At the third annual London Spirits Competition, which took place in London on July 7-8, spirits from all over the world participated. More than 1000 spirits were tasted by top bartenders and spirits buyers.
Spirits were judged on the basis of three primary criteria – quality, value, and packaging – and then scored on a 100-point scale. Spirits that scored 90+ points were awarded Gold medals, while spirits that scored 76 to 89 points were awarded Silver medals. The primary reason for using three criteria rather than just one was to focus on the overall drinkability of each spirit. As a result, the judging panel ranked spirits not just by how they taste, but also their overall presentation and appearance in the bottle. In addition, judges assessed spirits on their relative value in relation to their peers, as determined by retail pricing.
The London Spirits Competition is organized by Beverage Trade Network, which organizes alcohol beverage industry events all over the world. The goal of this event was to judge spirits the way consumers judge them.
At the judging session, judges tasted and scored spirits on a blind basis before seeing bottles and marking them for on-shelf appeal as well as value for money. This enabled them to come up with an overall score that reflects their overall drinkability.
Here are the results highlights
By Spirits Types:
Spirit Of The Year – St. Kilian Signature Edition FOUR by St. Kilian Distillers GmbH
Vodka Of The Year – G52 Botanical Vodka – Fresh Citrus by Glasgow Distillery Company
Rum Of The Year – Substation 41 by Pinnacle Drinks
Tequila Of The Year – Cutwater Tequila Reposado by Cutwater Spirits
Gin Of The Year – Barossa Distilling Barrel Aged Gin by Barossa Distilling
Whisky Of The Year – St. Kilian Signature Edition FOUR by Kilian Distillers GmbH
Distillery Of The Year – St. Kilian Distillers GmbH
Country Category Winners:
Australia – Substation 41 by Pinnacle Drinks
Germany – Signature Edition FOUR by St. Kilian Distillers GmbH
Mexico – Cutwater Tequila Reposado by Cutwater Spirits
Denmark – Fary Lochan Single Malt Whisky by Fary Lochan Destilleri A/S
United States – Petoskey Stone Gin by High Five
United Kingdom – The Whisky Baron Glenrothes by The Whisky Baron
Ukraine – The Inked Collection Wild Cranberry by Nemiroff
Canada – Georgian Bay Vodka by Georgian Bay Spirit Co.
Italy – JAMAICA White Pot Still by Rum Nation
France – Courvoisier Napoleon Fine Champagne Cognac by De Kuyper Royal Distillers
Spain – Ron Aldea Familia by Destilerías Aldea, S.L.
By Judging Category:
Best Spirit By Quality – Fary Lochan Danish Single Malt
Best Spirit By Value – St. Kilian Signature Edition FOUR
Best Spirit By Package – St. Kilian Signature Edition FOUR
Click here to see the full results
For more information on the London Spirits Competition, please see: www.londonspiritscompetition.com
For more information on Beverage Trade Network, please see:
