KO DISTILLING CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY

KO DISTILLING CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY
KO Distilling Commemorates First Year in Business September 17th
with an All-Day Anniversary Celebration

MANASSAS, VA – KO Distilling – Manassas’ first craft distillery – will celebrate one year in business this month.

Long-time friends and college classmates, Bill Karlson and John O’Mara, established KO Distilling in May 2013. After two and a half years of planning, building, testing, and sampling, KO Distilling opened its doors to the public on September 12, 2015. Since then, KO has hosted over 3,000 visitors and has sold more than 5,000 bottles of their craft spirits.

“John, our team, and I have had a great first year of operations”, stated KO Distilling CEO Bill Karlson. “With our Open House, we want to celebrate our first anniversary with our local business partners, our many followers, the community, and our family and friends.”

The Anniversary Celebration will take place from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 17th. The event will feature the best of local Manassas with distillery tours; KO spirit tastings; a craft beer garden with BadWolf Brewing Company, Heritage Brewing Company, and Tin Cannon Brewing Company products; food from Okra’s Cajun Creole restaurant; lawn games and family activities; and entertainment from two of Manassas’ favorite bands: Leon Rector and Harlen Simple. KO will also collect donations of new, unwrapped toys, which will be distributed to needy children through the local Toys for Tots program this coming holiday season.

The celebration is open to the public, with outdoor tents and seating to complement KO’s beautiful oak and copper-themed indoor Visitor’s Center. The event is family-friendly and there is no charge to attend. Distillery tours, normally $6 per person, will also be offered at no charge. Food, beer, and spirit tastings will be available for purchase, and VIP packages featuring all three are available for less than $30 per person (a $10 savings).

The celebration marks a year full of successes for Manassas’ first distillery, the 19th registered distillery in the Commonwealth, and one of 1,200 (and-growing) craft distilleries in the country. To date, KO Distilling has won nine awards in spirits competitions. At the 2015 New York International Spirits Competition, KO won the title of “Virginia Moonshine Distillery of the Year” and was awarded a bronze medal in the whiskey category for their Virginia Moon White Whiskey. Their whiskey went on to win a silver medal at the 2016 American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) Spirits Competition, a bronze medal at the 2016 American Distilling Institute (ADI) Spirits Competition, and a bronze medal at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Their Battle Standard 142 Gin in Navy Strength was also awarded a bronze medal at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Recently, KO’s Battle Standard 142 Barrel Finished Gin was awarded a gold medal in the tasting competition and a bronze medal in the package design competition at the 2016 MicroLiquor Spirit Awards, as well as a silver medal at the 2016 New York International Wine & Spirits Competition.

This month, KO was awarded a $50,000 Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Manassas. The grant will be used by KO Distilling to expand its production facility resulting in additional manufacturing jobs. This will further result in a 300% increase in production and allow KO to triple the amount of Virginia grains used in the making of their fine spirits.

Head Distiller, John O’Mara stated “This grant will allow us to become one of the top-tier Distilleries in the Commonwealth of Virginia and allow us to produce over 900 barrels of high quality whiskey and bourbons each year.”

KO currently makes and sells the following spirits: Battle Standard 142 Gin (Standard Strength), Battle Standard 142 Gin (Navy Strength), Battle Standard 142 Gin (Barrel Finished), and Virginia Moon White Whiskey. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has certified all four spirits as Virginia’s Finest products. The American Distilling Institute (ADI) has also all four spirits Certified Craft Distilled Spirits.

Also, since 2015, KO makes small batch bourbon, rye whiskey and wheat whiskey, which are aged in new charred American Oak barrels. KO has over 350 53-gallon whiskey barrels aging on-site. In mid-Nov 2016, KO will release its first brown spirit – Bare Knuckle American Wheat Whiskey, a wheat whiskey that has been aged in barrels for one year. Bare Knuckle is a play on KO for “knockout.” KO straight bourbon and rye whiskeys are scheduled for release in 2017.

“Our first barrel-aged whiskey release is sure to turn some heads. The Bare Knuckle American Wheat Whiskey’s mash bill of wheat, rye and malted barley coupled with the flavors and nuances gained from barrel aging provides sweetness from the wheat with a hint of rye for punch,” said Distiller Ryan Hendricks.

KO Distilling’s products are currently distributed in Virginia and Washington, DC, with distribution scheduled for Maryland and Delaware in the fall of 2016. KO Distilling’s plant features an automated grain handling system, a 550-gallon mash tun, four 500-gallon fermentation tanks and a 550-gallon copper pot/hybrid still made by Vendome Copper & Brassworks out of Louisville, KY. In early 2017, KO Distilling will receive a new Vendome Continuous Column Still and related equipment.

“At KO Distilling, we have two missions – to produce and sell locally made, craft spirits at reasonable prices and to provide a travel and tourism destination for visitors to have a great distillery experience” said KO CEO, Bill Karlson. “In our first year, we’ve established ourselves with our clear spirits. Look for us to become even better with releases of our aged spirits starting this fall and again next year.”

KO Distilling’s 12,000 square foot facility is located at 10381 Central Park Drive, Manassas, VA 20110. More information about the distillery and their spirits, along with ticketing for the upcoming Anniversary Celebration, can be found on their website, www.kodistilling.com, and on their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/KODistilling.

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The celebration marks a year full of successes for Manassas’ first distillery, the 19th registered distillery in the Commonwealth, and one of 1,200 (and-growing) craft distilleries in the country. To date, KO Distilling has won nine awards in spirits competitions. At the 2015 New York International Spirits Competition, KO won the title of “Virginia Moonshine Distillery of the Year” and was awarded a bronze medal in the whiskey category for their Virginia Moon White Whiskey. Their whiskey went on to win a silver medal at the 2016 American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) Spirits Competition, a bronze medal at the 2016 American Distilling Institute (ADI) Spirits Competition, and a bronze medal at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Their Battle Standard 142 Gin in Navy Strength was also awarded a bronze medal at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Recently, KO’s Battle Standard 142 Barrel Finished Gin was awarded a gold medal in the tasting competition and a bronze medal in the package design competition at the 2016 MicroLiquor Spirit Awards, as well as a silver medal at the 2016 New York International Wine & Spirits Competition.

Bow Tie Strategies
Rusty Foster - Press Contact
PO Box 2965
Leesburg, VA 20177
7036461282
rustyfoster@bowtiestrategies.com

This release was published on openPR.