Maine Distilleries, LLC, of Freeport, Maine, in coordination with family-owned Green Thumb Farms, Inc., of Fryeburg, Maine, is partnering with The Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Maine, The New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire, and the Greater Boston Food Bank in Boston, Massachusetts in an effort to raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in New England.

Sales of the three Cold River products across the tri-state area are expected grow substantially during the first quarter of 2012, and Maine Distilleries looks forward to making a sizable donation of farm-fresh Maine potatoes at the time of the fall harvest in Fryeburg next year.

Uniquely positioned in the vodka and gin market as 100% gluten-free, farm-to-table and hand-crafted, Maine Distilleries hopes to heighten consumer awareness of its award-winning American-made spirits through this 2012 potato donation and its continued close work with its brokers and distributors in its key New England markets.

Following the 2010 launch of its newest product, Cold River Gin (awarded 90 points in the 2011 Ultimate Spirits Challenge), the Cold River spirits have seen significant growth across their major New England markets.

The company's flagship product, Cold River Vodka, has seen tremendous critical praise since its 2005 launch. It was awarded a double gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, garnered an auspicious 5-star rating ("Highest Recommendation") from renowned spirits guru F. Paul Pacult in 2008, was awarded a double gold medal at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Convention in 2009, and was named the best vodka in the world by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in December of 2009. Most recently it was named one of the top 10 vodkas in the world in the October 2012 edition of The Tasting Panel.

About Maine Distilleries, LLC

Founded in 2005, Maine Distilleries, located in Freeport, Maine, is the brainchild of four talented Maine entrepreneurs: Donnie Thibodeau, who owns Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, ME; his brother, Lee Thibodeau, a neurosurgeon in Portland, ME; Bob Harkins, a former Sunday River ski executive from Paris, ME; and Chris Dowe, Head Distiller, from New Gloucester, ME.

Known for their distinct nose and satin-smooth finish, the company's gluten-free vodkas and gin are hand-crafted and batch-distilled in a copper pot still, using water from Maine's Cold River Aquifer and farm-fresh Maine potatoes. Maine Distilleries, which produces only Cold River Vodka, Cold River Blueberry Vodka, and Cold River Gin, is the only "ground-to-glass" distillery in the nation, where the company controls every aspect of production from the planting of the potatoes to final bottling. The company's award-winning Classic Vodka, Blueberry Vodka, and Traditional Gin currently are available at major markets, restaurants, and fine spirits retailers in 26 states, the District of Columbia, western Canada and London.