The London Spirits Competition is now considered one of the most important spirits competitions in the world and is positioned to call itself the world’s most relevant spirits competition as it rewards products how consumers and trade buy today.

The competition is known to attract the best spirits judges in the world and reviews products by Quality, Value, and Package. Winning LSC clearly demonstrates the trade how well the spirits will be perceived in the market and will give the trade a very good indicator to stock that spirit.

Here are some testimonials on how brands have benefited with international expansion and how brands can further use the winning of London Competition to grow international markets.

Image: Downpour Gin

Downpour Gin enjoyed medal success at the 2023 London Spirits Competition judging. When asked them how the London Spirits Competition has helped them, here is what they had to say.

“Being a medal winner at the LSC has had a significant impact on our sales. One of our business goals for the year was to gain more traction in the on-trade. Recognition from LSC has acted as a seal of approval in this respect as the competition is judged by some of the world's leading figures from the hospitality sector. Not only this, judging is undertaken with the end consumer in mind, so you know the judges can genuinely see a space for your products."

Often it is difficult to identify a tangible link between awards success and specific listings, however, I can point to several new partnerships as a direct result of our LSC medals. This includes a listing with a high-end UK-wide department store whose buyer was on the judging panel. This also includes the opening up of a new export market after we were approached by an importer who had seen coverage of our success.

Image: Tamborine Mountain Distillery, Australia

Gordon Chalmers, head distiller and co-owner of Tamborine Mountain Distillery, Queensland, Australia commented on London Spirits Competition’s help to grow internationally as: “Only one word needed: fantastic!”

The expansion into overseas markets has been supported by entering international drinks competitions, including the London Spirits Competition, which the company has previously entered, as Gordon explains:

“I was well aware of the London Spirits Competition, having entered the competition a number of times in previous years. As Australia’s most internationally awarded distillery this century, with nearly 400 awards, we enter quite a few competitions each year as we develop new drinks.”

Commenting on the success that the company achieved this year at the London Spirits Competition, Gordon said: “It is always rewarding to win any medal when competing against so many great and much bigger brands, but to win the Best Brandy at this year’s LSC event was absolutely brilliant.”

Thomas Simnadis from Headlands Distilling Co said “Winning Gold medals at the London Spirits Competition has proven to be a powerful mechanism to attract international buyers to Headlands’ products. Winning such awards demonstrates that objective evaluators rank our products in the highest category of quality. This triggered us to advertise medals through online and print media to promote the Headlands’ portfolio and further illustrate the unique selling points of our products.

Get International Press Around The Winners

London Spirits Competition is organized by Beverage Trade Network, a US based media company with global footprint. Solid network of media partners gives London Spirits Competition winners global media coverage. Results are also published in some big consumer platforms like Forbes.

Judging Process That is Relevant For Importers and Distributors as well

Producers can clearly demonstrate the trade benefits and how scoring happens to its potential importers and distributors. The judging is broken down like this: Q (Quality Score) + Value Score (V) + Package Score (P) = London Wine Competition Score.

A separate weighted score is given for each of the three parts of the judging process (Quality gets twice the weight)

Quality score: marked out of 100

Value score: marked out of 100

Packaging score: marked out of 100

These products are judged by best spirits judges in the world and rewards products that most appeal to potential consumers in how they taste, their value for money and what they look like.

These are the factors importers, distributors, retailers afre also buying new brands with.

Networking Opportunities Around Important Trade Shows of The World

London Competitions special category winners are also invited in once a year VIP cocktail party hosted by Bverage Trade Network at ProWein. This is where big buyers and sellers gather and gives the winner direct access to network with global players. Along with that, special opportnities are also given to special category winners to get involved with London Competitions reunion party that the competition hosts once every 3 years.

London Competition video team also covers the ProWein show by visiting winners and giving them free video and press coverage. These videos and articles are then converted to Beverage Trade Network’s global media assets.

The London Factor 

The competition now attracts entries from distillers from over 50 countries, all looking to benchmark themselves against their global competition. It is that international aspect that is particularly important to those brands that are looking to build exports in key markets and cities around the world. Then there is the London factor. This is a city that is still recognised as one of the most influential and important centres for spirits and bars and restaurants in the world. If you can get your spirits listed on to the drinks lists of the top cocktail and style bars in London, then it is a great calling card to take to buyers all over the world. Winning an award at the London Spirits Competition can open doors both in the UK, but also in other major cities globally.

Global Ambassador Program

London Competitions has rolled out a global ambassador program where Ambassadors share interesting stories about their region and different categories around the world.

The Ambassadors selected are different personalities ranging from Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, Head Bartenders, Mixologists, Instagramers, YouTubers and Writers.

The latest initiative by London Competition is a clear direction of the investment to make it a true global competition. Winners will also be covered by these Ambassadors giving brands credibility and reputation they are looking for in international markets.

To enter the London Wine Competition click here, for London Spirits Competition click here, and for the London Beer Competition click here. Closing date for entries is February 22.