Trade buyers who have daily interactions with consumers are the best people to rank products. They are constantly checking in with the market to ensure that their buying decisions line up with what the consumer wants and what will sell, based upon quality and price. Their livelihoods depend on it–a wrong buying decision means that products gather dust on shelves and have negative impacts on their bottom lines.

The Press and other non-buyers/professional tasters do not have access to this valuable information.  Our experienced trade buyers will sample a wine and either one of three things may happen.  The first is “I personally like it…but it won’t sell”.  The second is “I personally don’t like it…but it will sell”.  The third is “I like it and it will sell”. This feedback is invaluable to other buyers, who have come to rely on our awards to make their own buying decisions.

All of the ciders are judged within their appropriate price range because our judges are deciding whether or not each product will sell in their local market. Price is a very big factor in determining value for the consumer, and it is information that they would consider when making a real buying decision. We wanted our judging to be as close to the real-world buying process as possible, so we provide our judges with the actual retail price of each product in order to gain the most accurate insights from them.

Our trade-only judges award medals based upon the following criteria:

• Bronze Medal– Our judges will sell it, distribute it and/or import it
• Silver Medal– Our judges really like it and will sell it, distribute it and/or import it.
• Gold Medal– Our judges love it and will sell it, distribute it and/or import it.
• Double Gold– All of the judges on the panel award it a Gold Medal

For more details, check out our Judging Process Page

After we review all the medal winners we will poll the judges for their opinion on the possibility of awarding other special awards such as: 

“Cider Mill of the Year”

“Distributor of the Year”

“Importer of the Year”

Though an individual medal will not be awarded unless the judging panel as first awarded it a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Double Gold Medal.

No. If no cider qualifies for a medal then no medal is awarded in that category.  There is no guaranteed Bronze, Silver or Gold medal for each category.  

Because we believe in full transparency, the judges immediately receive the results of the ciders they judge at the end of the competition.  They are then able to review the ciders after the competition is over to see who won and did not win in the blind taste test. We then request that the judges refrain from sharing who the winners are with people outside of the judging group until the formal announcements are made.

Winners are posted on our website as well as in a press release.  

We will contact the winning brands shortly after the competition ends to allow them the opportunity to participate in the Press/Trade Event where the winners will be announced, to be held at a later date.

There is no additional charge to participate in the Winners Circle at the trade event!

We believe our cider competition offers several things to a winning cider mill:

1. This is a trade-only judging panel made up of trade buyers from the top importers, distributors, retail liquor shops, restaurants and sommeliers who are well respected by their peers in the industry.
2. You are placing your cider in front of a trade buyer in a blind taste test who makes buying decisions!
3. We are holding it in New York City, one of the top buying capitals of the world. 
4. We work with our media sponsors to distribute the results to the trade and to consumers. All the winners will be listed here on our website. The media will be invited to report on the competition and attend the Press/Trade Event showcasing the winners. Top Winning brands are invited to attend and showcase their winning products at no additional charge.
5. The NYICC gives brands who are not currently imported or distributed in the U.S. or in New York the opportunity to be discovered by top cider buyers
6. We do not charge winning breweries for the use of our medals in their marketing materials.
7. You are only charged once when you submit your cider. There are no additional charges or hidden fees.

Our judges come from the New York City area and are generally traveling within a 30 mile radius. There is an incredibly high concentration of talented beverage buyers in the area, and we choose the best and most dynamic among them to be our judges. These buyers are cicerones, sommeliers, retail store buyers, beverage directors in restaurants and hotels, distributors and importers.  We try to make our judging panels as diverse as possible, because we believe each expert brings a different perspective to the judging process on what the consumer wants.

We take great pride in saying NO! There are no charges for the use of winning medal images in labeling or marketing materials. There are no charges for the top winners invited to participate in our Press/Trade Event announcing the winners. There are no surprises here.

Winning brands do have the option of purchasing medal stickers from us only or licenses fees for their packaging. Please contact us using the info on the Contact Page if you’re interested in purchasing these stickers. 

This is a great opportunity to present your cider to actual buyers if you plan to enter the American market, and especially the New York market which is one of the largest beverage buying regions in the world. 

It is much more affordable to submit your ciders here than to travel to the USA, in order to get in front of real trade buyers in a blind taste test. 

We do not list all of the brands who participated. We will announce how many ciders were submitted, from how many countries, in how many categories and how many won medals.  

The owners of the NYICC have no ownership of any alcohol companies, distributors, liquor stores, bars or restaurants.

We receive no financial compensation from any wine/beer/liquor company outside of the submission fees for their brands. We do not accept any advertising dollars.

We do at times accept free product from our medal winners for the private and consumer tastings we organize through our sister company All Spirits Events.  It is another way to help promote our medal winners and competition.

We are always interested in creating shipping programs with US Domestic and especially International Cider Organizations for their members to submit to the NYICC.  Please immediately contact us if you are interested in creating such a program for your organization.  

Yes. Please contact our recommended customs broker Park Street by emailing [email protected] to assist you with the COLA waiver process.  The fee is US $50 per producer.   

We do accept wire transfer and there is a $15 banking fee attached to it. Please email us at [email protected] for our banking information.

We encourage large cider organizations and trade offices to contact us directly for any additional support or assistance they need to submit their ciders. We offer special rates for organizations and consortiums who participate in our programs. Please visit our Contact Page to find out how to reach out to us.

In the event that the judging is not held, a portion of the fees will be refunded, based on the amount paid minus a pro rata share of the expenses for establishing and maintaining entry files.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Competition shall not be liable for failure to perform caused by an act of God, fire, flood, wind, rain, storm, electrical failure, strike, labor dispute, riot, insurrection, war or other causes beyond its control.