Experience

Every handpicked Ultimate Beverage Challenge (UBC) judge tastes professionally. UBC judges are the most experienced spirits, wine and cocktail experts in the world. Many are beverage buyers while others are award-winning journalists, authors, bar owners, bartenders and educators. Each one has spent copious amounts of time blind tasting with judging chairman F. Paul Pacult over the past two decades. Each judge is a recognized, longstanding authority in the beverage industry.

Recall

The best beverage judges, like those hired by UBC, develop and utilize a mental library of sensory impressions, built up over many years of professional tasting. This library forms the core of each judge’s skill set within specific beverage categories. F. Paul Pacult chooses each judge on the basis of their particular area of expertise for each of the three UBC Challenges. This is done to afford each beverage category the maximum amount of evaluation authority in a competitive setting.

Stamina

Judging beverage alcohol properly, fairly and thoroughly over the course of three to four days takes high levels of concentration and endurance plus a system that promotes a fair playing field. Stamina evolves over many years of professional and competitive tasting. Every UBC judge is selected by F. Paul Pacult and is a master of pacing, awareness and attentiveness. UBC’s innovative judging system accentuates every judge’s strong points. UBC results are, therefore, the most trusted in the industry. 

Ultimate Spirits Challenge

• Methods & Procedures
• Categories & Codes
• 2012 USC Entry Forms

Ultimate Wine Challenge

• Methods & Procedures
• Classification Codes
• 2012 UWC Entry Forms

Ultimate Cocktail Challenge

• Methods & Procedures
• Classic Recipe Categories
• Signature Recipe Categories
• 2012 UCC Entry Forms