{"id":115795,"date":"2021-11-23T09:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=115795"},"modified":"2021-11-22T18:08:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T00:08:50","slug":"wonderbird-spirits-named-overall-winner-in-drinks-category-at-12th-annual-made-in-the-south-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wonderbird-spirits-named-overall-winner-in-drinks-category-at-12th-annual-made-in-the-south-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonderbird Spirits Named “Overall Winner” in Drinks Category at 12th Annual “Made in the South” Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mississippi\u2019s only grain-to-glass distillery feature in Garden & Gun Magazine\u2019s December 2021\/January 2022 edition<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

TAYLOR, MS \u2013 Wonderbird Spirits<\/strong>, a maker of premier handcrafted bottled gins and operators of Mississippi\u2019s only grain-to-glass-distillery, has been awarded \u201cOverall Winner\u201d in the Drinks category at the 12th Annual\u00a0Made In the South Awards<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0produced by\u00a0Garden & Gun Magazine<\/em><\/strong>. The artisanal gin brand \u2013 founded by friends Thomas Alexander, Rob Forster<\/strong>, and Chand Harlow<\/strong> \u2013 received a prominent feature in the December 2021\/January 2022 edition of Garden & Gun, which hit newsstands November 16, and a $10,000 cash prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe diversity of these products represents the future of the South,\u201d says\u00a0acclaimed bartender and mixology teacher Tiffanie Barriere<\/strong>, who judged the nominees in the Drinks category.\u00a0\u201cWonderbird Spirits offers a lesson in the history of gin and distilling in a bottle. I want it in my house, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, Garden & Gun Magazine<\/em> deemed Wonderbird Spirits \u201cexceptional\u201d and \u201crevolutionary\u201d in its approach to rice-based gin, adding that Wonderbird\u2019s offerings are heightened by \u201cpride, purpose, and, yes, Mississippi magnolia blossoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo receive \u2018Overall Winner\u2019 in a field of worthy and celebrated nominees is a tremendous honor and we are grateful to Garden & Gun and Ms. Barriere for this award,\u201d says Chand Harlow, one of the Co-Founders of Wonderbird Spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSince we began this journey in 2019, we have not only sought to separate ourselves with a world-class gin, but we also want to celebrate and pay tribute to Wonderbird\u2019s southern heritage \u2013 we are forever proud to represent Mississippi,\u201d adds Co-Founder Rob Forster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-Founder Thomas Alexander remarks, \u201cWe are thrilled to receive this recognition and continue doing what we love the most \u2013 distilling great tasting spirits and delivering our world-class gin to the world, one glass at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wonderbird Spirits opened North Mississippi\u2019s first distillery south of the city of Oxford in Lafayette County. Beyond Mississippi, the company currently has distribution deals with licensed retailers in Mississippi, Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee; with plans to continue expansion throughout the United States and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Wonderbird Spirits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wonderbird Spirits is the only grain-to-glass distillery in Mississippi and a maker of premier handcrafted bottled gins, including the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits competition gold medal-winning rice-based Gin No. 61. Being the only rice-based American gin, their process borrows from centuries-old Japanese sake making practices to ferment Jasmine rice procured from the Mississippi Delta. Co-founded in 2019 by friends and business partners Chand Harlow, Rob Forster, and Thomas Alexander, Wonderbird Spirits\u2019 singular goal is to deliver world-class gin to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Garden & Gun<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Garden & Gun<\/em> is a multiplatform media company that celebrates stories of the American South through powerful journalism, bold photography, exquisite design, and finely curated retail and experiential journeys. The brand is anchored by its award-winning national magazine launched in 2007, Garden & Gun<\/em>, which reports on the South\u2019s sporting culture, food, music, art, literature, and its people and their ideas. The coveted audience of 1.6 million is further engaged through numerous New York Times<\/em> best-selling books, Fieldshop by Garden & Gun<\/a> retail experience, the Garden & Gun Club restaurants<\/a>, and 75+ events each year. Visit gardenandgun.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Garden & Gun\u2019s<\/em> Annual Made in the South Awards<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Garden & Gun<\/em> created the Made in the South Awards<\/a> in 2010 to celebrate and encourage Southern craftsmanship, and to recognize the best available Southern-made products. The annual awards recognize products in six categories (Food, Drink, Home, Style, Outdoors, and Crafts) and are judged by industry experts from across the country. The overall winner receives a $10,000 cash prize, and, along with all category winners and runners-up, is prominently featured in the magazine’s December 2021\/January 2022 issue, which hits newsstands in November 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Made in the South Awards judges are: (FOOD) television personality, chef, writer, teacher, and social justice advocate\u00a0Andrew Zimmern<\/strong>\u00a0(Minneapolis, MN); (DRINK)\u00a0Tiffanie Barriere<\/strong>\u00a0(Atlanta, GA), an independent bartender and innovative industry leader who hosts pop-up dinners and mixology classes across the country; (HOME)\u00a0Keith Smythe Meacham<\/strong>\u00a0(Nashville, TN), co-founder of Reed Smythe & Company<\/strong>, a hybrid online shop that partners with Southern artisans to craft distinctive home and garden goods; (STYLE)\u00a0Rae and David Liu<\/strong>\u00a0(Dallas, TX), founders of direct-to-consumer brand Leatherology<\/strong>, which crafts customizable leather accessories for men and women; (OUTDOORS) expert sportsman\u00a0T. Edward Nickens<\/strong>\u00a0(Raleigh, NC), author of\u00a0The Total Outdoorsman Manual<\/em>\u00a0and a new book out this spring:\u00a0The Last Wild Road<\/em>; and (CRAFTS)\u00a0Jonathan Morris<\/strong>\u00a0(Fort Worth, TX), entrepreneur and owner of Fort Worth Barber Shop and cofounder of Memo Hospitality Group<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mississippi\u2019s only grain-to-glass distillery feature in Garden & Gun Magazine\u2019s December 2021\/January 2022 edition TAYLOR, MS \u2013 Wonderbird<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":115796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[190],"tags":[19960,19962,15776,19959,19961,19966,19963,19967,5,7067,4,19964,15775,19965,78,15774,18662,15369],"class_list":["post-115795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-business","tag-made-in-the-south-awards","tag-andrew-zimmern","tag-chand-harlow","tag-garden-gun","tag-garden-gun-magazine","tag-jonathan-morris","tag-keith-smythe-meacham","tag-memo-hospitality-group","tag-mississippi","tag-ole-miss","tag-oxford","tag-rae-and-david-liu","tag-rob-forster","tag-t-edward-nickens","tag-taylor","tag-thomas-alexander","tag-tiffanie-barriere","tag-wonderbird-spirits"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Wonderbird-Spirits-Founders_Credit-Joe-York.jpeg?fit=1600%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}