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World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship
Official WebsiteThe World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS) is the premier international competition celebrating the creative intersection of coffee craft and mixology, organized annually by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) since its inaugural event in 2005. I regard the WCIGS as the most imaginative of the World Coffee Championships, where national champions from over 25 countries compete to create coffee-based alcoholic beverages that demonstrate both technical bartending skill and deep coffee knowledge. Competitors must prepare five distinct beverages across two timed rounds: two warm coffee-alcohol drinks, two cold coffee-alcohol drinks, and a signature designer cocktail of their own creation.
The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS) is the premier international competition celebrating the creative intersection of coffee craft and mixology, organized annually by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) since its inaugural event in 2005. I regard the WCIGS as the most imaginative of the World Coffee Championships, where national champions from over 25 countries compete to create coffee-based alcoholic beverages that demonstrate both technical bartending skill and deep coffee knowledge. Competitors must prepare five distinct beverages across two timed rounds: two warm coffee-alcohol drinks, two cold coffee-alcohol drinks, and a signature designer cocktail of their own creation.
About
The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS) is the premier international competition celebrating the creative intersection of coffee craft and mixology, organized annually by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) since its inaugural event in 2005. I regard the WCIGS as the most imaginative of the World Coffee Championships, where national champions from over 25 countries compete to create coffee-based alcoholic beverages that demonstrate both technical bartending skill and deep coffee knowledge. Competitors must prepare five distinct beverages across two timed rounds: two warm coffee-alcohol drinks, two cold coffee-alcohol drinks, and a signature designer cocktail of their own creation. Judges evaluate each beverage on taste balance, creativity, technical execution, visual presentation, and the harmony between coffee character and spirit selection. The competition has driven the growth of the coffee cocktail movement worldwide, encouraging baristas to explore how espresso, cold brew, and filtered coffee interact with spirits like whiskey, rum, gin, and liqueurs. Past champions including Danijela Stanojevic (2022) have demonstrated that exceptional coffee cocktails require equal mastery of extraction science, flavor pairing theory, and classical bartending technique.
Format and Rules
Competitors prepare two warm coffee-alcohol drinks, two cold coffee-alcohol drinks, and a designer cocktail. Judged on taste, creativity, technique, and presentation.
Details
- Organizer
- Specialty Coffee Association
- First Held
- 2005
- Frequency
- Annual
Notable Winners
Related Book Chapters
- Chapter 15: Coffee Competitions
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Keith E. Lyons
Author, Researcher & Coffee Educator
Keith E. Lyons is the author of The Complete World of Coffee and the publisher behind Lyons Den Publishing. A licensed trauma therapist turned specialty coffee writer, Keith blends scientific rigor with genuine passion for the craft of coffee.
Last Reviewed
August 3, 2026
Sources & References
(6)Claims are cited to verifiable sources. Peer-reviewed research is marked.
- 1World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. Official Rules and Regulations. 2023. https://worldcoffeegoodspirits.org/rules-regulations/
- 2Specialty Coffee Association. World Coffee Championships Overview. 2023. https://sca.coffee/programs-events/world-coffee-championships
- 3World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. Past Champions Archive. 2023. https://worldcoffeegoodspirits.org/past-champions/
- 4International Coffee Organization. Coffee Development Report 2023. 2023. https://www.ico.org/documents/cy-2022-23/coffee-development-report-2023.pdf
- 5Hoffmann, J. The World Atlas of Coffee. 2nd ed. Mitchell Beazley. 2018.
- 6USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Coffee: World Markets and Trade. 2023. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/coffee-world-markets-and-trade
Authoritative References
Editorial Standards
- • Fact-checked against peer-reviewed coffee science research and industry standards.
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- • Corrections are made promptly when new research or evidence emerges.
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