Blood x Sweat x Tears Vodka™ Wins Two Gold Medals at Denver International Spirits Competition

The 2021 Denver International Spirits Competition drew 500 entries from all corners of the world and resulted in two gold medals for Blood x Sweat x Tears Vodka: one for the vodka itself, and one for the eye-catching bottle.

The tasting competition drew 40 domestic vodka entries; among those, only 10 won Gold Medals or higher. The judging panel of sommeliers, retail buyers, journalists, mixologists, and beverage directors evaluated all entries double-blind, giving even more weight to this accolade for self-taught distiller Ben Green and his innovative freeze-filtration process. This is Ben’s second Gold Medal, with the first being from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2020.

Blood x Sweat x Tears Vodka also won a Gold Medal for its unique “tattoo sleeve” packaging, which pays homage to the distillery’s Oregon home. Among the many “Easter eggs” on the label are Ben’s rescue pit bull, Mr. Pickles; a merry skeleton representing the brand’s creator, Umberto Luchini, whose success creating Espolòn Tequila set him on the path to entrepreneurship; the Cascade Mountains from which the vodka’s water is sourced; a fist standing for “sweat” clutching a bundle of the locally sourced wheat; and a wolf in obvious tribute to Wolf Spirit Distillery, where the vodka is made.

Luchini, also proprietor and founder of Wolf Spirit Distillery, says: “As an independent craft distillery, the awards are particularly validating and gratifying when you are going toe-to-toe with multi-nationals like Bacardi, Sazerac, and Suntory-Beam. It just reassures us that we are on the right path and that our products are of high quality.”

Hand-crafted from grain to glass using soft white winter wheat from Hamilton Ranch on Rattlesnake Ridge in Washington State and purified water from Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, Blood x Sweat x Tears Vodka is usually described as edgy; third-party reviewers generally describe it as earthy, mineral, and herbal – particularly calling out notes of juniper – with a clear wheat influence, warm and spicy finish, and overall complexity.