Ford Design Group and Cape Fear Distillery win National Barleycorn Awards!

We’re so proud to have won these awards and to have worked with wonderful people like Alex Munroe and Judith Scott of Cape Fear Distillery. They just surprised us recently with the great news about our awards. It looks like we beat out some stiff competition in the design category. They beat out some very big names in the taste category like Jim Bean along with many others. Here’s all the info below!

Cape Fear Distillery wins National Barleycorn Awards
Since the first distiller started experimenting with various grains and techniques, many a would-be artisan has searched for the elusive combination that would produce a spirit hailed for its perfect taste and flawless presentation.

For half a century, this quest has been illuminated in poems, stories and lyrics penned by the likes of Robert Burns, Jack London and Steve Winwood. Their protagonist, John Barleycorn, is a metaphor for the indignation, suffering, death and rebirth in the cyclical nature of planting, growing, harvesting and distillation.

The prestigious John Barleycorn Awards honors the innovative distillers and marketers who cultivate the fertile traditions of the spirits industry. The John Barleycorn Awards team is comprised of elite authoritative and influential spirits journalists and judges who were selected to administer the flagship component of the Awards, a double-blind tasting competition destined to become the preeminent arbitrator of spirits taste, quality and character.


Cape Fear Distillery is proud to announce that our Maritime Gin won a Gold Medal for Taste and a Silver Medal for Design at the 2019 John Barleycorn Awards contest held in Dallas, Texas this summer. These national awards, along with Double Gold and Bronze national awards from the Food and Beverage Proof Awards earlier this year, confirm that Cape Fear Distillery’s Maritime Gin can compete with the world’s best.

Alex Munroe, Cape Fear Distillery owner, says, “We entered our Maritime Gin into the competitions at the first of the year when we were just getting into distribution, so we really didn’t know how the market was going to react. But soon enough, many ABC stores began to double and triple their orders. Obviously, the market likes our gin. The Proof Awards and John Barleycorn Awards validate what our customers are telling us: that we’ve produced a world-class gin!”

Thanks to our customers for all of your continued support. Remember to ask your local ABC store and restaurants to carry Cape Fear Distillery Maritime Gin!