With all the labor, love, and passion that goes into creating Cognac, it makes sense that the art is celebrated with a prestigious award ceremony. And the World Cognac Awards does just that…
Launched in 2007 alongside the World Whiskies Awards and the World Beer Awards, the competition has gone from strength to strength, and is now well known within the industry as a prized award in which to win. The amount of entrants per year has steadily increased, with to names such as Gautier, D’Usse and Bache Gabrielsen all vying for recognition.

The judging in the Design category is conducted by a panel that include leading international design experts.
We’re pleased to see that many of the Cognac Expert favorite cognacs have won awards each year. And 2015 is no different.
Gautier VS was the winner in the Best VS Cognac Category. Reliable…
Cognac Gautier XO Gold & Blue scored the Best XO Cognac, AND World’s Best Cognac. Amazing…
D’Usse VSOP was the winner in two categories as well: It won the Best VSOP Cognac and it won Best Design. The coolest…
The house that took the top spot in the Superior Quality section was Bache-Gabrielsen Hors D’Age Cognac. Quality always…

The competition consists of two separate categories: Taste and Design. In the Taste category, awards are grouped into age categories – VS, VSOP, XO, and Superior Quality. Each Cognac entered is judged ‘blind’ and is conducted in three stages. Judges include specialist drinks retailers, bartenders, leading journalists and hoteliers. A strict marking criteria is followed, and each Cognac is awarded points for
- Balance
- Character
- Complexity
- Quality
- Functionality
Design, on the other hand, is grouped into six separate categories. These are:
- Standard, Premium and Ultra Premium Cognacs
- Limited edition Cognacs
- Duty Free and Travel Retail Cognacs
- New Launch and Re-Launch packaging designs
- Technical excellence and craftsmanship
- On-Trade/Back of the Bar Exclusive

Sources: worldcognacawards.com, thedrinksreport.com