London, July 20 – At the third annual London Spirits Competition, which took place in London on July 7-8, spirits from all over the world were awarded the prestigious Gold medal. 

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

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 was launched in late 2017 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. In contrast to other spirits competitions, where technical expertise sometimes receives primary consideration at the expense of drinkability, the goal of the London Spirits Competition was to award and celebrate the spirits that spirits drinkers actually want to buy, whether at a retail liquor store or ordering off the menu at a London restaurant.

“The best-tasting spirits in the world won’t attract the attention of consumers unless the packaging design and price point appeal to spirits drinkers,” says Patel. “People buy products with their eyes first, and that puts a real premium on spirits that are able to offer an attractive presentation, everything from the label to the brand perception.”

“Including all three factors into the judging process produces results that are closer to the reality of the way consumers purchase spirits and gives distillers better feedback on how their spirits are perceived by spirits drinkers,” Patel notes.

Spirits are first tasted blind for quality and value and then the package is shown for the package score.

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.

For more information on the London Spirits Competition, please see: www.londonspiritscompetition.com

For more information on Beverage Trade Network, please see: www.beveragetradenetwork.com