Previously, F&D observed the opening of Prova Spirits in August of 2025.
Prova Spirits, a nano distiller in Phoenix Hill, opens this weekend
Your correspondent, a confirmed Europhile, continues to feel excitement about the Prova project. Verily, here is a collection of distillates one doesn’t often witness hereabouts.
The basics: Prova Spirits (Instagram, Facebook) is a cocktail-driven nano distillery located at 917 E. Liberty in Louisville. Founded by Giuseppe Paoulos, the project began in 2024 and opened to the public in August 2025. Prova Spirits produces spirits and Italian-inspired cocktail components designed to boost the essence of mixed drinks.
- aperitivo
- vermouth
- amaro
- liqueurs
- craft spirits
Recognition is beginning to arrive for Prova Spirits, and this week’s big news follows in the form of an information release, reprinted here in its entirety.
—
Prova Spirits’ Small Batch Amaro Earns Double Gold at San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Prova Spirits Earns Three San Francisco World Spirits Competition Medals and Expands National Access Through Online Bottle Shop
Prova Spirits is pleased to announce its national recognition at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, alongside the launch of a national direct-to-consumer online bottle shop designed to broaden access to its cocktail-driven portfolio.
The Louisville nano distillery received three medals across key releases: Aperitivo Rosso earned a Silver medal, the company’s gin received a Gold medal with a 92-point score, and Amaro Castello was awarded Double Gold — an honor typically reserved for spirits that achieve the highest level of consensus among judges.
For Prova Spirits, the announcement marks a milestone in a short but deliberate journey. The company was created in 2024 and opened to the public in August 2025 with a model that looks different from many distilleries in Kentucky.
Rather than centering the business on aging warehouses and high-volume production, Prova operates as a hospitality-led nano distillery, pairing onsite distillation with a cocktail program that introduces guests to spirits in the context they were built for: the glass.
That approach has resonated in Louisville, where bourbon anchors the region’s identity and where visitors often arrive with a familiar expectation of what a distillery experience will be.
Prova has steadily built an alternative lane, one inspired by Italian aperitive tradition and focused on vermouths, amari, liqueurs, and cocktail-forward spirits engineered for balance. The results from San Francisco offer external validation for that direction, recognizing products designed not as one-off novelties, but as dependable components for cocktail programs.
The medals arrive as Prova Spirits expands distribution through its new national direct-to consumer bottle shop on the company’s website. The launch is intended to improve availability for cocktail enthusiasts and hospitality professionals outside Kentucky who have followed the brand’s growth but lacked a straightforward way to purchase bottles.
“Prova is still a small distillery, and that is by design,” says Giuseppe Paoulos, Founder of Prova Spirits. “Receiving recognition at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is meaningful because it reflects the time, discipline, and care that go into building these spirits. The online bottle shop helps more people access what Prova makes, whether they first discovered the brand in Louisville or are meeting it for the first time.”
With national shipping now integrated into the brand’s commercial path, Prova Spirits plans to continue developing spirits that support classic and contemporary cocktails while maintaining the hands-on standards of nano-scale production. The company’s hospitality-first foundation remains central: spirits are developed with real service in mind, and the cocktail bar experience continues to shape how products are refined and presented.
The post Prova Spirits garners three medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition appeared first on Food & Dining Magazine.
