What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? The Competitions in New York

The Competitions in New York, USA

There is no surprises that New York be the place for an international spirit rating event. The question is which one as there are several and it is not clear which event is dominating the scene. 

--->  FIRST, the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition www.nyworldwineandspiritscompetition.com

This event is like a mirror image of the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, but with wine too. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that Anthony Dias-Blue is the executive director in both places. This competition occurs at the same time and is associated with the Bar and Restaurant Trade Show.

New York Wine and Spirits Competition Logo

 The +:  New brands trying to get traction in the USA have to start in New York. It is not a law but a recognized rule of thumb. This show is tied up with key trade partners such bars and restaurants (called on-premise in the trade) it makes sense to participate to this show to jump start the introduction of new products. The idea is that you are getting 2 birds with 1 stone.

 The -: this is a new competition pretty much over-shadowed by the World Spirits in SF, and also it is including wines where spirits usually play the second roles.

--->  SECOND, the New York International Spirits Competition www.nyispiritscompetition.com

This competition is different in that the judges are spirits buyers from the industry, which gives a nice twist in the sense that most other competitions classically employs experts. Experts may be more representative of the experts’ tastes rather than the trade or consumers. Another interesting aspect is that the competition is grading similar products and categorizing them also based on pricing. This rule is perhaps even more significant for cognacs as one may find for instance XOs at 70 euros and other at 150 euros, or Extras at 150 euros and other at more than 1000 euros. In other words one may find that a highly rated cognac at 100 euro may be more realistic than a highly rated cognac at 1000 euro.

New York International Spirits Competition logo

The +: the rating method allows for new facets and perhaps originality. A spirit rating competition only.

The -: this competition does not have the national coverage and support found in the other competitions.