilling’s contribution will be distributed at polling sites across the state. (CraftSpiritsMag.com)
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Organizers Cancel Vinexpo New York Due to Ongoing Risks of COVID-19 |
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Diversified Communications and Vinexposium, organizers of Vinexpo New York, on Tuesday announced the exhibition scheduled for February 3-4, 2021, at Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Center, has been cancelled, due to the ongoing risks of COVID-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the lifting of travel restrictions and bans on large gatherings. (CraftSpiritsMag.com)
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Webinar: Imagine Your Life Is Free From Burnout |
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When: Thursday, November 5th from 3-4 PM Eastern
What: Individuals are burning out at an alarming rate. People feel the constant demand to deliver, so they’re either burning out or they’re leaving their professions altogether, due to high stress and burnout. During this talk, you will learn about the best techniques you can use to immediately reduce stress and burnout you’re facing in your organization, and within yourself! You’ll learn key takeaways on what burnout is, so you can quickly identify it in your life. Next you’ll learn how people become burned out. Finally, you’ll learn how to get out of burnout, once and for all. You will leave with actionable steps that can be immediately used, to transform from a burned-out life, to an ideal life.
In this session, you will learn:
- How to recognize burnout signs within your teams and yourself, so you can understand who in your organization is struggling with burnout
- How to recognize how you became burned out in the first place
- How to implement immediate steps you can take today, to stop the burnout from growing
- How to transform your future with burnout prevention techniques that go beyond taking a 2-week vacation
- How to establish boundaries in your life, so that you can fend off potential burnout from external factors
Who: Michael Levitt is the CEO and founder of Breakfast Leadership, Inc (BreakfastLeadership.com), and works with leaders to reduce stress and prevent burnout, so that they can focus on what REALLY matters most.
Cost: Complimentary to ACSA members, $59 for non-members
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Copperworks Releases Plum Cask Finished Gin |
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Seattle-based Copperworks Distilling Co. has released its eagerly awaited Copperworks Plum Cask Finished Gin. This plum-infused gin was finished in a cask that was previously used to create Copperworks New Oak Cask Finished Gin. Only 250 bottles were produced. (CraftSpiritsMag.com)
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Distillery 291 Releases Two Limited Colorado Bourbon Whiskeys |
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Just in time for cooler temperatures and the holiday season, Colorado Springs-based Distillery 291 is releasing two of its most-awarded whiskeys—291 Bad Guy Colorado Bourbon Whiskey Batch #6 and 291 High Rye (“HR”) Colorado Bourbon Whiskey. Bad Guy recently arrived on shelf and High Rye will be released on November 9, 2020. Both will be available at Distillery 291’s tasting room and local retailers throughout the state of Colorado. (CraftSpiritsMag.com)
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Join Us for Craft Spirits Live on Instagram |
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Join ACSA for Craft Spirits Live, our Instagram Live show. In each episode, a leading craft spirits producer invites us into their distillery for 30 minutes of engaging conversation and a virtual tour—as well as an opportunity to answer all of your burning questions.
UPCOMING GUESTS
November 4th: Blake Jones, West Fork Whiskey Co.
November 11th: Nathan Newhall, Steamboat Whiskey Co.
November 18th: Greg Lehman, Watershed Distillery
November 25th: David Weglarz, StilL 630
December 2nd: TBA
December 9th: Gary Hinegardner, Wood Hat Spirits
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Watershed Distillery Rightsizes Bottled Old Fashioned for 2020 |
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New products from Watershed Distillery of Columbus, Ohio, have been announced just in time for the holidays, and include a Holiday Bourbon Bundle, featuring Barrel Strength Bourbon, as well as Watershed’s bottled Old Fashioned—rightsized for 2020. These items will be exclusively available in the state of Ohio. (CraftSpiritsMag.com)
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Runamok Maple Launches Maple Cocktail Syrups and Bitters |
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Known for its flavorful line of infused, barrel-aged, and smoked maple syrups, Vermont-based producer Runamok Maple announced this week that it has expanded into the cocktail space, unveiling a new collection of maple cocktail syrups and bitters. The line of cocktail mixers will feature four different syrups (Maple Old Fashioned, Maple Tonic, Smoked Old Fashioned, and Maple Ginger Mule) along with three kinds of bitters (Floral Maple, Aromatic Maple, and Orange Maple). (CraftSpiritsMag.com)
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DOT-PHMSA to Archive Webinar on Hazardous Materials Regulations |
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The Department of Transportation – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (DOT-PHMSA) recently hosted informational webinars to assist with transitioning to full compliance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) once the Temporary Policy for the Transportation of Certain Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Products expires on October 31, 2020. The webinars covered key HMR transportation topics for hand sanitizer products, as well as important information on how to obtain training. In case you missed it, DOT-PHMSA is in the process of archiving the webinar and we will share the link as soon as it is available. |
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Reminder: Importance of Registering Sanitizer |
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Recently, ACSA leadership met with the FDA and the biggest takeaways were the importance of following current FDA guidelines and the necessity to register if you are producing hand sanitizer, packaging or labeling for distribution (either for sale or donation). You must also register with the FDA if you are manufacturing ethanol for use by others in making sanitizer.
If you believe a distillery is producing or distributing hand sanitizer or ethanol in a manner that is inconsistent with recent federal regulations and guidelines published for use during the COVID-19 public health emergency, please click here.
And if you haven't already added your distillery to our list of DSPs producing hand sanitizers, click here.
Additionally, FDA recently announced that it is providing a laboratory testing method to assess the quality of finished hand sanitizer products.
This testing method can be used to help assure hand sanitizers contain the correct ingredients and do not contain harmful levels of impurities. To read the full bulletin on the FDA's laboratory testing method, click here.
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Got a question? ACSA's got the answer. |
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In these challenging times, seek advice and lend your knowledge in ACSA's online forums. Our main forum topics include crisis management, services, TTB, safety, technical, equipment & materials, legislation, business and marketplace. |
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Watch the Latest Episode of Craft Spirits TV |
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Read the Latest Issue of Craft Spirits Magazine |
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Send News to Craft Spirits Magazine
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Do you have exciting stories to share about your distillery? Keep us posted on new products, events, trends, tips and more by sending us a note at news@americancraftspirits.org.
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The American Craft Spirits Association is the only national registered non-profit trade association representing the U.S. craft spirits industry. Its mission is to elevate and advocate for the community of craft spirits producers, and membership in ACSA is open to anyone.
ACSA is governed by a Board of Directors elected by the eligible voting members of the Association. Voting members must be independent licensed distillers (DSPs) annually removing fewer than 750,000 proof gallons from bond (the amount on which a Federal Excise Tax is paid.)
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