The South’s Best Debuts First Ever Regionally Focused Spirits Competition

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The South’s Best, taking place this fall, is the first ever regionally focused spirits competition led by a team of expert beverage professionals, open exclusively to spirit brands produced in the Southern region of the U.S.

In its inaugural year, The South’s Best was born out of co-founder and successful Charleston, SC-based beverage entrepreneur Matti Anttila’s questioning why Southern spirits brands have long been forced to have their spirits judged in regions outside of the South, the region that they’re proudly based. The selected panel of judges includes leading industry experts specializing in various beverage functions such as bartenders, restaurateurs, retailers, beverage influencers and writers to fully capture the essence of each submission.

The first of its kind, the competition aims to bring relevance, credibility and awareness to Southern spirits, as well as celebrate their authenticity and quality. Serving 17 states from Texas to Delaware, including DC, The South’s Best fills the need for the only unbiased, expert-judged spirits competition that highlights the best of the South- providing brands unparalleled marketing rocket fuel in the process.

With over 300 “Best of” awards, competing brands will have the opportunity to win The South’s Best Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for numerous categories including Best of Show and Best of State, along with niche awards like Best Veteran-owned Spirit, Best Female-owned Spirit, Best Minority-owned Spirit and Best Organic Spirit. Double Gold recipients, meeting the highest standards of judging criteria, will receive additional attention to determine Best of Show, the perfect 100 point score. Brands can also enter a packing competition judged by a separate panel of leading packaging and design experts who will evaluate features from the label to the glass, awarding ratings and medals to further communicate brand value.

Early Bird Registration ($100 discount) is now open and ends September 15, with normal registration ending October 27.