Diageo Korea's stout beer Guinness Draught won "Best of 2026," awarded to the highest-scoring imported beer at the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards 2026.
The Korea Wine & Spirits Awards is Korea's representative liquor competition, now in its 13th year. With the goal of "discovering and widely promoting good domestic liquor and supporting the formation of a sound drinking culture," ChosunBiz has hosted it annually since 2014.
This year's event drew 260 companies submitting a total of 1,118 brands. It is the largest among domestic competitions that cover all categories of liquor. Of these, 449 brands won the grand prize.
Guinness Draught has won the imported beer grand prize a total of 11 times at the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards. As an authentic Irish premium stout that ranks No. 1 in global stout sales, it offers a smooth, rich creamy head with a bittersweet, deep flavor in harmony.
Guinness, which began in 1759 at a small brewery in Dublin, was the first in the brewing industry to hire scientists and run a research lab, developing the "widget" ball that produces the nitrogen bubble "surging" effect. Thanks to this technology, still used today, Guinness Draught delivers a rich and consistent taste even in cans.
Guinness's stout heritage is loved worldwide, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors each year to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. From the 2024–2025 season, it has also been designated the official beer and official nonalcoholic beer of the English Premier League (EPL).
Guinness quickly responded to rising nonalcohol demand in the liquor market by launching the nonalcohol product "Guinness 0.0" in May 2024. This product also took the nonalcohol grand prize for the second straight year at the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards.
Diageo Korea's luxury tequila Don Julio 1942 also won "Best of 2026" in the spirits category. In the blended Scotch whisky, single malt whisky, and liqueur categories, it won grand prizes with products such as "Johnnie Walker Blue Label," "Singleton Dufftown 15 Years," and "Baileys," respectively.