Awards Terms & Conditions 2026

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1. Definitions

• 1.1 - ‘Entrant’ shall mean the producer / importer / retailer / agent / individual that submits the Entry.
• 1.2 - ‘Entry / Entries’ shall mean the products entered into the Awards by the Entrant.
• 1.3 - 'Awards' shall mean The Gin Guide Awards 2026 and The Spirits Guide Awards 2026 competitions.
• 1.4 - 'Organiser' shall mean The Spirits Guide Ltd. 
• 1.5 - 'Entry Closing Date' shall mean Friday 30th January 2026.
• 1.6 - 'Sample Delivery Deadline' shall mean Monday 9th February 2026. 

2. General

• 2.1 - The Organiser’s decision is final on all matters.
• 2.2 - The Organiser reserves the right to amend all dates and deadlines without prior notice.
• 2.3 - The Organiser reserves the right to amend the Awards process and the Terms & Conditions with notice given to Entrants in this eventuality.
• 2.4 - The Organiser reserves the right to alter the Entry Closing Date and any published scheduling, to place an entry into a different category, to reject an entry, to deem an entry as ineligible, or to alter the date, time or place on or at which any element of the Awards are scheduled to take place. 
• 2.5 - In the event that an Entrant does not agree to be bound by any amended Terms & Conditions, they must inform the Organiser that they wish to withdraw from the Awards.
• 2.6 - All information submitted will be handled with confidentiality under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.

3. Entry & Form Submission

• 3.1 - The Awards online entry form must be submitted by Friday 30th January 2026 (the 'Entry Closing Date'). The correct entry fee must have been paid online by the Entry Closing Date or by bank transfer (if an invoice is requested before the Entry Closing Date) by Monday 9th February 2026.
• 3.2 - An entry to the Awards is only completed and eligible for judging when the entry form, correct entry fee and correct product sample has been received. 
• 3.3 - Any entry forms which are incomplete will be deemed invalid. In this event, the entrant will be notified and given the opportunity to complete all required fields in the form before the Entry Closing Date.
• 3.4 - In the event that an entry is deemed ineligible or is refused at the fault of the Entrant, the Entrant will be offered a 50% refund or the opportunity for their entry fee to used as payment for Membership of The Gin Guide instead.

• 3.5 - By submitting the Awards entry form, you confirm that all information provided is correct at the time of submitting the form and you accept that any information found to be incorrect or misleading will result in disqualification from the Awards. In this event, entry fees and product samples will be retained by the Organiser. The Organiser must be informed of any changes to entry form information before the commencement of judging.
• 3.6 - By uploading and submitting imagery with an Awards entry form you confirm that you own and have the rights to distribute the imagery. By uploading and submitting any imagery, you grant the Organiser permission to display, print, publish, reproduce and/or edit the imagery without providing credit. In the event of the Organiser utilising imagery provided by you that is not owned by you or that you do not have the rights to distribute, you accept full liability for any breaches of applicable laws. 
• 3.7 - Entries must be submitted by the distillery or brand owner of each product, or by a third party appointed by the distillery or brand owner (such as a PR Agency or Distributor) with the permission of the distillery and brand owner of each product entered.
• 3.8 - The Entrant will indemnify Organiser for any claims which arise as a result of the Entrant submitting an Entry which it does not have the authority or permission to submit.

4. Payment

• 4.1 - Payment of entry fees must be completed by online bank transfer, Paypal, debit card or credit card. Cash, cheques or other payment methods cannot be accepted.
• 4.2 - Currently active paid Members of The Gin Guide are entitled to 20% off the Awards entry fee. Members of The Gin Guide whose Membership covered discounted entry into The Gin Guide Awards 2025 will be required to renew their Membership to receive discounted entry in the 2026 Awards. 

5. Product Eligibility, Ingredients & Additives

• 5.1 - All gins and vodkas submitted must be bottled at a minimum of 37.5% ABV.
• 5.2 - Entries into the Navy Strength & High ABV Gin category must be bottled at an ABV of between 57% and 70% inclusive.
• 5.3 - Products that are either 'homemade', for personal consumption, unlicensed, non-commercial, or not currently commercially available for either consumer or trade sales cannot be entered.
• 5.4 - Entries cannot contain any illegal additives or additives that are banned in the UK, including but not limited to Sudan dyes and Azo dyes. You can find a full list of approved food additives and the parameters of use in retained EU Regulation 1333/2008.
• 5.5 - Entries cannot contain edible glitter, glitter or glitter substitute including glitter powders, glitter residues, glitter dust, glitter shapes, glitter emulsifiers, or flavourings including any of the aforementioned that have been marked safe for use in cooking or safe for human consumption.
• 5.6 - Entries cannot contain full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD, CBD isolate or another format that contains CBD including but not limited to powders, flakes, dust, granules, extracts, oils, residues, emulsifiers, or flavourings including any of the aforementioned that have been marked safe for use in cooking or safe for human consumption.
• 5.7 - Entries cannot contain edible metallic flakes for example ‘gold flakes’ or any other additives similar in nature.
• 5.8 - Entrants must correctly disclose any allergens and correctly disclose the ABV of each product entered. In the event that any judges suffer from an allergic reaction, this allows the Organiser to swiftly and accurately inform the relevant medical professionals of the contents of the Entry and Sample.

6. Product Samples & Shipping

• 6.1 - Product samples must be sent by pre-paid post or courier and must be received by Monday 9th February 2026 (the 'Sample Delivery Deadline') at no cost to the Organiser. Deliveries which arrive after the Sample Delivery Deadline may be refused or accepted at the discretion of the Organiser.
• 6.2 - All customs, clearance and associated shipping costs must have been paid by the Entrant. In the event that these have not been paid, the Organiser reserves the right to refuse the delivery and present the Entrant with the option to receive an invoice for the costs incurred. If this invoice is refused or unpaid by the Entry Closing Date, the entry will be disqualified. In this event, the Entrant will be offered the opportunity for their entry fee to be used as payment for Membership of The Gin Guide instead.
• 6.3 - Product samples must be provided and presented as per retail, with bottling, labelling and sealing as per retail. 
• 6.4 - If product samples are not received by the Sample Delivery Deadline, the Organiser reserved the right to cancel the entry. If the entry is cancelled, the Entrant will be offered the opportunity for their entry fee to used as payment for Membership of The Gin Guide instead.
• 6.5 - It is the responsibility of the Entrant to ensure that samples have been delivered to Organiser's address - 69 Oaken Grove, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 6HN England - on or before the Sample Delivery Deadline.
• 6.6 - The Organiser cannot be held liable for the loss or damage of sample deliveries, or delays caused by couriers or customs. Entrants are responsible for arranging sufficient and suitable packaging and insurance for deliveries.
• 6.7 - Any product samples received after the Sample Delivery Deadline will be retained by the Organiser. 
• 6.8 - Product samples will not be returned following judging. The Organiser reserves the right to retain open bottles or utilise remnants for subsequent tastings and for photographs for website and/or social media content to promote the product. 
• 6.9 - Entrants accept full responsibility for the contents of the product samples they provide and absolve The Organiser from responsibility for the provision of their product to the Awards Judges.   

7. Judging

• 7.1 - The judging of tasting categories is conducted in a 'blind' format. Packaging, product information and imagery provided is not considered or able to influence judging. Prior or current commercial relationships with any Entrant or their representatives must be declared by judges and measures are in place to prevent such relationships being able to impact judging.   
• 7.2 - Sponsors of the Awards are excluded from involvement or influence in any aspect of Judging.
• 7.3 - Judges of the Awards are not allowed to judge any categories which include their products or products they have an active commercial relationship with.
• 7.4 - The Organiser has the right to disqualify any entry not deemed to meet the entry criteria or Terms and Conditions. In this event, the Entrant will be offered the opportunity for their entry fee to used as payment for Membership of The Gin Guide instead
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8. Finalists, Winners & Prizes

• 8.1 - Finalists will be entitled to display the 2026 Awards 'Finalist' logo online and on printed materials. The 2026 Awards 'Finalist' logo may not be edited in any way and the design is owned by The Gin Guide (Trademarked).
• 8.2 - Bottle stickers must be ordered by the chosen printer designated by the Organiser. Alternative printers may not be used to produce Awards stickers. The designated printer is inkReadible. Finalists and Medal Winners outside of the UK must request permission from the Organiser to use local printers and the Organiser must approve the proof before printing.  
• 8.3 - Medal-winning products in each category will be entitled to display the achieved 2026 Awards logo online and on printed materials. The medal logos may not be edited in any way and the design is owned by the Organiser. 
• 8.4 - Winners may not amend the wording of their Award when publishing and promoting their Award. For example, a gold medal Winner in the Traditional Gin category of The Gin Guide Awards 2026' may not be promoted as 'Best Traditional Gin' or other variations. Any desired use of such variations much be approved in writing by the Organiser before use.

9. Publication & Promotion

• 9.1 - Excluding bottle stickers applied to the respective Finalist or medal-winning product in the Awards and any other promotion on the bottle itself or clearly referring to the individual product, any display, publication or text references to winning an Award must state the Awards year that the Award was achieved and must state the specific brand and product that the Award refers to. If a product is made available under multiple brands, such as a standard spirit used for white-label contracts, only the specific branding and presentation under which the product was entered may be associated with Awards achievements. 
• 9.2 - Any display, publication or text references to being a Finalist must state the Awards year that the Finalist performance was achieved and must state the specific product that the 'Finalist' achievement refers to.
• 9.3 - Medal winners and Finalists agree that the Organiser may publish details and particulars of each Winning entry and Finalist, including production locations and botanical ingredients.
• 9.4 - All products entered into the Awards will receive scoring details and feedback comments from the judges. These comments are provided to entrants without naming the author of each comment. The score and comments may not be published or quoted and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of all judges, the Awards, The Gin Guide, The Spirits Guide Ltd, or Paul Jackson (Head Judge).
• 9.5 - The Organiser will not be liable to Entrants for any consequential losses (i.e. loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of goodwill, loss or damage to data or information) arising out of, or in connection with, the provision of any aspect of the Awards including but not limited to the judging process, communication of Finalists or Winners or any other Awards related processes or communications.

10. Membership Benefits

• 10.1 - Within each year of Membership of The Gin Guide, a gin brand or distillery may receive a discount on the entry rates for one (1) occurrence of the Awards. For the same brand or distillery to receive a discount on the entry rates for a subsequent occurrence of the Awards, their Membership of The Gin Guide must be renewed for the minimum period of an additional year.
• 10.2 - Entrants of the Awards who also become Members of The Gin Guide between the Awards entry opening date and the date on which winners are announced will receive benefits of profiles and reviews after the announcement of winners and not before. This is to avoid additional tastings of entrants' products resulting in any familiarity or potential sub-conscious influence during the judging process, and also to ensure that all Membership benefits can be delivered within the year of Membership

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If you have any question or queries regarding the Terms and Conditions of the Awards, please contact [email protected]