For almost as long as humans have been distilling whisky, folks have been arguing over which one is the best. Chalk it up to human nature—we love a winner. This drive to find the best has led to a thriving awards industry, both local and global in scale, that annually hands out thousands of awards. While this is great, it has also created a static buzz for consumers. It can be hard to truly separate the crème of the crop from the pretenders to the throne.
This conundrum led to the creation of the International Whisky Competition (IWC) fifteen years ago. Unlike other events, it only accepts whisky and hands out three medals for each category: gold, silver, and bronze. Dubbed “The Olympics of whisky competitions” by Master Distiller and Whisky Hall of Fame Member Jim McEwan, the IWC’s only focus is to highlight the greatest whiskies in the world.
A panel of whisky experts (Masters of Bourbon, Masters of Scotch, Master Blenders, Certified Spirits Judges, Distillers, and Whisky Experts) double blind-taste test each entry without knowing which category the spirit belongs in. In this way, all peated scotches, Irish whiskies, bourbons, and others are evaluated at once. Each spirit is judged against fifteen criteria, and each is awarded a final score calculated out of 100 possible points.
Due to the growing rise in American whisky and bourbon, the competition split into two tastings this year for the first time ever. Judging took place in Kentucky and Scotland. The IWC is a notoriously difficult competition designed to weed out the chaff, and as such, only 102 whiskies from around the globe obtained a score of 90 points or higher. Of those, 35 were American whiskies.
So, if you are looking for the best bourbons in the world, ones that have been rigorously vetted and tested, then look no further. Here are all the medal winners in the bourbon categories with their respective point totals. It looks like we can agree on who is the best this time: George T. Stagg.
Best American Whiskey (All Categories)
1st Place: George T. Stagg – 94.98 Pts
2nd Place: NOCO Distillery – Founders Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon – Mash Bill #: II – Cask Strength – 94.49 Pts
3rd Place: W. L. Weller Antique 107 – 94.07 Pts
Best Bourbon Whiskey
1st Place: George T. Stagg – 94.98 Pts
2nd Place: NOCO Distillery – Founders Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon – Mash Bill #: II – Cask Strength – 94.49 Pts
3rd Place: W. L. Weller Antique 107 – 94.07 Pts
Best Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (Full Proof)
1st Place: George T. Stagg – 94.98 Pts
2nd Place: NOCO Distillery – Founders Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon – Mash Bill #: II – Cask Strength – 94.49 Pts
3rd Place: Old Hamer Straight Bourbon Cask Strength – 92.49 Pts
Best Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
1st Place: 1792 Small Batch – 89.93 Pts
2nd Place: Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 89.89 Pts
3rd Place: Larceny Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 88.75 Pts
Best Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon Whiskey
1st Place: 1792 Bottled in Bond – 93.95 Pts
2nd Place: Buzzard’s Roost – Bottle-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 92.04 Pts
3rd Place: Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 89.83 Pts
Best Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey
1st Place: NOCO Distillery – Founders Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon – Mash Bill #: II – Cask Strength – 94.49 Pts
2nd Place: 1792 Single Barrel – 91.77 Pts
3rd Place: Benchmark Single Barrel – 91.13 Pts
Best American Cask Finish
1st Place: RD1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished With Brazilian Amburana Wood – 93.03 Pts
2nd Place: RD1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In French Oak – 91.67 Pts
3rd Place: Hugh Hamer Straight Bourbon Double Oak 103 proof – 91.42 Pts
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