A Note on the Awards & Scores

Entries to Ultimate Spirits Challenge are judged at our evaluation center in Hawthorne, New York.

In addition to the score, products are distinguished with the following Accolades, as a guide to consumers:

95-100 Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation
90-94 Excellent, Highly Recommended
85-89 Very Good, Strong Recommendation
80-84 Good, Recommended

All products are judged in category flights of like-with-like.

Chairman's Trophy (CT), Finalist (F)
Determined by a formula that includes the aggregate scoring of the judging panels, the scoring curve based upon the number of entries, and the overall categorical scoring average, the Chairman's Trophy is bestowed on the highest scoring entry per category. Finalist status, the products deemed to be in the running for the Chairman’s Trophy, are decided upon by the Judging Chairman based on their favorable results.

Great Value (GV)
Great Value indicates products with a favorable relationship between their price and final score.  

Top 100 Spirits (T100)

Top Spirits of this Challenge's year