After many years with a keen interest in spirits and mixed drinks, Joe Barber began judging spirits in 2016. He started out in smaller competitions, before becoming a part of the team running the American Distilling Institute’s Judging of Craft Spirits in 2018. He first judged at the IWSC in 2021, where he judged gin. Today, Joe is the owner and operator of two distilleries - Stargazey Spirits in Cornwall and Portsmouth Distillery - where he makes a range of gins, rums, vodkas, and botanical spirits, both for third parties and his own account. He has spoken at conferences in Europe and the US on running a distillery, covering a range of technical and business-focused topics.