Tequila Matchmaker, in partnership with spirits and marketing competition company AMCP, has launched the Agavos International Spirits Competition, a new awards program to honor and celebrate excellence in agave-based spirits.

The awards – open only to agave spirits (and agave spirits-based RTDs), such as tequila, mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, and other agave spirits from across the globe – takes its name from the Greek word for agave, “agavos,” which means “noble” or “admirable.” That’s the goal of the inaugural Agavos Awards, to honor the beauty and presence of the agave plant and the spirits it produces.

“There are over 3,400 tequila brands listed in the Tequila Matchmaker database, and over 400 mezcal brands in the US market,” Grover Sanschagrin, who co-founded TasteTequila.com and Tequila Matchmaker more than 15 years ago with his wife Scarlet, said in a news release. “For many emerging brands, it’s difficult to stand out. The Agavos Awards was designed to give these brands needed exposure not based on the size of their marketing budget, but on the quality of their product.” 

Agavos Awards categories recognize a broad range of the agave industry, such as aging, proof, batch size, special releases, and marketing and bottle design. The Agavos Awards judges were selected based on their deep experience, knowledge, and respect for the gifts that agave spirits bring.

“Does the world need another spirits competition? Yes, because the Agavos Awards is different,” Scarlet Sanschagrin, a former journalist in Mexico City and a trained “catador” in production and evaluation of tequila, said. “It’s built around the values of fairness and transparency that have always guided us at Tequila Matchmaker. Unlike other spirits competitions, at the Agavos Awards we require brands to submit bottles that were purchased at retail, so our judges are sampling the same products that anyone might buy off the shelf.”

Entries will be blind tasted and graded on a 100-point scale based on a series of criteria relating to appearance, aroma, taste, and finish. Top scores in each class will advance to a championship round where they will be retasted to determine winners. 

Marketing and design entries are evaluated at random and given a score that will determine whether they are category winners. Award winners will be signified with an Agavos Awards icon on the Tequila Matchmaker app and website, and winners in each category will have the option to purchase an Agavos metal statuette designed by the same company that produces awards for the Golden Globes, Emmys, Academy of Country Music, and many others.

For more information, please visit https://agavosawards.com/.

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