Competitions
January 28-29, 2023
Spirits judging was added to the San Diego International Wine Competition — one of the longest-running competitions of its kind — in 2015, and the name changed to the San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge. Spirits are independently judged by mixed panels of spirits journalists, distillers, beverage buyers, and other spirits professionals.
April 15-16, 2023
The first all-Spirits competition in the Challenge Series, Distillers Challenge International Spirits Competition is open to domestic and international producers of commercially available Distilled Spirits, RTDs, Mixers, and other Spirits products. Entries are judged in a blind-tasting format by panels of Spirits professionals, including Master Distillers, Mixologists, Spirits Reviewers, Beverage Directors and other influencers. Medals are awarded in three categories, with the top winners being considered for Best of Class, Best of Show and Distilled Spirit of the Year.
June 23-24, 2023
Founded by wine critic Robert Whitley in 2003, Critics Challenge is one of the most important and respected wine and spirits competitions in the world. Entries are judged blind by noted wine and spirits journalists, bloggers and critics. With an unprecedented level of transparency, we publish the comments and scores from the individual judges on the competition results page for all award-winning entries.
Sept. 22-22, 2023
Sommeliers are the rock stars of today’s wine and spirits industry! At Sommelier Challenge all entries are independently judged by noted sommeliers that hold sway over consumer, retail and trade buying decisions. Entries are judged blind, and Gold and Platinum medal winners are posted on the Competition website.