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Final Days to Enter!

Final days to Enter!

These are your final days to enter the 2024 Sunset International Spirits Competition and rank yourself among the best and brightest in the spirit industry. If you believe your spirit can take top spot, don't miss your chance!

Entry closes October 4th!
Enter Today






























Winning producers will be featured in the Spring release of a Spirits Special non-print, digital edition with supporting microsite. Promotions for Spirits Award Special Issue will be placed in sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters and Sunset social sites. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months or until the 2025 Spirit Awards winners are announced.

Sunset Circulation

Sunset has a circulation of 230K in print and digital with 1.2MM+ site visits per month. Average page views are 1.57MM.


Sunset International Spirits Competition

Can Your Spirit Take the Top Spot?


Are you better than the best?

Can your spirit stack up to the 2023 Sunset International Spirits Competition champions? If you're ready to grab gold in your category, enter today!


Best of the Best
Pendray's Distillery Brandy XO


Best Liqueur
Brucato Amaro 
Chapparal


Best Vodka
Royal Mash
Royal Mash Vintage 2020


Best Vodka Flavored/Infused
Jewell Distillery, Inc.
Jewell Citron Vodka


Best Other Agave Spirits
Venus Spirits
El Ladrón Yolo - CA Roasted Agave


Best Tequila
Cierto Tequila
Private Collection, Extra Añejo


Best Whiskey
Savage & Cooke
Savage & Cooke Bourbon Whiskey


Best Gin
Hinterhaus Distilling
South Grove Gin


Best Mezcal
Cutwater Spirits
Cutwater Mezcal Reposado


Best Ready to Drink
Cutwater Spirits
Cutwater Spicy Bloody Mary


Best Hard Seltzer
High Noon
High Noon Grapefruit


Think your spirit can take top spot in 2024?

Enter Today!

Sunset International Spirits Competition

Top 5 Reasons This Is the Competition for You


Reasons to Enter Today:


The Sunset Audience

The Sunset International Spirits Competition is designed to attract distillers eager to connect with a high-income, engaged audience that frequently consumes spirits and cocktails. The Sunset audience appreciates quality spirits, innovative blends, and the Western lifestyle.




The Categories

Whether you craft bold whiskeys, refined vodkas, or innovative spirits, the Sunset International Spirits Competition provides a platform to showcase the unique qualities of your creations.






It's Easy to Enter!

With Enofile's "Easy Enter" you'll enjoy quick and secure competition entry and fee processing.

1. Create your Account

2. Register your Spirits

3. Enter the Competition





The Winning Campaign

Winning producers will be featured in a Spring release of a digital Spirits Special Edition with a dedicated microsite. Promotions for the Spirits Award Special Issue will run across sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters, and social media channels. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months or until the 2025 Spirit Awards winners are announced.




The Judges

The esteemed judging panel represents large volume buyers, influential media, successful distillers and other professionals from the spirits category.





 

Enter the Competition

Entry Fee: $325

$175 Mixers and Pre-Mixed Cocktails.

Early bird pricing until September 26th, 2024

Sunset International Spirits Competition

Get a Good Look at the Sunset Spirits Awards Edition

Picture your spirits featured in the eagerly anticipated Spirit Awards edition of Sunset Magazine!
















 


Winning producers will be featured in the Spring release of a Spirits Special non-print, digital edition with supporting microsite. Promotions for Spirits Award Special Issue will be placed in sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters and Sunset social sites. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months or until the 2025 Spirit Awards winners are announced.

Enter the Competition

Sunset Circulation

Sunset has a circulation of 230K in print and digital with 1.2MM+ site visits per month. Average page views are 1.57MM.

Entry Fee: $325

$175 Mixers and Pre-Mixed Cocktails.

Early bird pricing until September 26th, 2024

Sunset International Spirits Competition

Entering the Sunset International Spirits Competition Is as Easy as 1-2-3!

It's Easy to Enter!

Step 1: Create Your Account

Already have an account? Log in instead! Your account will last year after year.

Step 2: Register Your Spirits

Create a database of your Spirits to enter into the competition.

Step 3: Enter the Competition

With Enofile's "Easy Enter" you'll enjoy quick and secure competition entry and fee processing.


How Many Bottles Need to be Sent Per Entry?

An official entry shall consist of two bottles per entry for 750 ml and larger. For sizes less than 750 ml, please submit three bottles per entry.



Enter Today!

Entry Fee: $325

$175 Mixers and Pre-Mixed Cocktails.

Early bird pricing until September 26th, 2024

Sunset International Spirits Competition

Only One Can Be Crowned Best of the Best

The Categories

Whether your spirits goes down smooth or burns in the best possible way, the Sunset International Spirits Competition offers a platform to showcase the distinct qualities of your creations. 

With an extensive array of categories catering to various tastes and styles, there's ample opportunity for your spirits to shine in their respective categories.

Only one can be crowned

Best of the Best!


Will it be yours?

Enter Today!

Sunset international Spirits Competition Sunset Magazine

This Spirits Audience is Eager and Ready! Are You?

Why Should You Join the Competition?

The Audience!

The Sunset International Spirits Competition is designed to attract distilleries interested in reaching the Western wine drinker and is judged by the best in the industry, who understand and appreciate the Western palate and lifestyle.


Meet the Sunset Reader


Sunset readers depend on the magazine to expand their wine and spirits knowledge!

77% drink cocktails at least once a week (and 9.3% drink cocktails 6–7 days a week)

$229,619 Average HHI

$959,263 Average HH net worth

1.1M Social Audience

4M Cross-platform reach



Ready to Meet your Audience?


Enter Today!

Sunset International Spirits Competition

Meet the 2023 Sunset Spirits Champion

Best of the Best 2023: 

Pendray's Distillery Brandy XO

2023's Champion Pendray’s Distillery in Paso Robles, Calif., wowed judges with its XO Brandy, which they described as “caramel and cardamom”; “balanced”; with a “simple finish.”

Its XO Brandy is inspired by the illustrious brandies of Cognac, carefully aged and blended from select brandy stocks that had been aged 7 to ten years in French oak barrels. The delectable libation was named Best of the Best, Best of Class and Best Brandy, and awarded 98 points.


Think your spirit can take top spot in 2024?

Enter Today!

Sunset International Spirits Competition

Calling all Distillers! Sunset International Spirits Competition is Now Accepting Submissions

Showcase Your Spirits in the
Sunset International Spirits Competition

Now in its sixth year, the Sunset International Spirits Competition is open to commercial distillers of all sizes, with judging categories based on spirit type, production techniques and price points. With an esteemed judging panel representing large volume buyers, influential media and spirit industry professionals, your spirit will be savored from the first sip!



Hugh Garvey - Editor-in-Chief, Sunset:

“Whether mixed into a top-shelf craft cocktail or sipped neat, spirits have long been a part of the elevated Western lifestyle captured in the pages of our magazine and across our digital platforms. It’s an honor to celebrate the artisans and distillers who preserve this storied craft in the annual Sunset International Spirits Competition and to help steer consumers to the best bottlings on the market.”


Enter Today!

Sunset International Spirits Competition Sunset Magazine Enter Now

2022 Spirits Issue Is Out. Read It Now!

Congratulations to the illustrious winners of our annual Sunset International Spirits Competition.

Despite the Western origins of the margarita and the martini, for the better part of a century, the history of spirits in the United States has been rooted toward the east, with its storied New York cocktail culture and the iconic distilleries of the South. But over the years, enterprising distillers, itinerant cocktailians, bartender visionaries, and homegrown drinks enthusiasts have transformed the West into one of the most vibrant, progressive, and thriving regions for all things drinks.

Our annual Spirits Issue is where we celebrate the people and companies keeping this spirit of the West alive. In these pages you’ll find the illustrious winners of our annual Sunset International Spirits Competition. Every year, we convene to taste and evaluate hundreds of worthy competitors and bestow awards on the best spirits brands in the West and beyond. The list of winners is a handy way for drinks lovers to keep on top of who’s who and what to drink in the various spirits categories. And as any bartender—amateur or otherwise—knows, what happens in the glass is where a spirit comes alive.

That’s why we’ve included cocktail recipes from some of the best restaurants and bars from Seattle to Ojai, drinks to enjoy by the campfire, and tips for growing your own cocktail-friendly herbs at home so you can enjoy a fresh garden-to-glass cocktail any time. Mix a drink, pull up a chair, and join me in toasting all of the innovators celebrated in this issue. It’s free to read online right here!

About

SUNSET Magazine, the leading media brand of the Western lifestyle, is proud to announce the launch of the Sunset International Spirits Competition. With the number of subscribers, demographic of the Sunset Magazine reader base and amount of social media followers this competition will be a must-enter for all spirit producers desiring exposure to a perfect audience.

The esteemed judging panels represent large volume buyers, influential media, successful distillers and other professionals from the spirits category.

Winning producers will be featured in a March  release of a Spirits Special non-print, digital edition with supporting microsite. Promotions for Spirits Award Special Issue will be placed in sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters and Sunset social sites. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months or until the 2022 Spirit Awards winners are announced.

The Sunset Magazine International Spirits Competition will take place on October 19th and 20th in Santa Rosa, CA and the deadline for submission is October 13th. To enter your product, please fill in the online entry form.

Learn More

Contact

Contact List

Title Name Email Phone Extension
Founder Debra Del Fiorentino debra@winecompetitions.com 415.640.6337

Location List

Locations Address State Country Zip Code
Sunset Intl. Spirits Comp 30 Palomino Court, Petaluma California United States of America 94945

List of Locations