NEWPORT BEACH, CA - From its humble beginnings, the SIP Awards (Spirit International Prestige) has grown into a movement that is gaining traction across the spirits industry at lightning speed. As the only international spirits competition with only consumers as judges, the SIP Awards provides small and big brands, local and international, a rare opportunity to receive unbiased consumer feedback. Following the growth trend across the last decade, the 2018 competition saw a new record of 783 spirit brand entries and 122 consumer judges.

In addition to a large number of new spirit brand entries, the 2018 SIP Awards also brought about a spike in returning brands vying for the coveted Consumer Choice Award (CCA). The CCA is an exclusive medal reserved for spirit brands that manage to secure a SIP Award for two or more consecutive years.

“In 2018, we saw a 14 percent increase in the number of eligible entries for the Consumers’ Choice Award. This surge of interest in the Consumers’ Choice Award reflects the brands’ desires to demonstrate quality, consistency, and ongoing dedication to high standards with evidence from a third party,” says Paul Hashemi, founder of the SIP Awards.

However, the 2018 SIP Awards was not only marked by a dramatic increase in engagement with the spirit industry and consumers. In commemoration of the 10th annual competition, the SIP Awards also refreshed the design of its medals and created a brand new category, the Double Gold medal, to accommodate a greater spectrum of the top winners. The Double Gold medal corresponds to an outstanding rank of spirits and mixers which consumers judged to qualify for the top percentile of their given categories and justify strong recommendations.

“In line with our commitment to honest and unbiased feedback from consumers, we listen to our participants’ feedback to improve the value of our competition every year,” Hashemi says. “For our 10th anniversary, we updated the design of our medals to bolster the spirit brands’ marketing efforts and introduced an additional award category to further nuance the different levels of quality distinction.”

The SIP Awards takes a number of measures to ensure the objectivity of the consumer evaluation. First, all judges are screened to make sure they are not affiliated with spirit brands or the spirit industry. Additionally, the SIP Awards accounts for demographic diversity when selecting judges, as shown in our online infographic. Moreover, all spirits are served chilled and undiluted for blind tasting in a scientifically designed Neat Glass to enhance the tasting experience. Lastly, the SIP Awards uses a proprietary algorithm to gauge the judges’ palate consistency. Scores from judges with less palate variability are weighed heavier than those who have shown more palate fluctuations. Each spirit across the various categories was graded on aroma, taste, and finish.

For a complete list of the categories, winners, and photos from the event visit: https://sipawards.com

About the SIP Awards

The SIP Awards provides a unique judging competition for spirit brands to gain exposure, feedback, and recognition from unbiased consumers. As the only blind tasting competition of its kind, the SIP Awards offers a fair platform for top brands to showcase their products to their most discerning audience. To learn more about the SIP Awards beverage competition, venue partnerships, or for a complete list of this year’s winners, visit https://sipawards.com.