American Distilling Institute’s 13th annual Judging of Craft Spirits awards banquet took place this week in the mile high city of Denver, Colorado, the state that’s home to more than 100 licensed distilleries. The conference was attended by nearly 2,000 distilled spirits industry professionals eager to hear, see, and get their hands on the latest in distilling products, services and educational workshops.
Starting in 2005 the American Distilling Institute – ADI revolutionized spirits competitions with the creation of the Judging of Craft Spirits. Before the ADI Judging, spirits competitions simply gave out scores or medals. In order to better serve the booming number of craft spirits makers the ADI judging awards excellence with medals and utilizes the expertise of its judges to give written feedback on every spirit entered into the competition. What better way to learn and improve than hear from your peers.
The competition recognizes excellence in the glass from distillers and blenders that are producing some of the world’s finest artisan spirits. ADI Judging has expanded to accept US and International entries in all classes and categories of distilled spirits, RTDs, cocktail bitters, aperitif & fortified wines from small and medium size producers. Spirits awards are handed out in classes including agave, brandy, gin, liqueur, rum, specialty, vodka and whiskey.
How are the Craft Spirits Scored?
The scoring of spirits is based on a 100-point system and each judge assigns an overall score which is correlated to a medal recommendation or no medal recommendation for each spirit. Below 70 no medal is recommended, 70-79 for a bronze, 80-89 for silver, and 90-100 for gold.
After all the spirits in a flight have been scored the entire panel awards double gold, gold, silver or bronze medals for spirits judged worthy of recognition. It is not uncommon for no spirit in a flight to receive a medal.
Best of Category Award
Once all the spirits in a particular spirit category have been judged, the “Best of Category” designation is awarded to a spirit the judges identified as the best example of that category entered into the entire competition. For example the Best Classic Gin, the Best Blended Bourbon, the Best Citrus Liqueur, etc.
Best of Class Award
Once all of the spirits for a particular class have been judged, the “Best of Class” designation will be awarded for both US and International spirits in a particular spirit class, such as Best US Whiskey or Best International Brandy. To be eligible for a Best of Class award, a spirit must have been awarded both a gold or double-gold medal and “Best of Category.”
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Here’s a summary of the categories along with the complete list of winners below.
- Best of Class
- Certified Craft Distilled Spirits – CCDS
- Certified Craft Blended Spirits – CCBS
- Best of Category
- Certified Craft Distilled Spirits
- Certified Craft Blended Spirits
- Medal Winners
- Double Gold – Certified Craft Distilled Spirits & Certified Craft Blended Spirits
- Gold
- Certified Craft Distilled Spirits
- Certified Craft Blended Spirits & Merchant Bottled Spirits
- Silver
- Certified Craft Blended Spirits
- Merchant Bottled Spirits / Other Spirits
- Bronze
- Certified Craft Distilled Spirits
- Certified Craft Blended Spirits
- Excellence in Packaging Awards
- Best Backbar Packaging
- Best Retail Packaging
- Best Brand Identity
- Gold
- Silver
- Bronze
And now, without further ado, here is ADIs complete 2019 list of craft spirits award winners.
The Complete List of ADI 2019 Medal Winners
Click on any field name to sort the list by medal, spirit or distillery. For example, click on “Distillery” to easily find all the awards for your favorite distillery.
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The Complete List: American Distilling Institute’s 2018 Craft Spirits Award Winners
The Complete List: American Distilling Institute’s – 2017 Award Winners
View all Colorado Distilleries.
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