Up-and-coming craft drink maker, HardHops Hybrid Craft Cocktails, placed highly at the USA Sprits Ratings Competition. Their flavors Frickin Prickly Pear and 3Piece were both awarded silver medals from the event with scores of 83 and 81. Cherry Bomb and Getaway Granny Smith medaled in bronze with scores of 79 and 78; just shy of the 80-point cut off needed to place silver. To medal, these spirits all ranked highly in three key categories – quality, value, and packaging. Winning a USA Spirits Ratings medal is considered by many as the ultimate seal of approval to verify beverages as high-quality with broad consumer appeal.

Competition was stiff this year and the judges were discerning with relatively few medals being presented. The judging panel included spirits industry professionals with commercial buying expertise. Judges included professionals from leading retail chains, wholesalers, distributors, specialty retailers, casual and fine dining establishments. The inclusion of so many high-profile judges ensured that spirits awarded medals in the competition were those that would garner a high degree of commercial interest.

HardHops is a new line of all natural ready-to-drink cocktails. Each batch is made using kettle-brewed hops as the "Foundation of Flavor" (Hop varieties are chosen to support and enhance the individual flavor notes of each proprietary recipe) mixed with other botanicals, natural ingredients and pure sugar cane alcohol.  HardHops are approved as low carb, low calorie and gluten free. They successfully bring future-forward flavor profiles to market; they don't sell the typical Bloody Mary, Margarita or Moscow Mule. As an example, our 3Piece, which also won a platinum and innovation award at the 2019 SIP Awards, is a delicious blend of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee.  3Piece is truly groundbreaking coming in at 8% ABV yet being low calorie and only having 5g of carbohydrates for the entire 12 fl. oz. can.  

Owners Erik and Jennifer Kania are thrilled to see how well their cocktails scored against other RTD craft cocktails.  They said, "We're thankful and excited judges are awarding our Hybrid Craft Cocktails.  We launched in 2018 and have worked hard in creating our innovative flavors for all folks.  They're a big hit in local markets and we're ecstatic that people like them at a national level. We look forward to creating new partnerships and making HardHops available throughout the country."

About the USA Spirits Ratings Competition

In contrast to other international spirits competitions, which typically evaluate a spirit based on overall taste or quality, the USA Spirits Ratings competition considers three different factors: Quality, Value, and Packaging. Quality refers to the overall taste, flavor, and aroma of the spirit. Value refers to the pricing of the spirit regarding its competition. Packaging refers to the overall brand presentation of the spirit, with an emphasis on how well the spirit appeals to a specific customer segment. The goal of the USA Spirits Ratings competition is to find, evaluate, and award sprits that successfully meet these criteria.

According to Sid Patel, CEO and Founder of event organizers Beverage Trade Network, "This innovative scoring system has been instrumental in identifying world-class spirits that consumers actually want to drink. We've broadened the definition of drinkability, in order to reflect how spirits drinkers choose which spirits they buy at a retail store or order from a restaurant menu."