06/15/2026
I spent years treating the medals on a rum bottle as decoration. Then I looked at how the IWSC actually judges, blind, in small panels, with a hard floor, and it changed how I read a label.
2026 turned out to be a big year. Foursquare did something at the very top that almost no distillery ever pulls off. A Guadeloupe agricole quietly landed a 98. Japan showed up where you would least expect it. And only 53 of the 325 rums that medalled made gold at all.
Who, what, and every score, with the charts and the full gold roll, are in the piece.
Read it here 👉
What a gold medal on a rum bottle is really worth this year, from someone who spent a long time not trusting them.
