The results of IWSC 2022 were announced this week.
It was another record breaking year of spirit submissions, all seeking medals and feedback from the competition’s vast collection of experienced spirit judges.
Having judged at the awards myself, I can say how difficult it is to get a gold medal, let along gold outstanding. Some of the spirits could be judged unanimously by the panel, but in some instances, a spirit could divide a panel and that conversation to bring the panel into alignment can take a lot of time and patience.
It’s very important that each spirit is given it’s fair shake. Divisive spirits are discussed to ensure that each judge is taking into account all the information that is available to them at the time, be it ideas of how a botanical is being used, how the flavour is working overall, to any kind of stylistic effort and how it all works within the category. There is a lot to consider before settling on that final mark.
Huge congratulations to all the winners!
