The tentacles of tariffs appear to be capable of reaching everywhere. Adam Levy, the organiser of the New York International Spirits Competition, can attest to the theory.
“We saw a drop-off in entries from Europe into this year’s competition, especially from France, Ireland and Scotland,” he says. “We put that down to the uncertainty of tariffs [on imports into the US] at the time when companies were submitting their entries.”
On the plus side, however, others recognised an opportunity. “We saw an increase in entries from India and those countries who are not on the tariff watch list to get whacked by Trump,” he adds. “India is starting to get more of a footing in the US.”
This year’s iteration of the competition also provides encouraging noises from the American whiskey and RTD categories, according to Levy. “The quality of American single malts has been improving of late,” he notes. “This is also the case for RTDs over the last couple of years. We’re seeing more use of natural juice and less synthetic taste. Producers are making more of an effort — from the small craft distiller to the established big brands.”
As for the competition’s longer-term prognosis, Levy remains bullish. “I believe our competition will ride out the current industry turbulence,” he notes. “We are trade focused, by category and by price. Our judges are the people who see everything and know what will move — and at what price.”
Here are all of this year’s Double Gold medal winners, arranged by category.
