Blind Tasting Competition

Join the competition!

For years, whisky fans from all over the world have been looking forward to the annual Whisky Blind Tasting Competition. In 12 consecutive days, whisky fans are asked to give their best guess of the whisky they are tasting blind. The results are processed daily in a ranking where spectacular shifts are the rule rather than the exception. Many well-known whisky tasters have participated in recent years and even more whisky amateurs have discovered their talent for analyzing whisky. Due to the very specially selected mix of whiskies that are tasted during the competition, the Blind Tasting Competition is not just a competition, but also a journey of discovery according to your own taste and preferences. In addition, it offers enthusiasts the opportunity to taste exclusive and non-regular whiskies. In recent years, for example, the Feis Isle, 21 year old Bowmore Aston Martin and unique releases from Springbank or Macallan have been part of the tasting.

How does it work?

The Blind Tasting Competition sample box contains 12 whisky samples, numbered 1 to 12 and can be purchased on the Best of Wines website. The competition will start on October 1, which means that sample number 1 must be tasted and analyzed on October 1st before 22:00 CET. Each participant can indicate the following under his or her name: distillery, region of origin, age and alcohol percentage. After 22:00 CET, the registration of the sample closes and the bottle will be revealed. Based on the answers, participants are awarded points daily and the ranking is drawn up and announced.

How do I participate?

Go to Best of Wines and order the sample box. After completing the order and once the Blind Tasting Competition is live, an extra button will be added to your account page that gives access to the Blind Tasting Competition. And that's it!

If you order multiple sample boxes for your friends, family, colleagues etc, please have them send us an email so we can grant their accounts access to the competition.

For those who prefer not to participate under their own name, there is the possibility to participate under a nickname.

Are there any prizes to win?

Of course! First of all, there is the eternal fame and the honor of having participated in the Blind Tasting Competition 2023. In addition, the 3 participants with the highest score will receive the following prizes, which can be used as a voucher with your next order at Best of Wines.

1st place: €500,- plus a free participation for the next blind tasting competition
2nd place: €250,- plus a free participation for the next blind tasting competition
3rd place: €100,- plus a free participation for the next blind tasting competition

The participants on the 4th and 5th place will receive a free participation for the next blind tasting competition.

For participants: about the competition

The whiskies that will be tasted are selected as follows:

- All samples are Scotch single malt whiskies
- Consecutive samples will never come from the same region
- Each region occurs at least once during the competition
- The minimum alcohol percentage is 40%

The following information must be entered (via dropdown box):

- The distillery (40 points)
- The region (20 points)
- The age (max 20 points, 10 points deduction for each year difference)
- Alcohol percentage (20 points, 1 point deducted for every 0.1% difference)
- The rating of the whisky. No points can be earned here, but you can rate your sample here. A great way to keep track of what was your favourite whisky!

Looking back at previous editons of the Blind Tasting Competition:

Participants of the competition came from amongst others The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Scandinavia, America, Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Canada, France, United Kingdom, United States, Singapore and South Korea. During the previous editions, we often received very positive reactions from surprised tasters when the bottle of the day was revealed. For example:

Ledaig 7 years old Murray McDavid 2014
Caol Ila 15 Years Old Particular The Dutch Dram Master
Daftmill 12 years old 2007 Winter Batch Release
Inchgower 14 years old Adelphi
Ardbeg BizarreBQ