A gold medal for Melifera Gin at the Concours Mondial of Bruxelles
Melifera is very honored to have received a gold medal at the Concours mondial de Bruxelles, which rewards the best gins and spirits from all around the world.
This is the recognition we were waiting for, following that of our wine merchants and our customers, the prestigious recognition of an international jury!
The Concours de Bruxelles and gold medals
The Concours mondial de Bruxelles, created in 1994, was established to identify and recommend the best wines to consumers worldwide.
The Spirits Selection by the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, created a few years later, is dedicated to spirits and distinguishes the best products in this category. From whiskies to cognacs, as well as liqueurs and gins, numerous spirits are tested and evaluated by an impartial jury.
Having existed for many years, this competition is now one of the most important international events for wines and spirits.
To gain this recognition, the Concours mondial de Bruxelles selects renowned and recognized tasters from various parts of the world. The juries are composed of master blenders, buyers, importers, qualified WSET educators, respected journalists, and writers from spirits world.
The organization ensures optimal tasting conditions for its tasters and places great importance on their training.
Since 2006, this competition has taken place past the Belgian borders, bringing its tasters to a different country each year. This emphasizes the international nature of the event and provides better exposure for the awarded spirits worldwide.
The reliability of wine and spirits competitions can sometimes be questioned. There is indeed a wide range of international competitions, with more or less rigorous selection procedures. However, the Concours mondial de Bruxelles is considered one of the most reliable, by both professionals and consumers, and a medal at this competition is truly a meaningful accomplishment for us.
Gins awarded with Gold Medals at the 2023 Competition
How many gold medals were awarded this year for Gins and other spirits?
For its 25th anniversary, the Spirits Selection by the Concours mondial de Bruxelles was held in Trieste, Italy. The number of spirits samples submitted to the competition set its own record with nearly 2,350 entries from around the world.
These spirits from 57 different countries were blind tested by a panel of 138 expert judges representing 33 nations.
This diversity of origin and expertise contributes to the unique character of the event and greater objectivity in the results.
The Concours mondial de Bruxelles is renowned as one of the most reliable competitions due to the very high number of wines and spirits competing. Nevertheless, not every entry receives a medal!
This year, only about 30% of spirits received a medal.
Among all the Gins presented, only 25 Gins from all nationalities combined received a gold medal. Melifera is one of the three French Gins to receive a gold medal.
Two other French Gins received a silver medal.
©Miguel Ramos
Therefore, it is our first-ever organic Gin, our classic Melifera with its distinct notes of immortelle flowers and the essence of a seaside escapades, that has been honored such a prize. It is worth noting that only a select few organic Gins have earned such recognition. This provides yet another reason for our elation.
When we express our immense joy at Melifera receiving a prestigious Medal in the Gin category, it is because there is a significant meaning behind our excitement.
Melifera Gin had already received several medals beforehand
Before this gold medal, Melifera had already received significant awards in the past years, with both of Gins earning multiple medals.
In March 2022, Melifera was honored with the PLD Design and Innovation Award. Beyond its Gin, it was the Melifera bottle that received the top prize at the prestigious PLD Innovation Awards in the spirits & liquors – premium & luxury category, alongside Remy Martin.
Organized as part of Paris Packaging Week, the Innovation Awards celebrate the best innovations in packaging across various sectors (perfumes, cosmetics, premium beverages, among others) each year. For us, it was a fantastic recognition from experienced professionals.
This medal acknowledged the unique design of our bottle and the innovative technology for decorating the 360-degree engraved and painted immortelle wreath.
The beginning of 2023 was also a great season for our second Gin, Melifera Edizione Corsa. In February 2023, our second edition received the Gin of the Year award during the renowned Vinexpo Paris show by the magazine Caviste & e-commerce. This award holds special significance for us as it represents the vote of wine merchants and fine food stores that have supported us since the launch of Melifera and confirms the success of our second Gin.
To further celebrate our Edizione Corsa, it was also selected in the Bar des Innovations organized by Liquid Liquid and Cocktail Spirits at the magnificent Drinks&Co Paris. This provided an opportunity for enthusiasts and, most importantly, bartending professionals to discover the top 100 innovations of the year and the new trends in the world of spirits.
A few weeks later, it was the competition for French spirits that elected Melifera Edizione Corsa as the favorite French Gin of 2023. This time, it was a highly symbolic medal awarded by the public who chose our Gin from among dozens of French spirits.
What does this gold medal mean for our Gin?
We are truly delighted with the recent accolades from the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, which awarded this gold medal to Melifera.
First and foremost, for all the reasons of exacting standards and uniqueness inherent to this competition, we are very proud that our Gin has earned this medal.
It is the intrinsic qualities of our Gin that are being acknowledged here. From the development of the recipe, which we created after multiple iterations and numerous tests with our distiller, to the precise selection of organic ingredients and botanicals that are distilled, all the way to the crafting of our Gin.
Furthermore, after gaining recognition from wine merchants who now carry our product extensively (450 wine merchants in France distribute Melifera) and from individuals who are fond of our bottle and the unique immortelle flavor of our Gin, the gold medal from the Concours mondial de Bruxelles is the recognition we had been missing.
Coming from an impartial jury, which, without being swayed by our bottle’s charm (which is undeniably magnificent) and without knowledge of our equally splendid commitments, has blindly recognized our Gin’s qualities as among the best in the world of spirits.
Once again, a heartfelt thank you go out to the judges and organizers of this wonderful event.
