The USA Spirits Ratings event, scheduled for October 23 in San Francisco, is now accepting registration entries. The goal of this competition is to recognize high-quality spirits that consumers are looking to buy in retail stores or order when they visit a bar or restaurant. While there are many competitions that judge spirits on the basis of overall taste, the USA Spirits Ratings will be the first one that uses the criteria of Quality, Value and Packaging to judge the best spirits in the world.

According to the organizers of the event, Beverage Trade Network, decisions about what makes a great spirit are too often made without the end consumer in mind. There are other factors that are often top-of-mind for consumers than just taste – such as the appearance and design of a bottle, or the overall brand image associated with a specific spirit. Pricing, too, plays an important role in how a product is perceived.

As a result, the USA Spirits Ratings has developed an entirely new scoring system based on Quality, Value and Packaging that takes these factors into account. In previous events hosted by Beverage Trade Network, such as the London Spirits Competition earlier this year, this system has proven to be extraordinarily successful.

Here are some behind the scenes pictures:

Mauricio Perez, CTO, USA Spirits Ratings

Camera testing

Ankita Okate, Events Head doing last minute judges names checks with badges.

More than 4000 glasses being planned

Staff t-shirts

Judges Interview Area

Judges pins and name tags

Packaging bottles boxes

Staff Pouring Spirits Behind For Judges

In middle Donald MacKenzie - Event Team Leader

Table being set up before the judging

Glasses being marked

A flight of Whiskey

The USA Spirits Ratings looks to recognize, reward and help promote spirits brands that have successfully been created to identify with and target a specific spirits drinker. For any spirits brand to earn its place on a retailer’s shelf or a restaurant’s spirits list -  and then vitally stay there - they need to be marketable and consumer-driven and not just produced in the general hope it can find enough people willing to sell and buy it.

For spirits brands looking to enter the 2020 USA Spirits Ratings, take advantage by entering before July 31, 2020.