Judging
The strongest aspect of the International Spirits Challenge, aside from the quality of entries, is the rigorous and credible judging process, thanks to our independent and authoratative panel of judges.
Each of the five spirits categories has its own panel of judges who are experts in the field and each is chaired by an overall category chairman. Coming from 12 countries across the globe, our judges are truly international and representative of the industry: They are made up of the most respected leaders in the business and include master blenders, master distillers, importers, distributors, buyers, journalists and authors. Your products will therefore be tasted by some of the best palates in the world.
Products are assessed according to their age, region and variety. Each product is blind tasted and awarded a score out of 20 for its aroma, appearance and taste. Gold, Silver, Bronze and Commended medals are then awarded. Judges then re-taste the Gold Medal winners to determine any Trophy Winners. These will be awarded at the dinner in October, along with a Supreme Champion (the overall best in the competition), Distiller of the Year, and Excellence in Craftmanship.
A separate judging panel will also determine the best packaging designs and retailers which will also be awarded at the dinner. The Design & Packaging judging is chaired by brand consultants Wren & Rowe's managing director, Paul Foulkes-Arellano.
