Meet the Panel Behind the India Global Spirits Awards: an interview with Master Judge Tobias Gorn.
What does it take for a spirit to stand out in a blind tasting? What separates a technically good spirit from one that stays with you long after the glass is empty? And when an international spirits brand looks towards India, is producing a great liquid enough?
For the inaugural India Global Spirits Awards (IGSA), these questions are central to the way we think about spirits judging and the Indian market.
As part of our Meet the Panel Behind IGSA series, we sat down with Tobias Gorn, Master Judge at the India Global Spirits Awards, to talk about spirits, judging, innovation, commercial reality and the opportunities he sees in India.
Who Is Tobias Gorn?
Tobias Gorn is the Master Judge of the India Global Spirits Awards and an International Drinks Specialist holding the WSET Level 3 qualification. He is also a Member of The Gin Guild, the Circle of Wine Writers and the Council of Whiskey Masters. He leads the IGSA judging panel alongside a group of Indian and international industry professionals and trade buyers, whose profiles you can explore on our Meet Our Judges page.
Tobias Gorn brings an international perspective shaped by his experience working with spirits across different categories and markets. His answers also highlight something particularly important for international producers: entering a new market is not simply about bringing a good product to the shelf. It is about understanding where that product fits.
- Role: Master Judge, India Global Spirits Awards
- Expertise: International drinks specialist, WSET Level 3; Member of the Gin Guild, Circle of Wine Writers and the Council of Whiskey Masters
- Focus areas: Blind tasting, spirits quality, market fit and the Indian spirits market
Tobias Gorn on Why India Is a Market Worth Watching
For Tobias Gorn, there is something particularly exciting happening in India right now.
“India seems to be the place where things are happening.”
He describes India as an exciting and expanding market, with innovation, resilience, willingness and growing interest.
For Tobias, the development of Indian whisky is one of the clearest examples of how quickly the country’s spirits industry is evolving. Indian single malts and other whisky categories, he says, have matured to a world class level.
But his interest extends beyond whisky. He is also watching the creativity happening in ready to drink beverages, the continued strength of classic high quality gins, the innovation within liqueurs and the development of characterful vodkas.
There is a sense that India’s spirits industry is not simply growing. It is changing. (For a deeper look at this shift, read India: The Emerging Frontier for Global Spirits Brands.)
“I think India is the place to watch right now.”
What Makes a Spirit Exceptional, According to Tobias Gorn
For anyone involved in a spirits competition, one question inevitably comes up: what makes a spirit exceptional?
After tasting spirits from different countries and categories, Tobias Gorn makes an important distinction between something that is good and something that is genuinely outstanding.
A good spirit, in his view, is technically sound, above average and well made.
An exceptional spirit needs another dimension. It could have a distinctive character that is beautifully delivered. It could demonstrate remarkable balance, complexity, intensity and length. Most importantly, it needs to rise above simply being correctly made.
“It has to be truly outstanding, not just correctly made, but above that level of quality.”
That philosophy is particularly relevant in today’s global spirits industry, where producers are constantly looking for ways to differentiate themselves.
For Tobias, exceptional does not necessarily mean unusual. Sometimes the most impressive spirits are those that execute a classic style exceptionally well.
How Tobias Gorn Approaches Blind Tasting
One of the defining elements of professional spirits judging is blind tasting, the foundation of the IGSA tasting process.
When the bottle, brand name, packaging and reputation are removed from the equation, the liquid has to speak for itself.
So what does Tobias Gorn look for when tasting a spirit blind?
He describes it as an aromatic and flavorful journey. His first focus is on complexity and balance. Intensity comes later.
He explains his approach with an analogy that captures his philosophy particularly well:
“It’s a bit like music. It has to be nice and enjoyable first, and then you can play it louder, but bad music played loudly is not going to get any better.”
Technical Quality vs Commercial Success
A fascinating part of our conversation with Tobias was the relationship between technical quality and commercial viability.
Does an exceptional spirit automatically become a successful commercial product?
Not necessarily.
A technically outstanding spirit may still face challenges around production costs, pricing, positioning, distribution and consumer expectations.
Tobias compares this with engineering, pointing out that some exceptionally designed cars and aircraft from previous decades were simply too expensive to produce commercially.
The same principle can apply to spirits. A producer can create an extraordinary liquid, but commercial success requires the product to make sense within the market it is entering.
This distinction is particularly important for international brands considering India.
Winning recognition at an international spirits competition can establish credibility. Building a successful brand in another country requires considerably more.
What International Spirits Brands Often Overlook About India
India is not a single, uniform market.
That is one of the points Tobias Gorn believes international producers need to understand.
Different states, legal structures, regulations, cultures and price brackets all influence how spirits operate within the country.
He also cautions against approaching India based on assumptions or outdated perceptions.
In the past, differences in legislation led some companies to create what Tobias describes as almost “dialled-down” versions of products for India.
His view is that producers need to understand the market first rather than assume what will or will not work.
That means researching the market, speaking to local professionals and understanding how consumers and the trade actually perceive the category.
For a producer entering India for the first time, local knowledge can be just as important as the quality of the liquid. Our conversation on entering the India spirits market explores this in more detail.
A Spirit Has to Travel Beyond Its Home Culture
Internationalisation brings another challenge that is sometimes overlooked: cultural relevance.
A spirit can be original, distinctive and beautifully made, but how easily can its identity travel?
Tobias believes a successful international product needs to be both unique and culturally understandable.
He gives an interesting example from whisky.
Some brands have names that can be difficult for people in other countries to pronounce. That may create intrigue among collectors, but Tobias points out that a customer in a busy bar may simply avoid ordering a drink if they are worried about saying the name incorrectly.
The point extends beyond pronunciation.
The story, identity and overall appeal of a spirit need to be understandable outside the culture where the product originated.
That does not mean losing authenticity.
It means making sure the authenticity can travel.
Tobias Gorn’s Role as IGSA Master Judge: Two Perspectives
This is where the philosophy behind the India Global Spirits Awards becomes particularly relevant.
As Master Judge, Tobias Gorn describes the evaluation as requiring almost “two different hats.”
The first is the technical perspective: understanding spirits quality through international experience.
The second is understanding the local market, including legislation, expectations, culture and consumer tastes.
For international producers looking at India, bringing these perspectives together can provide a more complete picture.
A spirits competition in India can recognise technical excellence, but an India focused evaluation can also provide insight into how a product may fit within the local market.
That distinction is important for IGSA, and it is reflected in the mix of experts on our judging panel.
The competition is designed to look not only at what is in the bottle, but also at the relevance and potential of that spirit within India.
Why Local Market Understanding Matters
For Tobias, research is essential when entering any new market.
His advice is practical: talk to local professionals, understand the market, learn how the category operates and build relationships.
He also sees value in participating in local spirits competitions.
Recognition can be useful, but so can the signal it sends to the market: that a producer is investing time and effort into understanding the country and building relationships within its drinks industry.
For an international spirits brand considering India, those relationships can become an important part of the journey.
More Than a Medal: What a Spirits Competition Offers Brands
Our conversation with Tobias also touched on what a spirits competition can provide beyond an award.
From his experience, competitions can offer feedback, recognition and information that brands can turn into marketing value and, ultimately, brand value.
For emerging producers in particular, that feedback can help provide an outside perspective on where their product stands.
And for brands exploring a new market, the perspective of professionals who understand that market can add another layer of insight.
That is the thinking behind the IGSA awards.
A medal can recognise quality. Market insight can help a producer understand what comes next.
Looking at Spirits Through an Indian Lens
Speaking with Tobias Gorn gave us an interesting perspective on what makes the Indian market so relevant to the global spirits industry.
India presents opportunities, but understanding those opportunities requires more than simply identifying market size or consumer growth.
It requires listening to the people within the market, understanding its complexity and recognising that a product’s success depends on how well its quality, identity and positioning translate.
For Tobias, India is clearly a market worth watching.
For IGSA, it is a market worth understanding.
And that is ultimately what we hope to explore through the India Global Spirits Awards and this series.
Great spirits can come from anywhere. The more interesting question is where they belong next.
Meet Tobias Gorn and the IGSA Judging Panel
Want to know more about Tobias Gorn and the experts evaluating every entry? Visit Meet Our Judges to see the full IGSA panel, read about our Event, or Register to Enter your Spirit in the India Global Spirits Awards.
About the Series
Meet the Panel Behind IGSA is an ongoing editorial series from the India Global Spirits Awards, introducing the professionals behind our judging panel and exploring their perspectives on spirits, blind tasting, innovation, the global drinks industry and the Indian market.
Through these conversations, we want to go beyond the usual judge biography and give producers, distillers and spirits professionals an opportunity to understand the people and thinking behind the judging process. This article is based on an interview conducted by the India Global Spirits Awards team with Tobias Gorn, Master Judge. Interested in joining the panel? Apply to be a judge.