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Alaskan Distilling Co. Named 2025 U.S. Open Cocktail Champion, Brings Home Three Medals

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Alaskan Distilling Co. Named 2025 U.S. Open Cocktail Champion Juneau, Alaska — Alaskan Distilling Co., the spirits division of Alaskan Brewing Co., has taken top honors at the 2025 U.S. Open Whiskey & Spirits Championship, earning the title of U.S. Open Cocktail Champion and claiming three medals in the prestigious competition.

In addition to the Championship title, judges awarded two Gold medals and one Silver to Alaskan Distilling’s innovative line of canned cocktails:

GOLD – Rainforest Gin & Tonic Category: Classic Canned Cocktail
GOLD – CAMP FUEL: Citrus Breeze Category: Citrus Canned Cocktail
SILVER – Solstice Vodka Lemonade Category: Citrus Canned Cocktail

Alaskan Distilling’s standout performance earned the Juneau, Alaska-based company the top overall title in the cocktail category, recognized for creativity, craftsmanship, and flavor in a crowded field of outstanding entries from across the country.

“Being named the U.S. Open Cocktail Champion is a huge honor,” said Maxwell Rule, CEO of Alaskan Brewing Co. “To be recognized alongside so many other talented producers is incredibly meaningful, and it’s a testament to the creativity, grit, and hard work of our Alaskan Distilling team. From concept to can, this crew pours their passion into every step, and we’re proud to see that effort celebrated on a national stage.”

The U.S. Open Whiskey & Spirits Championship is one of the largest and most respected spirits competitions in North America, evaluating thousands of entries across a wide range of categories. A panel of judges conducts blind tastings to determine winners based on aroma, taste, balance, and overall impression.

In the 2024 U.S. Open Whiskey & Spirits Championship, Alaskan Distilling Co.’s Musk Ox Mule took home a Silver award, while the Rainforest Gin & Tonic won Bronze.

This year’s results further solidify Alaskan Distilling Co.’s place as a rising leader in the world of craft spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails. Rainforest Gin & Tonic, Solstice Vodka Lemonade, Musk Ox Mule, CAMP FUEL Citrus Breeze, and CAMP FUEL Legendary are all currently available in Alaska.

About Alaskan Distilling Co.
Alaska’s distilling scene is a vibrant blend of innovation and tradition, deeply rooted in the state’s rugged landscape and rich natural resources. Distilleries across the state harness local ingredients—such as glacier-fed waters, hand-harvested spruce tips, and Alaska-grown grains—to craft unique spirits that embody the essence of the Last Frontier. For instance, Alaskan Distilling Co., a sister brand to Alaskan Brewing Co., has gained acclaim for its award-winning canned cocktails like the Solstice Vodka Lemonade and Rainforest Gin & Tonic, which highlight flavors native to Alaska.

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New Realm Brewing Company Opens World-Class Brewery, Distillery and Restaurant in Suffolk, VA

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SUFFOLK, VA – Atlanta-based New Realm Brewing Company hosted a grand opening celebration for the award-winning brewery’s sixth location, and its second in Virginia. Located at 5941 Harbour View Blvd., the brewery, distillery and restaurant is now open seven days a week. New Realm’s leadership team was joined by Suffolk Mayor Michael Duman at a ribbon-cutting event to mark the official opening.

“We are thrilled to open our Suffolk location and offer customers a great place to gather for our award-winning craft beers and spirits and a locally sourced scratch kitchen,” said Carey Falcone, CEO of New Realm Brewing. “Our connection to the communities we serve is very important to us, and we’ve been proud to serve the community at our Virginia Beach location over the past 6 years. We’re excited to grow our commitment with this incredible venue and bring New Realm to the people of Suffolk.”

New Realm Brewing Company Suffolk features:

· A 110-seat restaurant with additional bar seating and indoor event space with a world-class scratch kitchen featuring fresh ingredients for locally sourced dishes.

· Outdoor experiences including a rooftop setting with 114 seats plus additional bar seating and an 8,000-square-foot beer garden featuring an outdoor music venue and dog park.

· A brewhouse with annual capacity to brew 500 barrels, including a variety of innovative beers to complement the existing award-winning core brands. The beer brewed onsite will be featured in our Suffolk and Virginia Beach taprooms.

· A distillery with capacity to create 400 gallons annually of New Realm’s small-batch hand-crafted distilled spirits. New Realm mixologists create specially made fresh cocktails using unique regional ingredients for a refreshingly curated experience. Guests can experience New Realm’s full line of small-batch aged bourbon, gin, vodka and agave along with seasonal small-batch special releases.

The New Realm Suffolk brewery is led by world-famous Brewmaster Mitch Steele and Chief Operating Officer Brian Faivre, with Kane Wille as the head brewer. World-renowned chef Grant MacPherson designed New Realm’s culinary program from its inception. With over 17 years of experience in New York City and Virginia, Chef John Urena heads up the Suffolk location following success opening New Realm Virginia Beach and other breweries and restaurants in the Hampton Roads area. Chef John is passionate about the culinary arts and sharing his love of cooking with the community.

New Realm’s beers include Hazy Like a Fox IPA, Kickflipper West Coast IPA, Psychedelic Rabbit and Tank Dog to name a few. The brewery also has successful partnerships with the American rock band Blackberry Smoke in addition to Auburn University, Kennesaw State University, Georgia Tech and Old Dominion University.

In addition to Suffolk, Virginia Beach and the flagship location in Atlanta, the company also operates locations in Auburn, Alabama; Charleston, South Carolina; and Greenville, South Carolina.

ABOUT NEW REALM BREWING CO.

New Realm is an American craft brewery and distillery started in 2016 by co-founders Carey Falcone, Bob Powers, and Mitch Steele. The company operates production and innovation breweries/distilleries, each with on-site scratch kitchens serving globally inspired, locally sourced fare, in multiple Southeastern US cities. New Realm’s core values are quality, creativity, authenticity, and striving for perfection, all with a customer-centric community focused commitment and approach.

New Realm’s awards include Multiple Great American Beer Fest gold medals (2022), Brewbound’s “Rising Star” Brewery, Ratebeer’s “Best New Brewer in Georgia,” Ratebeer’s 11th “Best New Brewer in the World”, and Virginia Craft Beer Cup’s gold medal (2019 & 2021) and “Best in Show” for Euphonia Pilsner (2019). Brewmaster Mitch Steele was awarded the Russell Scherer Award for Innovation in Brewing and authored the book IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes, and the Evolution of India Pale Ale. Learn more at NewRealmBrewing.com.

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Alaskan Brewing Announces Alaskan Distilling Company Expansion with RTD Canned Cocktails

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JUNEAU, Alaska— Alaskan Distilling Company is the latest innovation from Alaskan Brewing Company. For nearly forty years Alaskan Brewing Company has been devoted to the art of creating the finest craft beer and is now introducing a selection of craft cocktails to their lineup starting this April.

The Juneau-based brewery started its distilling journey in 2019 with a small batch process focusing on long-standing distilling traditions. “We have always tried to put a little bit of Alaska in the bottle and a little bit of Alaska on the bottle. One thing that we all revel in is the quality of life that this place presents and represents. So for us, we want to make beverages that reflect that sort of feeling and character,” said Alaskan Brewing Company Co-founder Geoff Larson. Alaskan Distilling Company is introducing the Alaska market to their Solstice Vodka Lemonade, Musk Ox Vodka Mule, and Rainforest Gin & Tonic.

Alaskan Distilling Company is running a combination still that can operate both as a pot still and 12 plate column still. This distilling setup will allow the distillery to produce a full range of spirits like whiskey, vodka, and gin in the future.

Seven times distilled, and carbon-filtered Alaskan Distilling Ultra-Pure Pristine Vodka is used in the Solstice Vodka Lemonade, which produces an exceptional neutral flavor. The Solstice Vodka Lemonade is Alaskan Distilling’s most complex mix of ingredients, highlighting wildflower honey and fruit-enhanced lemonade resulting in a flavorful and balanced cocktail.

To achieve an approachable yet distinct lingering ginger heat in the Musk Ox Vodka Mule, Alaskan Distilling produced and blended two different vodkas: Ultra-Pure Pristine Vodka and an Intense Fresh Ginger Vodka.

Finally, the Rainforest Gin & Tonic showcases a gin specifically designed for Alaskan Distilling’s canned cocktail, as well as a house-made spruce tip tonic water. The spruce tip tonic water helps create an exceptionally dry and crisp cocktail since it is made with half the amount of sugar of most commercial tonic waters.

The trio of Alaskan Distilling Company products has on average one-third to half of the amount of sugar typical canned cocktails have without sacrificing depth of flavor. For example, in the Solstice Lemonade, “Sweetness comes from the fact that you might catch a little bit of honey character. Well, the honey does have a sweetness, but it also has an aromatic quality which elicits an expectation of sweetness,” said Larson.

To achieve high flavor with lower sugars, Alaskan Distilling Company relied on complex ingredients like Gustavus spruce tips, rose hips, cardamom, orange peel, and fruit juices like cranberry, raspberry, grapefruit, black and tart cherry, and more.

“The overall impact on the flavor is multi-dimensional. When you sit down and enjoy one of our canned cocktails, your attitude and where you are affects what you perceive in the beverage. This is because of the many different layers of flavor that we’ve incorporated,” said Larson.

Solstice Vodka Lemonade, Musk Ox Vodka Mule, and Rainforest Gin & Tonic are gluten-free and have an eight percent ABV. The canned cocktails will only be available in Alaska starting this April. To find Alaskan Distilling Company canned cocktails near you visit our Beer Finder.

In addition to producing world-class beverages, Alaskan Brewing Company strives for innovation through progressive programs like employee ownership and a commitment to environmental stewardship.

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