2026 San Diego Spirits Festival
International Bottle Competition
Save the date August 29 - 2026
The Blind Tasting
The 2026 San Diego Spirits Festival International Bottle Competition will soon be open for entries from emerging craft distillers, American merchant bottlers and large distillers alike; and it is open to all classes of spirits, domestic and international – whiskey, bourbon, gin, brandy, vodka, rum, agave spirits and liqueurs. The competition will bring renowned experts from the worlds of spirits and hospitality together to determine the best tasting spirits in a blind analysis, the double blind competition will be based on a 100 point scale the competition will be held August 29 2026.
We are the most cost-effective International Spirits Competition
Design Awards are also judged at no additional cost
Winning brands have full use of their medals and graphics
Our judges are free of any ties to specific brands,
they include distributors, educators and bartenders
The Process
Spirits will be presented to judges in coded NEAT glasses in a blind tasting format.
No spirits bottles will be visible to judges at any time until the competition is finished. Staff members will be prohibited from mentioning any spirits brand names entered in the competition.
The integrity of San Diego Spirits Festival International Spirits Competition starts with the quality and expertise of our Esteemed Judges. Our Judges have a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds and this facilitates a true, unbiased quality of judging of all the brands that have entered.
Medals are given to brands who are exhibiting at the festival,
while all other winners receive physical artwork and digital recognition.
Advisory Council
GEORGE MANSKA inventor of the Neat Glass is the Advisory Council for the San Diego Spirits Festival International Spirits Competition. George is the Chief of Research and Development, Corporate Strategy officer of Arsilica, Inc., Las Vegas, NV and inventor of the NEAT glass, and NEAT science of nosing and evaluation.
Why we use NEAT as our Official Judges Tasting Glass
Naturally Engineered Aroma Technology (NEAT) is the sensory and physical science of the world’s best spirits glass. Flavor is 90% aroma; therefore, every spirit glass should display all aromas and enhance flavor without the pungent, distracting odor of nose-numbing ethanol.
The NEAT Glass - it's time to taste the truth.
