Frankfurt International Spirits Trophy

An international tasting

The Frankfurt International Spirits Trophy is a big international competition in Germany.

International experts from the spirits industry travel to Frankfurt every year to award medals to the best spirits at the tasting.

With more than 720 spirits tasted, the Spirits Trophy is one of the most important tasting categories in the industry.

The competition is ISO 9001 certified, so producers can be assured of the highest standards of quality and perfectly organised tastings.

Since its creation, the Frankfurt International Trophy has been able to rely on a variety of strong and renowned partners. Moreover, the competition has strong ties to the restaurant world and, as such, is represented each year by a renowned honorary president (a famous German chef).

For the 2026 edition, Patrick Jenal, chef at the Kunz in St. Wendel, is the Honorary president of the Frankfurt International Trophy.

Together, they promote the international reputation of the competition that takes place in the historical hall of the famous Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten, which dates back to 1870 and is located in the heart of Frankfurt.

The competition is open to spirits from all over the world

With more than 720 spirits from all over the world, the competition has established itself in the world of great European spirits competitions.

The Frankfurt International Spirits Trophy is open to all the world’s spirits. It offers an international tasting of the highest quality at an affordable price.

The selection of the best spirits benefits from the awareness and positive image of the already strongly established competition among buyers and consumers.

Highest standards of tasting rules

A qualified jury

The award-winning spirits at the Frankfurt competition have even greater value because they go through a rigorous selection process. Both buyers and consumers profit from the high standards of the ISO 9001 certified competition and the ‘expert opinion’ expressed on each medal-bearing bottle.

An international jury consisting of experts, master distillers, trade journalists and fine brandy sommeliers blind taste the spirits.

All spirits are blind-tasted and evaluated with the help of a 100-point marking scale. All the specific characteristics of a spirit are thus taken into account in its overall score.

The qualities observed include aspect and aroma (quality and intensity), texture, taste (quality and intensity) and harmony (overall evaluation).

After the tasting, all participants receive an organoleptic analysis of their sample, to help them better understand the sensorial perceptions of the competition and compare their samples with those of other participants.

Each tasting team will include carefully chosen experts in the field. The tasting commissioner personally contacts all those who wish to be on a jury, to verify their aptitude.

Frankfurt International Spirits Trophy medals are awarded only to authentic, high-quality spirits.

The competition judges spirits in more than 150 categories, so it is open to all the world’s distilleries.

To guarantee buyers and consumers a real selection of the best products, the competition awards medals to no more than a third of the samples presented.

Key strengths

Active communication with buyers

The competition uses its extensive network to communicate results directly to the main decision-makers: buyers, sommeliers, restaurant owners, importers, journalists for the specialised press.

Dynamic communication via social networks and over 3,500 journalists in mainstream printed media get the competition results out as many people as possible.

Reasonable registration rate

Entering a sample in the competition costs €53.7, and medals for winners start at 15 euros per one thousand, making the competition’s prices very competitive.

A COMPETITION WITH CONSUMERS IN MIND

Experienced amateurs and international experts are invited to taste and judge the products registered to the wine and beer competition together. Spirits are tasted and jugded by experts only. This guarantees a selection that represents consumers’ tastes.

Certified competition

The competition is recognised by the Hesse Ministry of Agriculture and ISO 9001-certified. Certification is a guarantee - for both producers and consumers - of rigorous selection.

Strong ties to the restaurant world

The Frankfurt International Trophy is presided over each year by a well-known, Michelin-starred chef, whose responsibility it is to make the competition better known in the restaurant world.

Results 2026

Medal winners

For the 10th edition of the Frankfurt International Trophy on 09-10 April 2026, event organiser brought more than 450 tasters to the historic hall in Frankfurt’s Palmengarten. Wines, beers, spirits and olive oils were evaluated by a jury composed of experts such as sommeliers and oenologists, and enlightened amateurs representing the tastes of future consumers.

A total of 3400 wines, beers, spirits and olive oils from 46 countries were examined.

In all, 1083 wines, beers, spirits and olive oils were awarded a coveted medal. 147 samples received a Great Gold medal (92+ points), 736 samples a Gold Medal (85+ points) and 200 samples a Silver Medal (80+ points).

RESULTS