The jury's work is done - the WSA 2021 will once again shine with a "full house" after three years of almost 50 more samples being submitted. This year, probably the best trained jury in the world tasted 439 samples from 114 distilleries and - tough but fair - judged them according to WSA definitions with a lot of know-how. The best of the best were awarded the coveted "World Spirits Awards". The results will be announced on 21 March.

"Golden Efficiency"

Two gin distillers displayed an outstanding performance at the WSA 2021:

• Aeijst won both possible titles with only one gin ("Spirit of the Year" and Award 2021.
• The Cutura Distillery won the title "Spirit of the Year" for each of their two gin products and furthermore the Award 2021 for their Slow Gin - as well Rheinbrand from Switzerland for "Rheinbrand Dry Gin Hemp Edition".

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a year that was anything but an ordinary one is coming to an end. For many it was a threat – healthwise or economically.

Currently, life is damn tough. Admittedly, we can’t „sweeten“ it but we can shapen it  a bit more „spiritual“.

And fortunately we still have such endearing and livable constants such as Christmas and New Year.

The „Nock-Land-Scape“ appears presently as a winter wonderland under a deep blue sky.

Gin – a never-ending story

At the WSA 2020 we expected to see approximately 30 samples and producers taking part in this difficult category. We were way off – for the fourth year in a row there were about 85 samples to “deconstruct” and award points to.

So why is the hype not dying down? To put it simply: Everyone wants to make a gin that stands out, whether they are a distiller or just an individual with an affinity for gin.

The magical combination in this segment is Gin & Tonic – these two drinks get on like a house on fire. So there is a steady stream of new quality entering the market, ensuring a consistent boom.

The result is that the diversity and quality of “real” gins are holding their own against inventive products (to be precise, herb and spice spirits). Cheers! Here’s to a gin the Queen Mum would have loved.

The WSA presentation of the “crown jewels”:
13 x Awards, 15 x Spirits of the Year und 12 x Distilleries of the Year

Photos from the Award Celebration 2018 in Distillery Hubertus Vallendar at Kail/Mosel (Germany). 19 x Awards and Spirits of the Year as well as 11 x Distilleries of the Year - that's the brand-new result.

After the tasting weekends in January, the participants will be notified of their results and they may order medal stickers for their products or conclude license agreements with us, which are primarily for direct advertise on the bottle or as part of the packaging. Participants are welcome to advertise with our brand on all media platforms for free to promote their products with their participation in the WSA.

It is often a mystery to most people exactly what goes on behind the scenes at the "World-Spirits award," but take a peek backstage, and you'd see Wolfram, Barbara and Joanne work continuously throughout the year on the organization and execution of the World-Spirits Award as well as the "World-Spirits Academy" sensory training courses. And that doesn't even include the massive collaboration with the jury, chemist, writer, graphic designer, translators, consultant, production companies for medals, classification boards, medal stickers, diplomas, shipping companies, freight forwarders, import and customs duties, and four IT companies that work around the clock for the maintenance of database, the website and the presentation on the Internet. All in all: an unbelievable amount of labor, creativity and unfortunately, cost as well.

EGYPT

Al Ahram - Gianaclis - United Distillery Group, Egypt, 12345612003 El Baheira, Abbu El Matamer - El Baheira - Taftish El Bahari - Gianaclis plant, +20+1020-111000, www.alahrambeverages.com
Classification: World-Spirits Award Participant 2021
Double-Gold: Blue 40 (Spirit of the Year 2021)
Silver: Devlin

CHILE

CCU Compania Pisquera de Chile S.A., Chile, 7550098 Las Condes-Santiago de Chile, Av Vitacura 2670, Piso 25, +56-22-4273180, www.ccu.cl
Classification: World-Spirits Award Participant 2021
Silver: Gin Kantal

World Spirits Award 2021:
The WSA presentation of the “crown jewels”: 13 x Awards, 15 x Spirits of the Year and 12 x Distilleries of the Year

The “World Spirits Award” is considered by many spirits enthusiasts and producers as the unofficial world championship within the sector. “We have been working towards this position in the market over the last 20 years – with constant fine tuning of quality and innovations.”

The WSA 2021 can once again boast a “full house”, after 50 samples more per year, every year for the past three years. One of the best qualified juries in the world has tasted 439 samples from 114 distilleries this year and rigorously but fairly evaluated them according to WSA definitions with their high level of expertise. The best of the best were distinguished with the coveted “World Spirits Awards”.

The “World Spirits Guide 2022” has been published – indispensable for friends of spirits from all around the world. The main focus of the content is:
• Hit list of all award-winning products of the WSA 2021
• Distillery classifications
• 103 distillery portraits of the best spirits worldwide
• Tips and trends

The superstars at the World Spirits Award 2019 once again come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland: 14 x Awards, 16 Spirits of the Year as well as 10 x Distilleries of the Year – that’s the brand-new result.

The "World Spirits Award" is known among connoisseurs as the highest quality spirits award in the world. The contents and topics are presented on the website www.world-spirits.com. You can find results of the competitions from the past 10 years by utilizing the special tools WSA Spirits-Finder and the WSA Spirits-Calculator. These features are - like many other interesting channels - accessible via registration on our official website.

Two years ago we commissioned Wolfgang Egarter from IT-Solutions to program these tools as an app for IOS devices. The result is impressive and can be downloaded for free via the App Store.

It is not until the Award-giving Ceremony that WSA participants learn about the complete results and be surprised with a possible win of the bonus title "Distillery of the Year" or even the "World-Spirits Award".

Award-Celebration 22. März 2018, 16.00 Uhr:

Brennerei Hubertus Vallendar GmbH & Co KG
Hubertus Vallendar
Hauptstraße 11
56829 Kail, Germany
Tel.: +49-2672-913552, Fax: +49-2672-913554
www.vallendar.de

8x8 is our formula for magic. Eight tasters will taste about 450 samples over the course of eight days. We often receive inquiries from top tasters whether they can work with us. However, regardless of credential, all our jury have to undergo the WSA trainings. Just as an airline trains its pilots, we also train our tasters. Each year, a 3-day fine-tuning session is held in June as part of the WSA Academy to ensure our jury stay up-to-date and competent in performing the best possible assessment for products we receive from around the world.