The Buyer | Top bartenders pick winners in 2021 London Spirits Competition

Find out which is the best overall spirit in the competition – clocking up 96 points – and the winners by spirits type and country winners in the results of the 2021 London Spirits Competition.

The medal winners in the fourth London Spirits Competition have had to work even harder for their success than they might do in other events. For it is not just what a particular spirit tastes like and the score it gets for quality that counts. To pick up a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal in the London Spirits Competition a spirits brand will have to go above and beyond, for they will also be judged on their price and the value for money they offer, and what they look like. How do they stand out on a back bar and how easy are they to use and handle by busy bar staff.

All those factors are taken into account by the judges of the London Spirits Competition, individuals who all know what they are looking for as they are made up of professional bartenders, mixologists, bar tenders and consultants who judge and assess products every day of their working lives in just the same way.

That’s what has made the London Spirits Competition in just four years one of the most prestigious and important events in the spirits world. It is rewarding, celebrating and helping to promote the spirits brands that consumers will most want to buy.

TGI Friday’s Gary Burdekin is one of the professional spirits buyers and bartenders who help judge the London Spirits Competition

Gary Burdekin, master bartender at TGI Friday’s UK, captures what it means for judges to take part in the competition: “The fact that not only is the spirit being judged, but the design and packaging too. It’s good to be able to give an overall opinion on a spirit. There’s been many times where I like the look of a bottle, but I’ll never buy it because of what’s inside. It singles out the ‘complete’ products from the rest.”

Sid Patel, founder of the London Spirits Competition and chief executive of the Beverage Trade Network that organises the event, alongside the other London Competitions for Beer and Wine (2021 winners also announced today here), says: “The large range and diversity of spirits entered in this year’s competition from all over the world demonstrates how far distillers and brand owners have come in recent years in raising the bar, improving the overall quality of brands available, and, in a way making it even harder to pick out the winners in the London Spirits Competition.

“All the medal winners in the 2021 event can be rightly proud of their achievement. Every product is judged on its own merits using our unique judging criteria that makes the London Spirits Competition both highly respected by the drinks and bar industry, but by spirits lovers, drinkers and consumers all over the world.”

The Results

Overall Spirit Of The Year

Ramsbury Single Estate Vodka by Ramsbury Brewing & Distilling Co.

The overall Spirit Of The Year award goes to Ramsbury Single Estate Vodka, made by Ramsbury Single Estate Spirits, which scored 96 points, the highest in the competition. The Ramsbury distillery prides itself on its sustainable practices with what it calls its “field to table” approach. Its Single Estate vodka, has a smooth and rich style, using Horatio wheat grown on the Ramsbury estate. Each and every bottle can be traced back to the very field in which the wheat was grown.