Tasting Awards results 2021

Notice

Important reading to understand the scorings


The given scores in the ISS Awards tend to be slightly lower than in other competitions. This is due to our very own specific processes, for which we give you the main impactful points.

GLOBAL EXPERTISE LEVEL
Judges are experts in sugarcane spirits tasting and are located worldwide in order to lower cultural biases and ensure a global representativity within the scoring.

TIME FOR EVALUATION
Judges are given much more time (30 days) to evaluate the samples than in any other competition.

TRIPLE BLIND TASTE
The ISS Tasting Awards follow a very unique triple blind taste process, meaning :
A) Judges don’t know which product they taste except its category.
B) At no time the product is revealed to them, neither after tasting or scoring.
C) They can’t even remotely discuss about their samples, being given all different codes.

MANDATORY FULL ANALYSIS
Judges are required to provide a complete sensory analysis before being able to submit their scoring : texture, features, aromas intensities on nose, palate and finale, and length in mouth.

NO “FREE POINTS” GIVEN
We don’t use typical marking schemes such as x points for color, y points for texture etc. We consider such schemes obsolete and irrelevant to what spirits tasting expertise is. We instead require Judges to provide their initial score solely based on their sensory analysis and matching the following scale.

required scoring scale
< 76
Poor, faulty
76-79
Acceptable
80-83
Noticeable
84-86
Good
87-88
Very good
89-90
Remarkable
91-92
Excellent
93-95
Exceptional
> 95
Legendary


VALUE FOR MONEY
After tasting, judges are asked to rate the value for money based on the declared Recommended Retail Price, which is disclosed only after their 1st scoring submission. They’re then given the option to update their final score accordingly.

Due to all these considerations, the final scores are more accurate as well as a bit more severe, as they may be 5 to 10 points lower than other 100-based scores from other competitions. However, the score end up being closer to what can be noticed in global mass community-generated ratings.

Important reading about the awards scheme


Our awards scheme doesn’t follow typical standard schemes. See more details about them hereafter.

ISS Awards’ title
Canne d’Or
Meaning the product is
World’s Best of Year
Description
Only one, awarded to the highest overall score.
Other competitions equivalent
None – “Best in Show”
ISS Awards’ title
Gold Medal
Meaning the product is
Best of its Category
Description
Only one per category, awarded to the highest score within each category.
Other competitions equivalent
“Best in Class”
ISS Awards’ title
Finalist Medal
Meaning the product is
In the top 1/3rd of its category
Description
Awarded to the top 1/3rd highest scores within each category.
Other competitions equivalent
“Gold” / “Silver” medals

Recaped Listings

THE CANNE D’OR
The Canne d’Or is awarded to the World’s best spirit of the year (overall best score).
Famille Ricci
Ovni 2
– Guadeloupe, Fiji, Barbados –
Rum – unsweetened| Molasses rum, syrup rum, mixed rum | 7 years old and up
87.9
GOLD MEDALS IN EACH CATEGORIES
BEST OF REGION AWARDS
SPECIAL PRIZES
TOP 20 RANKING (ALL CATEGORIES)

Categories listings

Fresh cane juice rum – unsweetened

Rum with absolutely no voluntary sweetening, no sugar other than natural sugar extracted from casks during aging because of their previous contents.

White (unaged)
From 3 to 6 years old
7 years old and up

Molasses, syrup, mixed rum – unsweetened

Rum with absolutely no voluntary sweetening, no sugar other than natural sugar extracted from casks during aging because of their previous contents.

White (unaged)
From 3 to 6 years old
7 years old and up

Rum

Rum having undergone voluntary sweetening, regardless of the sugar level measured. Are excluded from this measure rate of natural sugar extracted from casks during aging because of their previous contents. Molasses rum, syrup rum, fresh pure cane juice and mixed rum.

White
From 3 to 6 years old
7 years old and up

Miscellaneous categories

Craft rums, Clairins…
NAS, Gold, Solera
Spiced rum
Macerated rum, “rhum arrangé”, shrubb…

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