NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The third annual New Orleans Spirits Competition (NOSC) presented by Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (TOTCF) is now accepting submissions for the 2024 awards program, which will be celebrated at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this July 21-26. The final deadlines for submissions are April 12 for entries originating outside of the U.S. and April 26 for entries within the U.S. Categories include whisky, rum, brandy, gin, baijiu, liqueurs, specialty spirits, no-and-low alcohol, and ready-to-drink cocktails. A portion of each NOSC entry fee supports Tales of the Cocktail Foundation.
Founded in 2022, the New Orleans Spirits Competition is an international spirits competition bringing wider recognition to fine spirits from top-flight producers across the globe. The competition is open to all classes of spirits–domestic and international–and judged by a panel of esteemed industry experts and luminaries. In 2023, the competition held a first-of-its-kind public judging during Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC), allowing the audience to look behind what in other competitions is a closed door: providing insight into the decisions, debates, and discussions behind choosing a winning spirit. Following last year’s success, the NOSC team is thrilled to double their presence at TOTC with a larger tasting panel and an increased number of spirits being judged. More information on eligibility, awards categories, submission guidelines, and the official registration application may be found on NOSC’s website: www.nolaspiritscomp.com.
“We are proud to see the growth of New Orleans Spirits Competition year after year, not only in the number of applicants and increase in spirits categories, but also in our expanding community on the ground at Tales of the Cocktail,” said Andrew Faulkner, managing partner of NOSC. “In response to the overflow crowds at last year’s live judging, we are delighted to be able to increase both the size and number of tasting rooms open to the public in 2024. Four times as many industry professionals will have the opportunity to participate in blind tasting the top six spirits as we open the curtain to the judges’ considerations and evaluations in picking the Spirits of the Year.”
NOSC 2024: Judging Updates
A preliminary round of judging will be held remotely before TOTC when spirits professionals–including award-winning bartenders and distillers, esteemed beverage writers, industry veterans, and more–will judge spirits blindly using their own glassware in the spaces they are used to professionally evaluating the world’s best spirits. The panel will make tasting notes, awarding medals to winning entrants which will be announced in an official ceremony at TOTC.
The top-scoring spirits in each class will advance to a championship round. The public judging will be a blind tasting at TOTC, with an audience of industry professionals participating in an educational tasting along with the judges. The judges will openly debate the spirits and determine winners to be designated Spirit of the Year–Whisky of the Year, Rum of the Year, etc.–for each class of distilled spirits.
Winners and medalists will be announced during Tales of the Cocktail, which takes place from July 21 – July 26. In addition to the live judging and winners’ announcements by a tasting of the spirits during the festival to be announced.
New Orleans Spirits Competition Judges 2024
NOSC is honored to have worked with a roster of industry leaders, experts, and luminaries in the competition’s first two years. Please stay tuned as NOSC announces its full suite of 2024 judges.
A list of past judges can be found on NOSC’s website.
For more information about the New Orleans Spirits Competition, please visit the website, and follow along on social media: @nolaspiritscomp, Facebook, LinkedIn, or email info@nolaspiritscomp.com.
