Local gin guys get a medal

Cardinal Gin, a small-batch gin from Southern Artisan Spirits in Kings Mountain, was the only American-made gin to win double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, held earlier this month.

The competition had 1,200 spirits from 65 countries. All spirits are tasted blind by 34 judges.

Cardinal also has won a gold medal from the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago and got the highest rating for a domestic gin in 2011. Cardinal is hand-crafted with 11 organic and wild-harvested botanicals. It's distributed in N.C., S.C., Virginia, Georgia and New Jersey. For details on where to find it, go to www.southernartisanspirits.com.