These 5 spirits just won big at the world's most renowned competition

Did you know that the spirits industry has its own version of The Oscars? Each year a panel of 70 international experts gather in San Francisco for the World Spirits Competition – an event that’s often described as “The Oscars of alcohol”. We admit there’s a lot less ballgowns and sunglasses worn inside, but it is one of the spirit industry's highest honours.

The World Spirits Competition is the oldest and longest running of its kind. Across two weeks the judges sample over 5,000 different spirits from around the world in a blind tasting – the same rigorous method that we use for our own Decoded Spirits Awards.

One of the highest awards – and hardest to win – in the competition is the coveted Double Gold medal. The only way to score a Double Gold is to have every single judge on the panel deem a spirit as worthy of gold – and with so many judges, that’s no easy feat.

This year’s awards were held in April with a number of Aussies standing on the podium alongside some of our international favourites. Below, we’re shining a spotlight on a few of this year’s Double Gold medal winners, the delicious spirits which judges unanimously loved.