Last month, the world's distilleries did battle at the International Wine and Spirit Competition.

The event, now in its 44th year, aims to "promote the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs," according to its website.

The judging process at the competition is rigorous. Wines and liquors are subject to both professional blind tasting and chemical and microbiological analysis.

The best bottles score between 90-100 on the judges' scale, but a few receive special recognition: Gold Outstanding.

And as a result, they received elegantly-written endorsements such as: "A treasure chest of liquid gold!"

From blends to single malts to single barrels, 18 Scotches took home a Gold Outstanding award at last month's competition.