Do you like to get into the Spirit of things?…we have a job for you! #News
Victoria Hayes
11th October 2021
People’s Choice Drinks Awards on the lookout for spirits lovers to join their judging panel!
Applications for consumer judges are now open for the 2nd People’s Choice Spirits Awards.
Introduced in 2020, The People’s Choice Spirits Awards (part of the People’s Choice Drinks Awards family) is run by Janet Harrison of Cracking Wine and Judy Kendrick from JK Marketing. Together, they have decades of experience creating and running iconic trade and consumer events and effective marketing and research projects.
Sessions in Edinburgh, Manchester and London will take place in November 2021.
The PCDA runs two exciting competitions for wines and spirits and is the only national drinks awards to involve consumers in the judging process, with guidance from industry experts.
The consumer-friendly spirits categories are open to submissions from all around the world at any price point. Submissions are welcomed from all sources, including importers, independent retailers, supermarkets and producers.
Hand-picked, enthusiastic spirits consumers (chosen via an application process) are invited to judge alongside qualified industry experts making the competition exciting, inclusive and relevant to today’s spirits business. This is backed up by a professional panel, including modern spirits communicators who are drinks writers, broadcasters and respected buyers.
Fancy giving it a shot?!
The online application process is simple and can be accessed here: Apply To Be A Round 1 Judge | (peopleschoicedrinksawards.com)
“We are looking for a diverse range of people for our Round 1 judging panel. It is important that the panel accurately represents the UK spirits-buying public.” states Janet Harrison, founder of the Awards. We ask people to tell us a bit about themselves and which spirits they feel comfortable judging” she adds.
Dates:
Sunday 14th November: Edinburgh
Sunday 21st November: Manchester
Sunday 28th November: London
Each session last for around 2-3 hours and all spirits are blind-tasted and rated on quality as well as how appropriate they are for the category. Unlike other competitions, the categories focus on ‘drinking moments’ and include Treat Yourself Whisky, The Classic G&T, The Great Outdoors (for canned cocktails) and Premium Sippers for the latest trend for premium Tequilas.
The Round 1 judges do an important job in shortlisting the spirits and produce the finalists in each category. These are then assessed by the Round 2 professional panel to select the winners. The professionals include prominent drinks broadcasters, such as The Three drinkers, Amazon Prime (Helena Nicklin, Aidy Smith and Colin Hampden-White), buyers and distributors of spirits in the UK.
The winners are announced at the Awards ceremony, held in Manchester on 17th January 2022. 
So, if you ‘fancy a shot’ then what have you got to lose?
Want to know more about this event? Here are all the details you need…
Website: https://peopleschoicedrinksawards.com/
Twitter: @PCDrinksAwards
Instagram/Facebook: @peopleschoicedrinksaward