The Gin Masters 2023 - Judging in Gin Masters 1 and 2 in 2023

The Gin Masters 2023 competition is the first of two blind tastings dedicated to the category, with the first instalment held at private members club Home House in London.

For Global Spirits Masters Results click here

In November 2023,  five groups of independent judges gathered at London’s TT Liquor to put the entrants through their paces. Joyce Chou, translation‐project manager at Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), and Richard Legg, founder of Distilled Knowledge, joined Melita Kiely, editor of The Spirits Business, and chair of The Global Spirits Masters Competitions (The GSMC) on the first panel.

Bryan Rodriguez‐Curtis, buyer at Harvey Nichols, led a second team. He was accompanied by: Nick Larsson‐Bell, senior buyer at Harvey Nichols; Herchelle Perez Terrado, founder and director of Drinks Partnership; and Dougie Rodriguez‐Curtis, spirits specialist.

A third team was made up of Matt Chambers, spirits writer and co‐founder of the Whisky For Everyone blog, who chaired the group. Joining him were Dan Greifer, Black Parrot Bar supervisor, and Sara Jane Eichler, founder of the Negroni Club UK.

Sara Miller, founder of the Gin A Ding Ding blog, chaired her group, which consisted of: Emma Stokes, gin expert and founder of Gin Monkey; and Allison Strydom, founder of the Gin Squares blog.

The fifth and final group comprised: Ruchira Neotia, wine and spirits consultant and drinks experience designer at Darjeeling Express; Clint Cawood, freelance drinks writer; Angelo Sparvoli, bartender at TT Liquor; and Marie Cheong‐Thong, wine and spirits judge, and WSET educator, who chaired the panel.