Corridor Spirits Producer Wins National Award

Cedar Ridge's Clearheart vodka wins gold

Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery's vodka has won a national award.

The company, which is based in Swisher, produces wine, bourbon, rum, vodka and other beverages. Its Clearheart Triple-distilled Fruit and Grain Vodka and Cedar Ridge Dark Rum each earn a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. Cedar Ridge's Clearheart Vodka was designated "Best in Category," as well.

The competition has been held at the Los Angeles County Fair for 71 years. This year, the wine competition was May 19-21, while the spirits contest was May 24-25.

Cedar Ridge last year opened its winery and distillery at 1421 Marak Rd. off of Highway 965 in Swisher, once construction of its 7,050-square-foot retail, entertaining and production facility was complete. It is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays for tours of the production area, tastings and sales of Cedar Ridge's wines, spirits and accessories.

On July 1, Cedar Ridge released its first 250 cases of Iowa's first bourbon whiskey. The whiskey received a five-star rating from Colleen Graham, cocktails editor for About.com. According to Cedar Ridge, the whiskey sold out of stores within a few days of its release.