Judging Process

Judging criteria

To win a Paris Spirits Cup award you will need to score highly in all three areas of our judging criteria. You might have an outstanding quality spirits, but if the price and packaging are not right, you will not be recognized by the Paris Spirits Cup.

There is no point, for example, in having a 95 point spirits if it does not look good or offer consumers great value for money. Those points mean it will remain highly respected within the trade, but it will also remain largely unsold on the shelf or languishing on a restaurant’s spirits list.

Scoring system

That is why the Paris Spirits Cup will be decided based on the following judging formula:

• Q (Quality Score) + Value Score (V) + Package Score (P) = Paris Spirits Cup Score.

• A separate weighted score will be given for each of the three parts of the judging process. The scores will be added up to give a final score from which individual prizes will be awarded.

• Quality Score: will be marked out of 100

• Value Score: will be marked out of 100

• Package Score: will be marked out of 100

• Double Gold: to receive a Double Gold medal you need to score 96 and above

• Gold: to receive a Gold medal you need to score 90-95

• Silver: you need to score between 76-89.

• Bronze: you need to score between 65-75.

Who are our judges?

The Paris Spirits Cup will be assessed and judged by a leading panel of top-level spirits buyers with current direct commercial buying responsibility. Or spirits consultants and experts who are also directly involved in the development of new spirits brands or buying spirits for commercial resale.

The list of judges will be drawn from leading retail chains, wholesalers, distributors and on-trade groups across a variety of channels and disciplines including multiple retailing, convenience stores, cash and carries, specialist retailers, casual and fine dining, hospitality and the travel industry.

View the list of judges

Judging procedure

All spirits entered will be handled by WS LOGISTICS and organized into flights for tasting.

The spirits will:

• Initially, be tasted blind to determine its quality and drinkability.

• Where appropriate they will also be assessed by variety, style, region, and country.

• Judges will then determine the value score of the spirits based on the quality and its retail price. 

• The judges will then be handed the bottle or format for them to be able to assess, in detail, the design, label, and packaging and determine how well that matches up to, or complements the quality of the spirits and its price point. It is how the product is perceived when placed on the spirits shelf among thousands of other spirits.

• The judges can discuss the spirits as a whole to help allocate scores in the three judging areas however each judge will give its independent score and a weighted average will be taken at the end.

• The Gold winning spirits and all special category spirits are re-tasted by the spirits judges on the re-judging day to ensure the scoring quality.

Judging dates

Judging will take place on 8 October 2025 at a central Paris venue, Les Salons Hoche. To be considered in the competition all products must be with WS Logistics by 30 September 2025.