From smoky high-altitude drams to farm-to-glass expressions, the winners reveal the diversity and maturity of American single malt whiskey. Below, we break down the top three whiskeys in each category, how they were made, and what makes them stand out.
Best American Single Malt Whiskey – 1st Place: Hogback Peated Smoke Single Malt Whiskey
Score: 96.39 pts
Tasting Notes: Smoke, oak, peat, sweetly glazed BBQ meat, smoked beef jerky, vanilla, pepper, brine, blackberry & apple pie
Buy Now: $65
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The mash bill is simple: 100% Scottish malted barley, dried with peat smoke from Wallace’s homeland. That peated malt is shipped to Colorado, where it’s mashed, fermented, and distilled using traditional methods. The spirit is then aged for at least three years in virgin American oak barrels.
The use of fresh oak gives it a bold American character, but the peat smoke keeps one foot in Scotland. Bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV) and non-chill filtered, it’s a whiskey that balances smoky intensity with structure and depth.
Hogback calls it “The American Scotch.” The IWC judges seem to agree.
2nd Place: Root Shoot American Single Malt Bottled-in-Bond
Score: 93.78 pts
Tasting Notes: Honey, caramel, herbs, floral notes, heather, plums, cherries, chocolate, ginger, cinnamon, subtle oak
Buy Now: Colorado Only
Root Shoot’s entry is as local as American whiskey gets. Made entirely on a fifth-generation family farm in Loveland, Colorado, this Bottled-in-Bond single malt uses 100% Colorado-grown barley that’s malted just down the road by the same family.
Distilled on a traditional pot still and aged for four years in medium-char virgin American oak barrels, the whiskey meets all the requirements for bottled-in-bond status. It’s made by a single distillery, during a single season, aged in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV).
What sets Root Shoot apart is the grain-to-glass approach. Every step, from growing the barley to filling the barrel, takes place within a 30-mile radius. The result is a whiskey that reflects its place and process, and one that’s quickly earning national attention.
3rd Place: Stranahan’s Diamond Peak
Score: 93.58 pts
Tasting Notes: Dried apricot, crème brûlée, tropical fruit, brown sugar, cola spice
Buy Now: $59
Stranahan’s has been a major player in American single malt for years, and its Diamond Peak series continues to evolve with each release. The version that took bronze at the IWC 2025 is a rum cask-finished expression made by marrying 6 to 9-year-old Stranahan’s whiskey and finishing it in Caribbean rum barrels.
Those barrels come from the Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Martinique, and their influence brings a tropical richness to the Colorado-distilled malt. The mash bill is 100% malted barley, and the core maturation takes place in new American oak barrels before the rum cask finish adds its final layer.
Bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV), Diamond Peak is an annual limited release that lets Stranahan’s experiment with cask influence. The rum finish proved a hit with the IWC judges, highlighting the distillery’s knack for blending classic structure with creative flair.
Best Single Malt 10 Year and Older Whiskey (USA) – 1st Place: Stranahan’s Mountain Angel 10 Year
Score: 92.02 pts
Tasting Notes: Oak, pear, caramel, stone fruits, peaches, apricots, nutmeg
Buy Now: $110
Stranahan’s made history with this one. Mountain Angel 10 Year is one of the first American single malts to carry a double-digit age statement and still be matured entirely in new charred American oak. That’s no small feat, especially at 5,280 feet above sea level.
The whiskey is made from 100% malted barley and aged for a full decade in new barrels in Stranahan’s Denver warehouse. The high-altitude aging environment results in a dramatic angel’s share (over 80% of the whiskey is lost to evaporation), which concentrates the spirit left behind.
This expression is bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV) and released in very limited quantities. Aging something this long in fresh oak and having it come out balanced is no easy task, and it clearly impressed the IWC panel.
2nd Place: Defiant (1) Whisky
Score: 90.89 pts
Tasting Notes: Malt, caramel, vanilla, oak, pepper
Buy Now: $100
Made from 100% two-row malted barley and proofed with Appalachian spring water, Defiant skips the traditional barrel-aging route altogether. Instead of aging in full-sized casks, the spirit is steeped with toasted American white oak spirals inside stainless steel tanks. This accelerated aging method extracts flavor and character in a matter of months rather than years. It also means, however, that since the definition of American Single Malt was ratified by the TTB, Defiant Whisky no longer qualifies.
Beyond that, the whisky has surprising depth given its youth. Bottled at 82 proof (41% ABV), it offers a modern take on maturation without trying to imitate older whiskeys. It’s a bold approach, and IWC’s silver medal shows that innovation can stand toe-to-toe with tradition.
3rd Place: Stranahan’s Mountain Angel 12 Year
Score: 90.16 pts
Tasting Notes: Caramelized nectarine, fig paste, lavender, blueberry compote, ginger lemon tart, raspberry cheesecake, blackberry strudel, vanilla wafer, oak, maduro cigar wrapper
Buy Now: $100
Stranahan’s took home two of the three medals in this category, and the Mountain Angel 12 Year shows why. This is the distillery’s oldest whiskey to date, starting with the same malt base and new oak maturation as the 10 Year, then finishing in Port wine casks from Portugal.
The Port finish adds a deep layer of fruit and richness to the already concentrated base whiskey. Aging for 12 years in Denver’s dry, high-altitude climate means a huge amount of evaporation. So what remains is dense, flavorful, and complex.
Released at cask strength (94.6 proof), this whiskey is aimed squarely at collectors and enthusiasts. It’s a rare example of an American single malt that embraces both extended aging and bold finishing without tipping into excess.
