What whisky competition medals mean and how to read them

How whisky competitions work

Most major spirits competitions follow a similar pattern. Producers pay an entry fee for each product and send samples. The organisers group the samples by category, such as single malt, blended whisky or bourbon. Some also split by age or price. Panels of judges then taste them blind, without seeing the brand.

Judges score each whisky on aroma, taste, finish and balance against the category. Scores or panel discussion decide the award. Well-known examples include the International Wine and Spirit Competition, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the World Whiskies Awards. Each sets its own rules.

Medals are usually scores, not places

This is the key point. In most spirits competitions, gold does not mean first place. It means the whisky scored above a set threshold. If twenty whiskies in a category clear the gold bar, twenty win gold. Silver and bronze are bands below it.

Some competitions add top tiers, such as a double gold when all judges on a panel agree on gold, or "best in category" and trophy awards for the very highest scorers. Those top awards are rarer and usually mean more than a standard gold.

Questions to ask about a medal

• Which competition? Long-running, well-known competitions with experienced judges carry more weight.
• Which year? A medal from many years ago may describe a different batch.
• Which category? Gold in a small, narrow category is different from gold in a crowded one.
• Which level? Bronze, silver, gold or a trophy?
• Which product? The medal should be for that exact whisky, not another one from the same brand.

Most competitions publish their results online. A quick search shows the full list of medal winners in a category, which puts a single medal in context.

Who the judges are

Good competitions use panels of experienced tasters: distillers, blenders, buyers, writers and trained sensory specialists. Judging blind removes brand bias. Tasting many samples in a session is tiring, so better competitions limit flight sizes and give breaks.

Beer competitions work in a similar way. Our guide to how beer judges score shows the structure judges use. The same discipline of describing aroma, flavour and balance applies to whisky.

Why producers enter

Medals help sell whisky, especially for new brands that drinkers have not heard of. A medal from a respected competition gives buyers, retailers and distributors a reason to try the product. For a distiller, judges' feedback, where it is offered, can also be useful.

Entry costs money for each product and each competition, so producers choose carefully. A brand with no medals may simply not have entered. Absence of medals does not mean a whisky is poor.

How much weight to give a medal

Treat a medal as one useful signal among several. It tells you that a panel of tasters liked the whisky on the day. It does not tell you whether you will like it. A gold winning heavily peated whisky is still heavily peated.

Read the label for style, cask and strength. Our guide to whisky label terms helps with that. Then, if you can, taste before you buy a full bottle. Your own palate is the best judge of what you enjoy.

Medals in India

Indian whiskies, especially Indian single malts, have won medals at international competitions. You will see them on bottles in Indian shops. The same reading applies. Check the competition, the year, the category and the level, then look up the full results to see how many others won the same award.

Be wary of awards from events you cannot find any information about, or medals with no year or category given. A credible award is easy to verify. If a brand makes it hard to check, that tells you something too.

Learning to taste like a judge

Judges are not born with better noses. They train: tasting widely, describing aroma precisely, scoring consistently and comparing notes with others. That same training is open to anyone curious enough to try it. It makes every bottle more interesting.

Start simply. Taste two whiskies side by side, write three words for each and score them out of ten. Repeat with friends and compare. You will soon see how hard consistent scoring is. You will also see why good competitions invest so much in training judges.

Common questions

Does a gold medal mean the whisky won first place?

Usually not. In most spirits competitions gold means the whisky scored above a threshold, so many whiskies can win gold in one category.

Are whisky competitions judged blind?

The well-known ones are. Judges taste samples without seeing the brand, then score them against the category.

Is a whisky without medals worse?

Not necessarily. Entering costs money, so many good whiskies are never entered. Judge by the label and your own taste.