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French Drinks Awards 2025 winners announced!

07.10.25Winners were announced at a stunning presentation in Paris!

On Friday 26 September, the winners of the French Drinks Awards 2025 were announced.

The presentation took place at the stunning La Villette in Paris, one of the largest parks in the capital city.

The inaugural French Drinks Awards recognised excellence in the French drinks space over the past year, covering a range of spirits including Cognac, gin, whisky, Armagnac, rum, vermouth, liqueur, Eau de vie, and premix/RTD.

Every product entered at the awards was blind-tasted by the judging panel, who provided their own scores at the end of each flight, factoring in nose, palate, and finish as well as the overall impression and category fit of the liquid. Awards were determined by the average score for each product, with gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded to those with fitting scores within the medal range. Truly exceptional products that really stood out received the Diamond award. 21 products were awarded this in total.

Gold, silver, and bronze medallists winners were also announced on the night and given their certificates off-stage. Damian Riley-Smith, founder of Paragraph Publishing — which includes the World Drinks Awards, Whisky Magazine, Whisky Live, and the French Drinks Awards — presented the unforgettable evening alongside Nicolas Le Brun, the French representative of the French Drinks Awards.

The panel of expert French judges were compiled of industry professionals from various sectors, including media, distribution, on- and off-trade, sommeliers, and distillers. Each brought their own unique talents to the tastings process.

Commenting on the evening, Riley-Smith said: “After 25 years of global success with the World Drinks Awards, we are excited to create our first in the series of National Awards which run in tandem with our global awards. The French Drinks Awards honour the finest French drinks, tasting only French products against other French products, leading to the selection of the finest Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados, as well as gin, rum, whisky and much more. In 17 drinks categories, celebrated judges from throughout France have helped select the very best, presented to the world’s press and drinks trade on the eve of Whisky Live Paris 2025.”

Awards director Anita Ujszaszi reflected on the success of the inaugural French Drinks Awards: “We couldn’t be happier with the welcome success of the first ever French Drinks Awards. It is an honour that so many of the best drinks producers in France entered to have their liquid tasted and judged by our expert panel. I think the fine list of winners reflect the excellent state that the French drinks industry is in right now, and we are already looking forward to the next one!”

The complete list of winners can be found here.

The full list of Diamond winners:

Armagnac
Millesime
Atelier Jean Cavé – Armagnac 1995
V.S.O.P.
Marquis de Montesquiou – VSOP
X.O.
Marquis de Montesquiou – Oxygène 20Y

Cognac
Fûts
Larsen Cognac – Aqua Ignis
X.O.
Martell – Cordon Bleu
Origin & terroir
Cognac Delamain – Single Vineyard Domaine La Rambaudie
V.S.O.P.
Distillerie Les 1309 – Entre tradition et modernité
Eau de Vie
Hepp – Eau de Vie Poires Williams

Gin
Gin Contemporain
Anaë – Edition classique
Gin Aromatisé
Baccae x Matshi – Habanero Gin

Liqueur
Florale
Giffard – Liqueur Premium Fleur De Sureau Sauvage

Premix/RTD
Cocktail Classique
Cravan – Negroni

Rum
Mélasse vieilli
Savanna – L'Absolu 2025
Mélasse blanc
Isautier – Agent Double Fusion

Vermouth
Sweet
La Quintinye Vermouth Royal – Rouge

Whisky
Single Cask Single Malt
Yeun Elez – Fût N°3702
Small Batch Single Malt
La Piautre – Empreinte
Single Malt
Coperies – Les Brumes

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