Blue ribbon Blue ribbon The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order of knights. The spelling "blue riband" is still encountered in most English-speaking countries, but in the United States, the term was altered to "blue ribbon", and ribbons of this color came to be awarded for first place in certain athletic or other competitive endeavours (such as county and state fairs).
Pabst Blue Ribbon had won many other awards at many other fairs – so many, in fact, that Captain Pabst had already started tying silk ribbons around every bottle. It was a time when beer bottles were more likely to be embossed than labeled and the ribbons were likely added at great cost to Pabst. But Pabst’s display of pride was also a display of marketing savvy, as patrons started asking their bartenders for "the blue-ribbon beer." Sales of Pabst peaked at 18 million barrels in 1977. In 1980 and 1981, the company had four different CEOs, and by 1982 it was fifth