Spirits ratings

With a growing number of microdistilleries and an expanding number of offerings from large corporate entities, a number of institutions have arisen to provide professional evaluations of individual spirits. These entities, while recognizing that individual palates are unique and a great deal of subjectivity enters into any assessment, generally use expert panels and blind tastings within a given category to create meaningful and objective ratings.

All of these competitions are non-competitive and all are pay to enter, so only products that have paid an entrance fee will be judged. Although gold, silver and bronze awards are offered, there are no limits as to how many of each may be awarded.

Most tastings striving for objective results follow a similar format:

Second, experts will taste the spirit and let it wash over the palate (tongue) searching for more "notes" or flavors and often comment about different foods or scents that it evokes.

Major rating organizations

There are numerous liquor, spirits, beer and wine competitions.