World Spirits Award 2026: Sheer madness!

World Spirits Award 2026: Sheer madness! 3 x Awards, 1 x Spirit of the Year and 1 x Distillery of the Year 

The superstars of the World Spirits Award can rightly feel like ‘world champions’. “We have painstakingly and consistently worked towards this position on the market over two decades – with constant fine-tuning of quality, adaptations, innovations and the incorporation of tradition and culture,” says mastermind Wolfram Ortner. 

The general economic situation is anything but rosy. A tsunami is sweeping through the spirits industry, and unfortunately, it is not stopping at the WSA either. The worst part for us: it makes no distinction between different spirits competitions, regardless of whether they are high-quality or not. From the very beginning, the WSA’s goal has been to serve spirits producers by upholding fairness and the highest standards in evaluation, paired with an innovative communication strategy.

The economic situation certainly poses a major challenge for the WSA, but the main problem is something entirely different:

The reason for this is the rule book, which is based on the broadest possible basis of different samples in different categories and a defined number of samples and participants per product group and category. The number of points achieved also plays a role in the rating: the ‘Award’ or ‘Spirit of the Year’ titles can only be awarded to double gold winners.

The number of participants per category is also clearly defined for winning the title of ‘Distilleries of the Year’: titles are not simply awarded, but must be won with the top quality of the individual products. The key to absolute success is breaking the ‘sound barrier’ of at least 95.3 points – this is where the awarding of double gold begins. At WSA 2026, these limits were narrowly missed in many categories – tough, but true!

In summary: The more samples, the more participants, the more double-gold medals, the more titles.

In the final section of the WSA Communiqué 2026, facts and figures compare the medal table of the last two years to shed some light on the results of the rules. Find out more at the official WSA website, world-spirits.com.

The perhaps most highly qualified jury in the world tasted 127 samples from 36 distilleries this year and rated them according to the tough but fair WSA definitions with a high degree of expertise. The best of the best were awarded the highly prized ‘World Spirits Awards’.

The quality of the tasting, the high standards of the jury and WSA’s own communication channels:

Guide, Spirits Finder Apps with a channel at world-spirits.com, and the TV formats ‘Inside World Spirits’ and ‘Inside World Spirits Shots’ (light version). The short info formats ‘Inside World Spirits Fibel’, ‘Inside World Spirits Flash’ and ‘Cooking with Spirit’ are new, all of which are honoured by both participants and users.

With the classification of the distilleries, the World Spirits Award enjoys a special position among all the worldwide competitions. Apart from the overall medals, we also classify establishments according to their fields, as is customary, for example, for the world’s best Bordeaux wines. The differentiation ranges from ‘World Class’ to ‘First Class’ and is topped with ‘Distillery of the Year’.

The superstars 2026

Appenzeller Alpenbitter AG / Switzerland
Distillery of the Year 2026 – Gold & World-Spirits Award (Bitters & Liqueurs)

Heidbrennerei Bosselmann / Germany
Sailors Gin (Spirit of the Year & Award 2026)

Brennerei Hubertus Vallendar / Germany
World-Spirits Award 2026
(for 2 x World-Class OBB, OBS, 
1 x Master-Class BILI and Lifetime Achievement)

Distillery Classification

8 distilleries were classified in different categories (from fruit brandy, whisky and grappa to rum). 6 of them can enjoy the award “World Class Distillery” and 2 the “Master-Class Distillery”.

Medals & variety winners

36 participants and distilleries from 15 nations (islands) took part in the “World Spirits Award 2026”, submitting 127 spirits for consideration. With the presented products ranging from brandies to gin, rum, fruit spirits and 100% distillates. The results are based on the WOB 100-point evaluation system tailored to spirits; objective assessment is ensured by an international jury of tasters with many years of experience.

Distinctions are the reflection of the distillers’ work and an appreciation of perfect products. Based on the slogan “Simply the Best in Spirits”, only the best products are entered into the competition and receive excellent reviews from the strict jury.

126 medals were awarded – 10 double golds (1 of them Spirits of the Year), 63 golds, 51 silvers and 2 bronze medals.

The results are based on the WOB 100-point evaluation system, which is specially tailored to the world of spirits. An experienced international jury of tasters ensured an objective assessment.

Facts and Figures 2026 (2025) 

3 (5) World-Spirits Awards
(1 x for Distillery of the Year – Gold,
1 x for Gruppen- Winner and 1 x or the lifetime achievement)
1 (1) Distillery of the Year – Gold
1 (7) Spirit of the Year
10 (21) Double-Gold
63 (128) Gold
51 (62) Silver
2 (3) Bronze
1 (0) Inadequate/Faults or not tasted

Total 126 medals
127 (214) products overall 

8 (13) Classifications
6 (11) World-Class Distilleries
2 (1) Master-Class Distilleries 

Total 36 (50) Distilleries/Brands

Rating scheme

95.3 to 100 points: DOUBLE GOLD: World class, extraordinary product
90 to 95 points: GOLD: Top product
80 to 89 points: SILVER: Good to very good product
71 to 79 points: BRONZE: Average product
65 to 70 points: Weak or slightly deficient product
Under 65 points: Deficient product 

Requirements for:

Title “Distillery of the Year”: at least 10 distilleries within the category
Distillery qualification: submission of at least 5 products within three groups
Award: at least 10 products within one group
Title “Spirits of the Year”: at least 5 products for one variety or group