It was a busy week for the IWSC judges taking part in the second annual North American Whiskey & RTD panel this year, flying in from the UK, Canada and the US to Heaven Hill Distillery where over two days, and two panels, they judged bourbon, rye, bottled in bond, single malt, and flavoured whisky (as well as ready-to-drink cocktails and mixers) - the results of which have been announced today.
The Heaven Hill Distillery in Kentucky was home for the IWSC North American whiskey judging
Speciality Drinks' Dawn Davies was in charge of the panels again, while Dr Bill Lumsden, head of distilling and whisky creation at The Glenmorangie Company, and Bridget Albert, senior director external communications & CSR at Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits , headed up the two judging panels.
On those panels were: Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan), bar owner & consultant; Reece Sims, founder of Flavor Camp; Ryan Mills, national brand ambassador and influencer (@thatoneduderyan); Frank Dobbins III, influencer & whiskey critic for UPROXX; myself, Millie Milliken, spirits writer; and guest local judge Ed Escott.
It’s been an interesting time for American whiskey already in 2025. Tariff ping pong between the US and international markets has seen the likes of Europe floating 50% tariffs on Bourbon in retaliation to the tariffs imposed on goods going into the US, while India has negotiated a drop from 150% to 100% to open up more doors for the category moving forward.
Smaller craft distilleries are also gaining traction, bringing new perspectives and innovation to American whiskey making, from New Riff Distilling in Kentucky, to Frey Ranch Distillery in Nevada, and Starlight Distillery in Indiana. And, of course, as of 15 January, American single malt has had its official classification instated, giving this already popular category a boost in confidence too.
A coming of age
Some of the panel judges during the IWSC North American whiskey judging
Over the two days of judging we saw a lot of these new perspectives, innovations and styles coming to the fore.
“I feel like there's been a shift in the American whiskey industry away from some of those bigger, powerful, richer styles, to a more gentle elegance,” says Davies of the current landscape. “It was particularly great to see American single malt coming through as a category and see the real broad spectrum that it has to offer.”
Sentiments that were mirrored by Bridget Albert: “This year’s IWSC American Whiskey entries spoke volume-not just in flavour, but in vision. What struck me most was the growing confidence distillers are showing in telling their own stories. There is a real sense of identity coming through in the glass whether it’s a bold grain forward bourbon or a delicate wine cask finish. To me this year felt like a coming-of-age moment.”
It was also a chance for some of the judges from the UK to try more of a category that still feels rather restricted, especially in the UK.
"It’s been quite a narrow set of products we've had to play with,” says Chetiyawardana who runs four bars across London, Amsterdam and in DC. “It's ended up meaning that we've leant on a couple of pillars of a flavour which tend to be more in that swee, richer space, so some of the things that we tasted were really surprising. Some of the the other styles, ages, ABVs, sources felt really exciting.”
The results are in
The seven gold outstandings from this year’s competition really span the gamut of styles and producers, from Praedictum’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon, to Maker’s Mark’s new Star Hill Farm American Wheat Whiskey, Pinhook’s Vertical Series 9-Year-Old Rye, and Triple Eight Distillery’s The Notch Nantucket Island 12YO Single Malt.
They reflected a spread of the judge’s stand out categories and styles.
“One of the most exciting developments we saw was the rise of American Single Malt,” says Albert, with good representation in the Silver category from the likes of J.W. Powell 7 YO American Single Malt and Stranahan’s Sherry Cask Single Malt Whiskey.
“The entries showed maturity, structure and in many cases a sense of place. Across the board, there was a real tension between craft and precision.”
The judges were impressed by the diversity, quality and freshness of many of the whiskeys tasted
The rye category was also popular with 16 in the Silver award - it was a favourite of Lumsden’s: “I thought that not only was the quality generally good, but that they offered an interesting variety of taste profiles.”
Albert was also impressed: “Rye used to be seen as punchy, spicy outlier, but this year we saw a new level of refinement. There was depth, nuance and even softness in some expressions without losing the classic rye character.”
It was also interesting to see a number of wheated bourbons and wheat whiskies coming into the awards too, with Frank August’s Wheated Reserve, Heaven Hill’s Grain To Glass Traditional Barrel Series - Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon, and Wilderness Trail’s Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon among the Gold medals this year.
Davies was glad to see those smaller distilleries shining through too, such as Bird Creek, Fathertime Bourbon and Cedar Ridge Distillery.
“What we're seeing is a lot more of these smaller distilleries… looking at texture, the strains they’re using, fermentation times,” says Davies.
Chetiyawardana was also excited about the textures coming through on some of the whiskies: “They had this incredible creaminess to them, and that was really wonderful to see, because it it gave a different platform for the flavours to shine.”
One thing that also caught the judges’ attention was the high ABV of some of the whiskeys entered. Those that still managed to deliver flavour were commended, but the lion’s share of liquids going into the mid 60%s masked any skill or complexity with alcohol, holding them back from the upper echelons of the scoring system - something brands need to really interrogate moving forward.
A proud future
Glenmorangie's Dr Bill Lumsden the highly respected head of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie was part of the top level IWSC judging panel
Lumsden still sees room for some reflection on finesse, specifically with the cask finishes, saying “many of the finished whiskeys did not seem to have a discernible flavour from the casks they were purportedly finished in” and he still thinks there is work to do when it comes to tightening the single malt quality. He does, however, praise the quality of bourbon and ryes coming out of the competition this year.
Albert recommends looking at brands beyond the usual suspects and to lesser known brands to really discover the full potential of American whiskey.
“I feel hopeful and proud for the future of American whiskey. What we tasted was thoughtful, expressive, and rooted in intention. There’s a new generation of producers who clearly understand the weight of tradition but aren’t afraid to rewrite the playbook with purpose,” he says.
Chetiyawardana is excited to speak to his bar teams about what he tasted and how it will impact the American whiskey experience at his bars moving forward.
“I want to think about what language we use, how we connect guests to them, and what styles of serve we use to properly highlight those whiskeys,” he says.
For Davies, this year needed to be about elegance and balance, and those that hit the mark will be enjoying their Gold Outstanding awards: “They were just beautifully poised and balanced, and showed provenance. They're fresh, they're exciting, and they're alive.”
* Millie Milliken is a judge for the IWSC. The full results of our North American Whiskey and RTD Global Judging in Kentucky can be seen here: The results are out! North American Whiskey and RTD Global Judging in Kentucky | IWSC.
You can read more about IWSC’s Global Judging campaign here: Global Judging | IWSC International Wine & Spirit Competition.
