As the world’s oldest and most respected drinks industry awards, at the IWSC we see our mission in championing a diversity of drinks categories and supporting producers from across the world, no matter how big or small. To stay true to this mission, in addition to our main judging in London, in 2023 we introduced Global Judging events. Today, we are the only drinks competition to take its judges, all of them renowned industry experts, around the world, thus bringing the international spotlight to various regions and categories. After a highly successful year of six Global Wine Judging events across four continents, we are excited to announce that in 2024 our Spirits Awards are also going global.
The USA has historically been the stalwart of the Worldwide Whiskey category at the IWSC. In 2023 alone, more than 150 medals were awarded to American whiskey. In addition, North America is at the forefront of innovation in the RTD category. We are delighted to to hold a Global Judging event in Kentucky focusing on these two exciting drinks categories.
In addition to the convenient local delivery, the IWSC Judging in Kentucky will offer its entrants unprecedented opportunities to build industry connections, get new listings and increase their brand awareness via extensive media campaigns in the US and internationally.
Some of the key benefits for our Kentucky entrants include:
- Exposure to the drinks industry’s key decision-makers, our judges: Master Blenders and Master Distillers, renowned drinks journalists, key US distributors and buyers.
- Growing your UK presence and getting new listings: our whiskey winners will be considered for listings with UK’s leading on-trade distributor, Enotria&Coe and its retail branch, Spirits Kiosk.
- Year-round US and international media coverage. IWSC winners are featured in key media, from Forbes to Time Out and many others. Our Kentucky Judging results will gain its own PR spotlight.
- Dedicated year-round campaign, showcasing the medal winners across our trade channels (IWSC website, social media, newsletter) and consumer channels (Club Oenologique and The Drinking Hour podcast).
- NEW Bourbon Producer Trophy. All shortlisted producers of this trophy will benefit from exposure to international trade via our channels. The winner will be announced at our annual Awards Celebration.
For more information on the benefits of entering, click here.
The IWSC’s Green Spirit Initiative Trophy, was created in 2022 to recognise the multitude of considerate distillation and spirit production practices underway across the world. Entry is open to all 2024 Kentucky Judging entrants. To enter our Green Spirits Initiative Trophy, fill in this form before the deadline on 20 September 2024. Find out more here.
Our Mixer Add-On Awards crown the world’s best spirit and mixer pairings. All whiskey producers entering our Kentucky Judging, can also enter the Mixer Add-On Awards for an additional fee of £139 per whiskey.
In addition to tasting your whiskey neat, the judges will also be tasting them alongside Franklin & Sons’ Soda Water to find the best Whiskey Highball and/or with Franklin & Sons’ Ginger Ale to find the best Whiskey & Ginger Ale. You can enter our Mixer Add-on Awards by selecting the “Mixer Add-On” option in the entry form.
Yes.
After the judging, all Kentucky gold medal winners will be retasted in London, along with gold medal winning whiskey and RTDs from our London Judging. The best-performing drinks will be awarded with our 2024 Spririts and Alternative Drinks trophies.
Yes.
Our Kentucky entrants will be considered for the 2024 Producer Trophies in the following categories: 2024 Worldwide Whiskey Producer Trophy, 2024 Bourbon Producer Trophy (NEW), 2024 RTD Producer Trophy.
In September 2024, we will select the most awarded producers from all our Judging events, including Kentucky, and we will contact them asking them to fill in a questionnaire. Based on these questionnaires and looking at the producers' medal performance, our judges will form the shortlists and will decide on the winners. The winners of our 2024 Producer Trophies will be announced at our annual Awards Celebration on 12 November.
Entry deadline for the IWSC North American Whiskey & RTD Judging in Kentucky is 18 July 2024.
Entry fee
| 1-4 entries | 5 to 10 entries | 11 to 20 entries | 21+ entries |
| $395 per entry | $353 per entry | $310 per entry | $295 per entry |
Your invoice will be sent to you via email. If you haven't received your invoice after two weeks, please contact accounts@iwscgroup.com.
Delivery timeframe: 20 August - 3 September 2024
In person delivery: 4 - 5 September 2024, between 9am and 3pm
IWSC Judging – Bardstown Bourbon Company
1500 Parkway Drive
Bardstown
KY 40004
USA
Whiskey: Please send 2 x bottles of each entry.
RTD: Please send 4 x cans (or 1ltr in total) of each entry.
Please note, if your spirit/RTD is awarded a gold medal, we may request additional samples to be sent to the UK for our Trophy judging and the IWSC Awards Celebration.
For delivery instructions from Canada, please click here.
The IWSC North American Whiskey & RTD Judging will take place in Bardstown, Kentucky, on the grounds of The Bardstown Bourbon Company.
The IWSC 2023 Worldwide Whiskey Producer Trophy winner, The Bardstown Bourbon Company is a global whiskey producer that supports collaboration in the industry, providing custom distillation and bottling services to over 50 brands. As a global producer, The Bardstown Bourbon Company represents the perfect neutral ground for hosting the competition and we are delighted to be working with them to bring our Kentucky Judging to life.
We run a tightly structured, rigorous tasting process. We use the ‘double-blind’ method, which means samples are tasted in pre-poured numbered glasses to ensure our experts never see a bottle. Each spirit is judged by a whole panel in sync, allowing for group discussions.
We are the only competition to limit the number of samples to a maximum of 65 tasted during each judging day. This allows time for panel discussions and prevents palate fatigue.
All gold-awarded spirits are re-tasted by our Head Judge - member of the IWSC Spirits Judging Committee to give the final seal of approval.
Find out more about our judging process here.
For our first Global Judging of North American Whiskey and RTDs, we have put together a strong panel of international and US-based experts.
US-based judges will be joining the panel, bringing their invaluable insight and experience. Our stellar US judging team includes Master Blenders, Buyers from US top distributors, renowned communicators, spirits journalists, top bartenders and mixologists.
For a completely fair and unbiased judging process, we use the ‘double-blind’ method, which means samples are tasted in pre-poured numbered glasses to ensure our experts never see or hold a bottle.
Following the blind tasting and the results announcement, we reveal the highest-scoring brands to the judges and we are one of the few competitions to do so. This often ignites international collaborations and results in new listings for our entrants. See our previous entrants' success stories here.
You will receive an email notifying you if you have won any medals. You will also be able to access your results by logging in to your account on our website.
The winners will find out the results under embargo, prior to a public announcement so that they can prepare their marketing materials beforehand.
The results of the IWSC North American Whiskey & RTD Judging will be publicly announced on our website and social media channels on 16 September 2024.
Successful entrants can download free PDF certificates and standard resolution medal artwork by logging in to your account. If you purchase printed certificates they will be sent a few weeks after they have been purchased and orders have closed.
You will be able to purchase high res logos, artwork and bottle stickers by logging in to your account.
Pricing per roll of 1,000 stickers:
1-10 rolls = £62.00 each
11-25 rolls= £53.00 each
26-49 rolls = £43.00 each
50-99 rolls = £37.00 each
100+ rolls = £31.00 each
Login to your account to purchase stickers.
Sticker delivery is free of charge, but it is the responsibility of the receiver to pay any import costs to the shipping carrier, such as VAT, duties and clearing fees, upon delivery.
Yes you can, you will need to purchase hi-res artwork and also a printing license for every 1,000 labels you print. Or you can purchase pre-printed stickers to put on your label.
Please click below to access your chosen medal artwork:
We will promote our winners globally, via:
- Features on the IWSC's trade focused website (2+ million global page views) and in our consumer magazine, Club Oenologique (1.4 million global page views)
- Publications in our partner media, The Buyer
- Dedicated episode in The Drinking Hour podcast (25,500 downloads)
- Year-round social media campaign highlighting the winners (70,000+ global reach)
- IWSC newsletters (21,000+ subscribers)
- Showcasing award-winning drinks at international trade fairs and tastings
IWSC winners are regularly featured in key media, from Forbes to Time Out and many others. Our Kentucky Judging results will gain its own PR spotlight, outside our London Judging results, maximising the exposure for our North American winners.
The IWSC is one of the only competitions to provide constructive feedback to non-winners. This feedback is put together by our expert panel of international and local judges and is a valuable tool contributing to the further success of the company.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch.