This month, Capital City / Lake Murray Country is proud to highlight the multitude of awards earned by Hollow Creek Distillery (HCD). First, the Leesville’s distillery was awarded a total of 10 medals in two major international spirits competitions.
Master Distiller Craig Amick along with his wife Meredith, owners of the 10-year-old property, entered four spirits into two prestigious competitions this past spring. The first competition entered was the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition (LAISC), one of the major industry award programs setting the standard for distilled beverages since 2007.
Now in its 16th year, the LAISC drew entries from 19 countries awarding 102 Gold Medal Awards, 121 Silver Medal Awards, and 31 Bronze Medal Awards. Hollow Creek’s High Cotton Straight Bourbon and White Hot Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey both received gold medals, while William Alan Small Batch Bourbon and Low Water Vodka brought in Silver awards. Additionally, 34 gold medals were given for packaging design, of which HCD captured two for the packaging of High Cotton and William Alan.
“We are thrilled to have been recognized among our peers nationally and internationally. It’s amazing to us, that what started as a hobby business has led to international recognition” stated Mr. Amick. “It’s only natural for us to be biased about our product, if we didn’t think it was good, we wouldn’t have continued this adventure”.
Within minutes of learning of the LA wins, the owners received notice regarding their San Francisco submissions. Now in its 22nd year, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded to recognize exceptional products in the spirits industry. For this year’s competition, 70 judges from all over the world evaluated 5,000 entries. HCD received another four medals including gold for Low Water Vodka and William Alan Small Batch Bourbon, as well as silver for White Hot Cinnamon Whiskey and High Cotton Straight Bourbon.
Following those impressive ten wins in April, Hollow Creek Distillery was awarded Double Gold for William Alan Straight Bourbon Whiskey and the title South Carolina Distillery of the
Year in the 13th Annual New York International Spirits Competition (NYISC). This year the NYISC had over 1400+ spirits from 39 countries and 34 States in the USA entered. Top spirits buyers judged the products by category and price in blind tastings.
Additionally, White Hot Cinnamon Whisky and Low Water Vodka were awarded Bronze medals.
“Looking down the list of winners, we are thrilled to be among some pretty prominent brands, nationally and internationally.” stated Mr. Amick. “Our passion for creating quality spirits is what has been driving our business. Winning these awards is a huge accomplishment.”
The distillery recently completed the expansion of a new 5,000-square-foot production building adding an 800-gallon pot still. Weekly free tastings of their full line of spirits are available Thursdays through Saturday. Along with the mentioned award-winning products, HCD also produces 34.08 Wheated Whiskey, their original moonshine called Copper Parrot and seven flavored moonshines including the popular Sea Salt and Caramel, seasonal Fall/Winter flavors Pumpkin Pie and Peppermint, Spring/Summer favorites Peach and Watermelon, plus Apple Pie, Carolina Honey and Hell Fire. The latter two made using SC Certified local honey and reaper pepper.
Hollow Creek Distillery is located under the shade of the oak trees off Hwy 378 at 112 Rocky Ridge Road in Leesville. Online, find HCD at hollowcreekdistillery.com.
