BANGOR, Maine — In what some might consider a case of beginner’s luck, the Caribou Utilities District has the best-tasting water in Maine for 2016.
That’s according to the three-member panel of judges who presided over the Maine Rural Water Association’s 30th annual Best Tasting Water Contest held at the Cross Insurance Center.
“It was the first time they entered, by the way. Very exciting,” Kirsten Hebert, the association’s director, said of the winners from Aroostook County.
The tap water taste-off on Thursday was among the highlights of the association’s 36th annual conference.
This year’s judges were Virginia Manuel, state director of USDA Rural Development, WABI TV weatherman Todd Simcox and retired Bangor police Lt. Paul Edwards.
In the running for this year’s bragging rights were 16 samples in the disinfected category and six samples in the non-disinfected category.
All of the samples were served chilled — and unlabeled — in small glass goblets. Not unlike a wine tasting, the samples were judged on clarity, taste, freshness and similar characteristics.
In the non-disinfected category, Point Sebago was judged to have the best water. Caribou won in the disinfected category.
After a final round of tasting, the judges awarded Caribou top honors for producing Maine’s Best Tasting Water for 2016.
As the statewide winner, Caribou gets to submit a sample to the National Rural Water Association’s Rural Water Rally in February in Washington, D.C.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to sample Maine’s pristine water samples from around the state,” Manuel said after the taste testings.
“It is because of the hard work and dedication of the staff who operate Maine’s rural water systems, and partners like USDA Rural Development and Maine Rural Water, that access to safe, quality and clean drinking water is accessible to Maine’s residents,” she said in congratulating Caribou Utilities District.