When distiller Stephen Gould puts his mind to making a good whiskey, he goes for the gold — double gold, that is.

Gould’s Golden Moon Colorado Single Malt Whiskey, made locally at the Golden Moon Distillery, was awarded a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in January.

The awards given at the competition are some of the top awards of the industry, Gould said. But on top of that, earning a Double Gold Medal means each judge ranked it at about 95 points on the 100-point scale. Only 11 Double Gold Medals were given out at the competition — there 1,899 entries.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Gould said. “I’m incredibly pleased.”

The whiskey became available to the public during the Golden Moon Speakeasy’s second anniversary party, which took place on March 6.

Having trained in Scotland, “my roots have always been in malt whiskey,” Gould said. But it had been a while since he made one because a lot of people are making whiskeys, he added.

This is the first single malt whiskey made by Golden Moon Distillery.

“It’s been a much anticipated product,” said Carly Raemer, assistant manager and bartender at the Golden Moon Speakeasy, “and everyone’s really excited about it.”

It has received a good response from the public, she said. Raemer described it as “deep and complex with round chocolaty notes.” It is a good sipping whiskey, she added.

For now, the whiskey is a limited release, and is only available at the Golden Moon Speakeasy, 1111 Miner’s Alley, and the Golden Moon Distillery, 412 Violet St. However, it will soon be available at a number of bars and similar establishments across the Denver-metro area.

The Golden Moon Colorado Single Malt Whiskey costs $8 for a one-ounce neat pour at the speakeasy. It is not being mixed in cocktails because it is so limited. People can also purchase a bottle to take home for $110. Bottle purchases are accompanied by two Golden Moon Glen Carin glasses.

Spirits made at the distillery — which was founded by Gould and Karen Knight in early 2008 — have won more than 30 medals from various competitions worldwide, Gould said.

The distillery enters one or two spirits in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition each year, which usually win silver and gold medals. This is the first double gold medal the distillery has won.

Competitions are good because they provide opinions from the experts in the trade, Gould said.

“We are pretty aggressive with making sure Golden Moon Distillery sells world class products,” he said. “We’re doing some big things for a small distillery in Golden.”