Distil Regulatory News (DIS)

3 Apr 2006 07:03

Blavod Extreme Spirits PLC03 April 2006 Blavod Extreme Spirits plc ("the Company" or "Blavod") El Diamante del Cielo Tequila Awarded four Double Gold Medals and one Gold Medal at the 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition FRANKLIN, Tenn. - 3rd April 2006 - Blavod Extreme Spirits plc (BES.L) reportstoday that it's El Diamante del Cielo (Diamond of the Sky) Tequila, ahandcrafted, ultra-premium tequila introduced to the spirits market only sixshort months ago, grabbed the attention of the most influential spirits industryprofessionals by capturing four Double Gold Medals, one Gold and one BronzeMedal at the 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, held the 18th and19th of March, 2006 in the United States at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in SanFrancisco, Calif. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is the first comprehensive,international spirits judging ever held in the United States on an annual basis.Founded in 2000 by Anthony Dias Blue, the Wine and Spirits Editor of Bon Appetitmagazine and Carol Seibert, the Managing Director of the San FranciscoInternational Wine Competition, the Spirits Competition continues to grow eachyear in entrants as well as in stature and integrity within the industry. Spirits received Bronze, Silver, Gold or a Double Gold Medal. Double Gold occurswhen all judges on a panel agree that the spirit is Gold, which immediatelyupgrades the selection to Double Gold status. In all, 20 judges reviewed 701 spirits from 52 countries. About El Diamante del Cielo Blavod Extreme Spirits has produced three different varieties of El Diamante delCielo: Anejo, Reposado and Blanco. The handcrafted Tequilas feature the finest, 100percent pure blue Waeber agave grown exclusively in the optimal conditions foundin the Jalisco region of Mexico. Respectful of the heritage of Tequila making,the agave is harvested by hand by authentic jimadors, a tradition passed fromfather to son in Mexico for centuries. To learn more, please visit:www.handcraftedtequila.com. About Blavod Extreme Spirits: Blavod Extreme Spirits, plc (LSE:BES), is an international spirits company basedin London with U.S. offices in Franklin, Tennessee. Formed by the 2003 mergerof Blavod Black Vodka plc and Extreme Beverage Company, Blavod Extreme Spiritsproduces and sells its black-colored vodka, aptly called Blavod, throughout theworld. BES also produces and sells the award-winning, intensely flavored lineof Players Extreme vodkas and rums. In the United States, BES is the exclusivedistributor of an elite wine portfolio of fine Italian wines. Blavod Extreme Spirits announced in early 2005 the formation of DiamanteSpirits, a 50/50 partnership JV with Suntory, Asia's leading producer ofbeverage alcohol and one of the largest beverage alcohol companies in the world.Suntory, best known for Midori melon liqueur in the U.S. market, has 50 percentownership of any new JV brands, including El Diamante del Cielo. Day to day management of the JV, including the El Diamante del Cielo brand,remains with Blavod Extreme Spirits. For more information on the company,please visit: www.blavodextreme.com. Enquiries: Wagstaff Worldwide, Inc. Beth Flintoft/Janet Isabelli 001 312 902 6900 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange