Toby on Drinks Competition Judging

Tobias ‘Toby’ Gorn - On drinks competition judging

‘How do you even end up with this amazing job? What’s the trick?’ I get this question from non-industry friends all the time, and it is usually accompanied by the preconception that being a drinks competition judge sounds like an easy and glamorous way of making a living.

At the risk of sounding like I’m self-promoting - as everyone’s story is different - I would love to share mine with you. I began my career in an independent wine and spirit shop, stocking shelves to help fund my wine and spirits studies. This experience ignited my passion, and I continued to progress towards the WSET Diploma, ending up working in wine retail after University. A dual wine and spirit career started, as I tried many Scotch Whisky jobs and also worked as a head sommelier at a Michelin-starred restaurant in London; after that I worked as a drinks and cigar buyer for a private club and cigar lounge group. It has lead to the formation of International Drinks Specialists - our drinks evaluation and quality control services and I have been invited to join the The Council of Whiskey Masters as Judge and Senior Examiner of their training programme. Right now I am also one of the busiest independent drinks judge globally but how did it happen?

It all started when a great friend and colleague encouraged me to apply as an associate judge for one of the biggest drinks competitions, and I started to learn about the process. I will be forever grateful to Nicola for her support and persuasion, and for the help of the other kind judges who offered me guidance and assistance.

In time, I was being offered positions as a judge at other competitions, and after a steady progression I am now privileged to judge internationally on five continents, in the company of master distillers, whisky making legends, esteemed scientists and MWs. I consider myself very lucky to have been promoted to panel chair judge at many global events and am a regular judge at many other local competitions worldwide. Most of these organisations operate a peer evaluation system (some are a little too dependent on them, others should arguably use them a bit more), but they usually have an element of using other judges to assess one's work. It works as a natural feedback system for the organisers. I am fortunate to have had a handful of international mentors and friend who have recommended me for other judging work, including Steve Beal, Winnie Bowman, David T. Smith and Arthur N?gele, and countless other kind and patient colleagues have supported me on my journey.

Like all jobs there are both positive and negative aspects to judging. I like having the chance to learn about new drinks, and about my colleague's perceptions of each of the categories. Seeing the way others view different product groups and other people’s creations is a good way to get to know more about yourself and your insights. It also provides an opportunity to see the interactions between growing trends and the quality of product being released

Judging also has a fantastic social side and catching up with fellow judges and friends is a useful way to keep up with industry gossip. Ultimately, we run these competitions to inform the consumer about great drinks and to help the industry to improve the product. It is not about the judges ego but the assistance we give to the decision makers and consumers. Our personalities are not important, our judgement is.

On the other hand, this career can be challenging. Wine and spirit judging is mentally tiring, and even if you spit everything (as a professional should), it is inevitable you will get fatigued after hours of concentration and focus. Some say alcohol gets absorbed through your gums, but even if there is a trace of residual alcohol consumed, if one drinks enough water then the effect is negligible. The story of the drunken amateur guest judge sounds amusing but is not something a professional would ever consider. Getting jolly during the tasting just isn’t an option, even if some people might find that sad. Focus has to be maintained, as we only have a limited time to appraise the hard work of those that have submitted their beautiful drinks creations. My worst fear is bringing a score down and being absolutely wrong by not being focused enough. I would rather make a fool of myself and hold my hands up than diminish someone else’s efforts and damage their brand image. Chairing with a radical personal taster is also really tough, especially if they can’t admit to having a bad day or being too personal. On the other hand, one has to be pronounced as sitting on the fence will result with similar score to every sample purely out of the fear of having an opinion.

I’m also not a fan of competitions where entrants get a medal just for turning up. We all understand that some competitions are ultimately great marketing tools, but integrity will only be maintained through thoroughness and not giving out participation medals to every single product. From a judge’s perspective this can be frustrating, and it has to be understood in order to avoid clashes with the organisers or other judges. Please do not take me wrong, there are many lucky competitions with a great proportion of outstanding entries and fantastic results but some others are less relevant and even less followed or respected by the industry and the public. Part of our work at International Drinks Specialists is to guide producers and brand owners through the dangerous and confusing waters of drinks competitions. Some are wasting of time and to be avoided but others can be the best investment a brand can do if they get a high accolade. Sadly some look better in their marketing of their awards and competitions than they are in real life.

Producers entering a particular competition should think carefully about what they are doing it for. Some smaller companies will have just started their production and created a new beverage that will initially be sold locally first. In this case a local county competition is perfect. Usually these competitions are very kind and provide a useful marketing platform for local produce, which is no problem whatsoever. I love these smaller competitions and I find that they are very useful for new starters and for outlets that are aiming for a large proportion of their sales to be regional. The judges tend to be friendly locals and a mixture of chefs, pub landlords and knowledgeable consumers – a really nice bunch of great people but not necessarily global specialists. A competition’s main quality indicator is in the experience of the judges in the end. Every competition is slightly different, and a good judge should have a preliminary understanding of the particularities of each.

A problem can arise however when producers of a nice, well-made drink wins many of these small awards, and having gained confidence (which is a huge positive as long as it is backed by humble professionalism!) they then go to a top international competition and get disappointed by, for example, ‘only winning a bronze medal’.

I should stop here for a second to tell you that in my other job I am a professional clay pigeon shooting coach. I am what could be considered an okay shot myself, and I hope I would win the haybale clay shoot in my village on a Sunday morning. But I know my limits, and I would be foolish to think I would get even close to be selected for the national team or get close to be competing at the Olympics without a lot of professional feedback and coaching. I would be insanely happy to win even ‘just a bronze’ at a top sporting event, as I know I could use that medal to gain all sorts of sponsorships which would help me improve further. Exactly the same applies to drinks competitions. People need to understand what they need and what they expect from winning a medal or achieving a high score. Winning is only the start, utilising that great achievement is the real marketing effort.

I would like to add that I am a better coach than I am shot, and also a better judge than winemaker or distiller naturally, and both roles require different skills within their respective industries. We have seen many top shots being not so great coaches and many top winemakers or distillers being difficult and counterproductive to work with as a fellow panellist judge.

My advice to getting into drinks competition judging is fairly simple. It is easy to start, just apply to be a judge on a competition’s website – that is not the hard bit. Competition judging is harder than it seems though. Not as difficult as many other jobs, but it is still professional work and not just a jolly with free drinks. It is also not just about putting lovely images on social media and updating your LinkedIn profile. One has to be humble, willing to learn, and a real team player with no big ego. A good level of knowledge is an obvious minimal requirement; however, the learning must never stop. Patience and focus are important too. Beginner judges (sometimes called associates) often want to shine more than learn. There is nothing wrong with enthusiasm, but it is important to listen to the rest of the panel and not to go to town on something that is unanimously decided to be a different medal or score by the rest. We are all learning after all. It is also hard to keep personal taste out of the game too, but not impossible. It is a lame excuse to say ‘I do not like this type of product, I would not drink it’. If this is the case, that person is neither experienced enough nor impartial enough and should not be on the panel. It is all about the judge’s suitability, impartiality, and integrity after all. In the end, we are there as judges of quality within that given category.

One also needs to find the balance between ‘sitting on the fence’ and being over exaggerated in scoring. Try to understand the category and judge the samples accordingly. People should not be afraid to score high when the sample is good. Learn from each other. It is important to admit if one or two samples are not the strongest part of one’s specialist knowledge. It is better to hold your hands up and admit an error in scoring, or lack of understanding, than to bring scores down by personal error. Be humble. No judge is there for their personality, we are doing it as we have tried countless examples of the product and we have experience and knowledge in this particular field. Trust yourself with the evaluation of the samples and scores. Consistency will be recognised. Funnily, sometimes I run my own little statistics on the side to see how am I doing on the day compared to the average and median of the group, but that’s mainly because I am a fast taster and note writer; I only recommend doing this side exercise after the samples are evaluated, scored and comments ready. In the end, evaluating and bettering ourselves is every professional’s duty.

Tobias ‘Toby’ Gorn