Blue Marble’s Pure Love Ultra-premium Seltzer received a Gold medal from a panel of high-profile spirits industry judges. Medals were also given to Blue Marble’s Vodka, and the following seltzers Tropical Retreat, Berry Bliss and Citrus Joy. Pure Love scored highly in three different categories – Quality, Value and Packaging – a must, in order to take home a medal in the competition. Winning a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal at the USA Spirits Ratings Competition is the ultimate seal of approval, showing that Blue Marble is a high-quality spirit with broad consumer appeal. One of the guiding principles of the USA Spirits Ratings competition is that all spirits that receive medals in the competition should be those that consumers actually want to buy, whether it is shopping for a spirit at a retail liquor store or ordering a spirit off a restaurant menu. As a result, the USA Spirits Ratings competition has created an entirely new 100-point rating system that takes into account three different criteria (Quality, Value and Packaging) rather than just spirit making technique or overall taste.

“We are really excited that Blue Marble scored so highly on the various factors that determine the drinkability of a spirit,” said Danyelle Rabine, Co-founder, EVP. “We really put a lot of emphasis on creating a spirit with broad consumer appeal, and one that spirit drinkers will enjoy for a variety of different occasions. This award is really a validation of our spirit making expertise.”

Sid Patel, CEO and Founder of Beverage Trade Network, emphasized the importance of finding spirits that score highly across all three categories rather than just one, “We feel that it offers a broad, comprehensive approach to evaluating spirits the same way that consumers and trade buyers do. Increasingly, consumers are thinking of spirits as brands, just like they would any other product they find in a supermarket,” said Patel. “That’s why it was so important to include Packaging & Presentation as a key judging criterion – it means that the spirit is being created with a specific type of customer or demographic in mind.”

About USA Spirits Ratings
The judging panel included spirits industry professionals with commercial buying expertise. Judges included professionals from leading retail chains, wholesalers, distributors, specialty retailers and casual and fine dining establishments. The inclusion of so many high-profile judges ensured that spirits awarded medals in competition were those with a high degree of commercial appeal.