Diageo Announces Winners of 9th Annual Golden Bar Awards

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Oct 17, 2012, 08:58 ET

NORWALK, Conn., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Diageo, the world's leading beverage alcohol company, honored spirits, wine and beer distributors at the Ninth Annual Golden Bar Awards which took place at a number of awards events across the country. The Golden Bar Awards recognize excellence in sales, marketing and promoting responsible drinking.

Larry Schwartz, President and CEO of Diageo North America, said, "The Golden Bar Awards recognize the best of the best in the industry. Our strong relationships with our distributors help to drive Diageo's success and we thank our distributors for their dedication and hard work demonstrated over the past year."

The Golden Bar Awards, held for the first time at multiple locations across the United States, celebrate distributors and brokers for their excellence in the marketplace and the important role they play in their communities. The Golden Bar Awards recognize distributors and brokers for performance across Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Ciroc, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Crown Royal, Ketel One, Guinness, Smithwick's, Red Stripe, Sterling Vineyards, Chalone Vineyard, Acacia Vineyard, Rosenblum Cellars and Beaulieu Vineyard wines. Awards are also given for corporate citizenship, innovation and the grand prizes go to the distributors of the year for beer, wine and spirits.

In total 29 statuettes, 27 made of 24 carat gold, and 2 made of platinum, were awarded to distributors. Each Golden Bar statuette weighs eight pounds, stands more than a foot tall, and is produced by R.S. Owens, the company that created the Oscar®, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Below are the categories and winners for the 2012 Golden Bar Awards.

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
Distributor of the Year - Spirits	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Indiana
Distributor of the Year - Wine	Glazer's of Louisiana
Distributor of the Year - Beer	Alliance Beverage

TRANSFORMATIONAL PRIORITY
Multicultural Excellence Award	Glazer's of Texas
On Premise Excellence Award	Atlantic Wine & Spirits, a Division of Empire Merchants, LLC, Metro New York

SPIRITS
Spirits Excellence Award - Smirnoff	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Indiana
Spirits Excellence Award - Johnnie Walker	United Distributors of Delaware
Spirits Excellence Award - Baileys	Atlantic Wine & Spirits, a Division of Empire Merchants, LLC, Metro New York
Spirits Excellence Award - Captain Morgan	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Indiana
Spirits Excellence Award - Jose Cuervo	Wirtz Beverage of Illinois
Spirits Excellence Award - Tanqueray	Glazer's of Missouri
Spirits Excellence Award - Crown Royal	North American Spirits and Wine Brokerage of Pennsylvania
Spirits Excellence Award - Ketel One	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Florida
Spirits Excellence Award - Ciroc	Reliable Churchill of Maryland
Control State Excellence Award	North American Spirits and Wine Brokerage of Ohio

BEER
Beer Excellence Award - Guinness	Peerless Beverage Co.
Beer Excellence Award - Smithwick's	Harbor Southern California Network
Beer Excellence Award - Red Stripe	Wirtz Beverage of Nevada
Beer Excellence Award - PABs	Faust Distributing Co.
3 Year Consistency Award	Town & Country Distributing

WINE
Wines Excellence Award - Sterling Vineyards	Glazer's of Texas
Wines Excellence Award - Beaulieu Vineyard	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Florida
Wines Excellence Award - Chalone Vineyard	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Florida
Wines Excellence Award - Acacia Vineyard	North American Spirits and Wine Brokerage of New Hampshire
Wines Excellence Award - Rosenblum Cellars	Capitol – Husting Company of Wisconsin
Control State Excellence Award	North American Spirits and Wine Brokerage of New Hampshire

INNOVATION
Innovation Launch Award - Spirits	Wirtz Beverage of Illinois
Innovation Launch Award - Wine	Pinnacle Division of Beverage Distributors Company, Colorado
Innovation Launch Award - Beer & PABs	Yahnis Distributing

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Advance Responsible Drinking - Beer	RMC Distributing Co.
Advance Responsible Drinking - Spirits & Wine	Major Brands, Inc of Missouri

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Guinness, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards Wines.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

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SOURCE Diageo