Whiskey & Spirit competitions

Written By Texas Whiskey Association

Open conversation with participating TXWA members and the 2025 TXWA Board of Directors
Notes from TXWA virtual member meeting
Held via Zoom - 1/22/25 - 10am CT

In attendance:

Natasha DeHart - President - BENDT Distilling Co.
Nancy Finney - Treasurer - Hush & Whisper Distilling
John Evans - Secretary - Wilson Valley Mercantile
Jared Himstedt - Member at Large - Balcones Distilling
Jake Clements - ex-officio - Texas Whiskey Festival
Josh Gollady - Member At Large - Ironroot Distilling
Bernard Quandt: War Trail Spirits
Wayne Rogers: Bendt Distilling
Jen Foreman: Johnny Pickles Distilling
Raleigh Hughes: Bendt Distilling
Mark Shilling: Maverick Distilling
Tim Crofton: Ranger Creek
Caleb Clanton: Hush & Whisper Distilling

Agenda items & discussion notes:

  • Call to order - 10:04am - Natasha DeHart

  • Introduction of each member in the call

  • Purpose and structure of virtual meetings

  • Updates to website to include unlinked member pages

    • When to expect and how to access
      Member area of existing website expected to launch Feb. 2025. Login details to be sent to members in February 2025 newsletter.

    • Whiskey and spirit competitions list

    • Vendors and potential discounts for members

  • Whiskey / Spirit competitions - getting started

    • How to select which competition(s) are right for you? What is your goal?
      Discussion notes: Determine your goal and annual budget. Are you new to market with a small budget? If so, less well-known competitions may be available at a lower cost.

    • How to enter
      Nearly all entries are done online, including payment. Once registered by deadline, samples should be submitted via mail.

    • Entry fees, shipping and other costs
      Entry costs vary from $100 per entry, up to $1000 per entry. Shipping varies by location and delivery speed, and can be extremely high for overseas competitions. Some competitions also require payment for use of medal art.

    • Shipping spirits
      In general, permitted shipper to permitted receiver just requires an additional form, package sticker and labeled details. Rarely will samples be sent to an un-licensed recipient. FedEx, UPS allow for alcohol shipments when registering the package correctly.

  • Results

    • What do you get when you win? Medals, certificates, art files, rights to market, etc.
      The only guaranteed prize from any competition win is the win itself. Some competitions offer the use of medal artwork for marketing purposes, but some require the winner to “purchase” usage rights. Physical medals are becoming more rare, and other physical prizes are sporadic (e.g. t-shirts, swag).

    • How to best utilize and market your awards
      As allowed by individual competitions (some require art file purchases), wins/awards can be used in social media marketing, on websites, on market sale slicks/sale sheets, packaging, shelf-talkers, neckers, signage and print advertising, to name a few.

    • Award materials available for purchase
      Many competitions will offer award/medal items for purchase. This can include stickers, medallions, neck tags and more. If you have usage rights to the medal artwork, you should be able to print such items with the printer of your choice.

  • Other questions / topics

    • Getting the most bang for your buck
      Know your goals, stick with your budget, enter the competition(s) that make the most sense for you.

    • Do you need to enter annually?
      General 2025 board consensus: No. A gold medal that’s a year or two old still looks like a gold medal to consumers. And the same products entered one year may have completely different results the next year. Revel in your wins for as long as possible.

    • Does it matter what products you enter in specific competitions? How to choose which product to enter.
      Track your data over time. Some competitions will favor more mainstream products, while others like funky, high proof options. You can dig as far as you’d like into data - from products and wins, all the way to tracking which judges favor which products.

    • Are there competitions that lean into Texas whiskey? Are there others that do not? 
      See above responses to the previous question, but investing time, effort and advertising dollars into a specific organization will not likely hurt (e.g. Whisk(e)y Magazine). With that said, Texas-based competitions do exist and can be a great place to join the Texas whiskey/spirit community and get in front of fans (e.g. Texas Whiskey Fest and associated competition).

  • Competitions - questions from members

  • Other business

    • Newsletters - expect ~1x/mo - Link to member page(s) will be featured in the February newsletter

    • Membership - please submit membership form if there have been changes to your manufacturing or sales in the past year. If not, we will invoice at the same rate as 2024. 

  • Questions / comments

  • Adjourn meeting

Texas Whiskey Association