Based in 2014 by the Wine Nation Community, the American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors is an annual double-blind tasting competitors for bourbons and whiskeys from throughout North America.
With hundreds of entries throughout quite a few classes, the judges on the American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors choose every whiskey on a 100-point scale.
Entrants even have the prospect of successful the coveted ‘Better of Present’ award.
To speak about each winner within the competitors in 2023 would make for a really lengthy article. So, right now, let’s work our approach by means of the highest ten scorers within the American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors 2023.
To see a full listing of winners click on here.
Savor Spear Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Rating: 96 factors
Medal: Better of Present 1st Place
Tasting Notes: Candy vanilla bean, caramelized sugars, butterscotch, uncooked honey, custard, butter
BUY NOW: $52.99
Savor Spear Straight Bourbon Whiskey is produced by Northwest Spirits, situated in Washington State.
A mash invoice of 23% rye, 5% malt, and 72% corn is distilled into new spirit and aged for a minimum of 5 years in American white oak. It’s then completed in toasted oak staves and bottled at 103 proof.
The Savor Spear Straight Bourbon Whiskey has gained a number of accolades since its launch in 2022, together with a Gold medal on the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competitors.
The judges on the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors have been clearly impressed with the “excellent steadiness of character, nuanced sweetness, and downright geniality” of the bourbon. Subsequently, the whiskey was awarded 96 factors and the coveted title of ‘Better of Present’, 1st place.
Merrisa Firnstahl-Claridge, a fifth technology distiller, based Northwest Spirits. Firnstahl-Claridge’s father was the proprietor of Jake O’Shaughnessy’s, a well-known saloon in Seattle. Having grown up round spirits, she carries on her household’s legacy with the distillation of high-quality bourbons, gins, and vodka.
BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon
Rating: 97 factors
Medal: Better of Present 2nd Place
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, biscuits, toasted oak, nutmeg, hazelnut, spice, stewed pears, apples
BUY NOW: $124.99
BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon has already had a point out on The Whiskey Wash, in an article I revealed final week on The Finest Extremely-Premium Bourbons In accordance To The American Whiskey Masters 2023. The bourbon whiskey continues to rake in awards, having gained ‘Better of Present’ 2nd place on the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors 2023.
The BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon is distilled from a mash invoice of 99% corn and aged in American oak. The true star of the present, nevertheless, is the ending interval in Armagnac Brandy barrels. These barrels have been chosen from Château BHAKTA, owned by founder Raj Peter Bhakta.
Mr Bhakta has lengthy been working within the whiskey business, having based WhistlePig Whiskey previous to his Armagnac journey.
This specific expression was bottled at 100.6 proof after being aged for 9.5 years. Simply 2,000 bottles have been launched.
Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Energy
Rating: 96 factors
Medal: Better of Present third Place
Tasting Notes: Butterscotch, vanilla, nutmeg, candy oak
BUY NOW: $71.95
Single Barrel Bourbon has been the topic of rising fascination and reward in current a long time, for the reason that advertising and marketing of Blanton’s (the primary single-barrel bourbon to be marketed within the US). In accordance with the Garrison Brothers website, the Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Energy is “proof that every barrel is particular”.
The Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Energy Bourbon is matured for a minimum of three years within the intensely sizzling and humid Texas local weather. This setting encourages interplay between the whiskey and the wooden, leading to a “darkish copper colour” and “candy oak taste”.
Scoring 96 factors, the Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Energy was awarded ‘Finest in Present’ third place on the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors 2023.
Garrison Brothers was based in Hye, Texas, in 2006 by Dan Garrison. The distillery was the primary outdoors of Kentucky and Tennessee to be granted a stiller’s allow for bourbon. Annual releases of the model’s Cowboy Bourbon have been forthcoming since 2013, together with small batches and restricted editions.
King’s Household Distillery Wheated Bourbon
Rating: 95 factors
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Roasted caramel, chocolate, toffee, fruit blossom, orange, spice
BUY NOW: $69.99
King’s Family Distillery, pretty new on the whiskey scene, is situated close to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on the base of the Nice Smoky Mountains.
It was right here that the King’s Wheated Bourbon is distilled from a mash invoice comprising 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% malted barley. The whiskey is then aged for at least 4 years in American white oak barrels earlier than being bottled at 100 proof.
Since its launch King’s Wheated Bourbon has gained numerous accolades, together with Gold on the 2024 Fifty Finest Bourbon Awards. Within the North American Bourbon and Whisky Competitors 2023, it was awarded a Double Gold medal and 95 factors.
King’s Household Distillery was based by spouses Justin and Cara King. Each boast earlier expertise within the spirits business. Expertise developed into ardour, and King’s Household Distillery was based in 2018.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Rating: 97 factors
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Cooked berries, caramel, spice, toasty vanilla, dried oak, pepper
BUY NOW: $399.99
Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. is, maybe, one of the recognizable names in bourbon historical past. The legendary distiller was the proprietor of the O.F.C Distillery and the Outdated Taylor Distillery (now Citadel & Key) in Frankfort, Kentucky. Generally known as the “Father of the Fashionable Bourbon Trade”, Taylor is to thank for a lot of technological developments and protecting laws that make bourbon what it’s right now.
The Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof pays tribute to its namesake, maturing within the very warehouses that Taylor constructed over 100 years in the past on the Buffalo Hint Distillery.
This basic bourbon whiskey has gained many awards through the years – too many to listing right here – and has change into a real staple of Kentucky bourbon.
On the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors, the expression achieved 97 factors and a Double Gold medal.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Rating: 96 factors
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Dried figs, butterscotch, tobacco, darkish spices
BUY NOW: $198.98
One other E.H. Taylor Jr. expression was honored on the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors in 2023. The Single Barrel expression was awarded 96 factors and a Double Gold medal.
Most of those single-barrel expressions are aged in Warehouse C on the Buffalo Hint Distillery. This warehouse was constructed by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. in 1881, as a part of his enterprise into climate-controlled warehousing.
Every barrel is hand-picked for high quality and bottled at 100 proof.
Once more, it is a staple expression from Buffalo Hint, honoring the legacy of the bourbon’s namesake.
W.L. Weller Full Proof
Rating: 96 factors
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, darkish cherries, caramel, toasted oak, crème brûlée, chocolate
BUY NOW: $199.89
But once more we enterprise to the Buffalo Hint Distillery for one more bourbon named after one other well-known title: William Larue Weller.
W.L. Weller was born into an extended line of distillers, together with his grandfather participating in early whiskey-making in Kentucky through the 1790s.
Within the 1840s, W.L. Weller had begun a wholesale liquor enterprise. Nevertheless, his actual innovation was creating a bourbon recipe that substituted rye for wheat within the mash invoice. These expressions grew to become extraordinarily well-liked all through the bourbon-drinking neighborhood.
At this time, Weller’s legacy is honored by means of a number of bottlings, together with the W.L. Weller Full Proof.
This bourbon is uncooked and sturdy, bottled at 57% to reinforce the flavors of wheat and the sleek mouthfeel.
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea
Rating: 95 factors
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Bourbon sweet, frozen fudgesicle bars, amaretto espresso, sticky buns, pecan brittle, white chocolate syrup.
BUY NOW: $125
One other Garrison Brothers expression fared properly on the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors 2023.
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea pays tribute to Balmorhea State Park in Reeves County, Texas. The distillery is passionate in regards to the preservation of Balmorhea State Park, notably the swimming gap, which is below environmental risk from fracking.
The Garrison Brothers Balmorhea was initially launched in 2019 to boost funds and consciousness in regards to the significance of conserving the State Park. The twice-barreled expression is, in response to Grasp Distiller Donnis Todd “bourbon sweet in a bottle”.
The judges on the competitors in 2023 clearly agreed, awarding the whiskey 95 factors and a Double Gold medal.
W.L. Weller Vintage 107
Rating: 94 factors
Medal: Gold
Tasting Notes: Candy fruit, vanilla, sharp spice, cinnamon
BUY NOW: $119.99
We return as soon as extra to the Buffalo Hint Distillery and one other expression named for William Larue Weller.
The W.L. Weller Vintage 107 is, arguably, essentially the most well-known expression to bear Weller’s title. The expression was initially produced on the Stitzel-Weller Distillery earlier than its closure in 1992. At this time, it’s produced at Buffalo Hint together with all different Weller expressions.
Because the title would counsel, it’s bottled at 107 proof and makes use of Weller’s signature mash invoice, substituting rye for wheat. The marginally decrease ABV than the aforementioned Full Proof affords a posh palate and a daring end.
There’s a purpose that this multi-award-winning bourbon is a staple of the W.L. Weller model.
Steeple Ridge Candy Mash Rye Whiskey
Rating: 94 factors
Medal: Gold
Tasting Notes: No official tasting notes discovered
BUY NOW: $45
Steeple Ridge Whiskey is produced on the Lonely Oak Distillery within the coronary heart of Iowa. A micro-distillery with a low capability, Lonely Oak has nonetheless produced some incredible whiskeys, together with this Candy Mash Rye.
The rye whiskey was distilled from a mash invoice comprising 60% AC Hazlett Rye and 40% Wapsie Valley Corn. It has been awarded a number of accolades since its launch together with a Gold Medal on the Denver Worldwide Spirits Competitors in 2023.
Lonely Oak Distillery prides itself on its grain-to-glass strategy. Homeowners Pat and Amy Hoffman use grains grown on the farm or by locals to create the mash payments for his or her whiskeys. As such, the Lonely Oak Distillery is Iowa’s first authorized farmer-distiller.
While I can’t discover any official tasting notes for the Steeple Ridge Candy Mash Rye, it’s protected to say that the judges on the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors 2023 acknowledged the nuance and craftsmanship of the whiskey. It was awarded 94 factors and a Gold medal.
The North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competitors 2024
In July 2024, the North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competition can be held in Broomfield, Colorado.
The deadline for on-line entries is July 1st, 2024, while samples have to be obtained by July eighth 2024. Entries are restricted to bourbon and whiskey produced in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
In fact, The Whiskey Wash can be retaining you up to date on bourbon and whiskey accolades as we strategy awards season. Will we see some acquainted names return? Or will some new children on the whiskey block make their mark in 2024?
