The New York International Spirits Competition was the first competition to be founded in the International Beverage Competition series. Its initial success sprung the idea and efforts to replicate the competition in multiple countries, and it is now expanded with wine, beer, and cider competitions.

Its popularity is due to its trade-only blind judging panel, and the spirits industry has continued to take notice as the competition has grown. The Spirits Competition is judged by retail store buyers, sommeliers, restaurant beverage directors, hoteliers, distributors, and importers. These people are in direct contact with the consumers, know what they want, and look for impressive spirits brands and products to bring them closer to the end consumers.