The Spirit of Craft Awards (SOCraft Awards) has announced its 2025/26 winners.
Marking the second year of Asia’s first craft spirits competition, the awards spotlight outstanding producers from around the world.
This year, entries from across nine countries – Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, England, India, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand and Switzerland – made their way to Singapore for judging, which took place from 6-7 May, 2025.
After several rounds of judging, a panel of 20 industry experts – including Asia’s top mixologists, spirits critics, and beverage authorities – determined this year’s standout entries.
SOCraft Awards does not accord “best of” winners across categories as organisers believe that every craft spirit is unique in its own way.
Instead, each spirit is scored on its own merits and awarded 1 Star (scoring over 75 Quality Points), 2 Stars (scoring over 85 Quality Points) or 3 Stars (Platinum, scoring over 150 Quality Points).
Spirits are judged on the categories of: aroma and bouquet, mouthfeel, taste, finish and overall impression – with 20 points available in each category (120 total).
Spirits can also be awarded a Green Ring, which is a sustainable spirit scoring over 15 Green Points.
Points (five per sub category) are awarded for: choice of production materials, waste management, mission management and support for local community.
In the 2025/26 competition, 25 craft spirit winners are awarded: two with 3 Stars (Platinum), six with 2 Stars, 17 with 1 Star and 17 with Green Rings.
Spirits from Australia and New Zealand dominated this year’s awards, largely driven by gin, though distillers from both countries also earned stars for whisky and vodka, reflecting their broad craftsmanship.
New Zealand’s winners include:
– Juno Extra Fine Gin – 2 Stars, Green Ring
– Juno Vesta Coffee Vodka – 2 Stars, Green Ring
– Dunedin The Bay Gin – 2 Stars, Green Ring
– Juno Maia Gin – 1 Star, Green Ring
– Fenton Street Whisky Small Barrel Aged Distilled Single Malt Spirits – 1 Star, Green Ring
– Awildian Coromandel Dry Gin – 1 Star, Green Ring
– Auld Farm Distillery Single-Grain Farm Centenary Oat Whisky – 1 Star, Green Ring
For more information on the SOCraft Awards, visit spiritofcraftawards.com
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