This week in my Awards Series article, I return to bourbon and American whiskey. The North American Bourbon & Whiskey Competition (NABAWC) 2024 honored many USA-born spirits with points and medals. In the competition’s 10th year, 15% more entries were received than in 2023, making the competition ever more intense.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the ‘Best In Show’ whiskeys from the competition. Today, I will delve into the Double Gold medal winners. This is part one of two, so keep an eye on the Best Whiskies page for the next installment.
Augusta Distillery Buckners 10 Year Old Bourbon
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Antique wood, wet soil, dry corn, honeyed vanilla, spice, caramel, buttery cream, cured tea leaves
BUY NOW: $149.99
The Buckner’s 10 Year Old from Augusta Distillery is placed in the brand’s “ultra-premium” lineup. Drawn and bottled at cask strength (which varies from cask to cask), the whiskey is the youngest in Augusta’s lineup, but has a surprising level of maturity. Buckner’s 10 Year Old is distilled from a mash bill comprising 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley.
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Augusta Distillery is named for the small town on the Ohio River, which acts as the border between Kentucky and Ohio. On the Kentucky side of the river, Augusta Distillery encompasses 40,000 square foot facility.
BHAKTA 2013 10 Year Old Rye
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, caramel, apple pie, spice, pepper, nutmeg, dry mellow oak, rancio
BUY NOW: $149
This is not the first time (nor, I am sure, will it be the last) that BHAKTA has been mentioned in one of my awards articles. Founded by Raj Bhakta, the enigmatic founder of WhistlePig Whiskey, BHAKTA combines bourbon with high-aged French Armagnac for a luxurious and unique twist.
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This particular bottling is a rye whiskey, distilled from a 95% rye mash bill and finished in Calvados casks from Château BHAKTA, which houses the brand’s illustrious reserves of rare Armagnac.
The BHAKTA 10 Year Old Rye was distilled in 2013 and bottled at 10 years and 8 months old, at 107.6% proof, in Vermont. Raj Bhakta saw the creation of the rye as “A Master Returns to his Métier”, noting that it was WhistlePig Rye that first earned him acclaim in the whiskey industry.
BHAKTA is, according to the brand’s website, “Animated By American Innovation, Elevated By French Tradition.”
Barmen 1873 Bourbon
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Sweet caramel, fresh peach, apricot, cinnamon, biscuit, cocoa, vanilla, toffee, raisin, apple, dark chocolate, coffee, mint, ginger, nutmeg, rye spice
BUY NOW: $37
Barmen 1873 Bourbon is a masterful blend of straight bourbon whiskeys, created by Coors Whiskey Co., which also owns the Five Trail brand.
The name ‘Barmen 1873’ pays tribute to David Coors’ (founder) great-great-grandfather who was born in Barmen and, in 1873, laid the foundations for the Molson Coors company, which produces Coors beer.
On the brand’s website, David Coors says:
“The inspiration that would lead to the launch of Coors Whiskey Co. began over 20 years ago during a brief conversation with my father as we drove into the Golden Valley where the Coors brewery sits. Having personally enjoyed whiskey and seeing a clear link between brewing and distilling (as whiskey production starts with a brewer’s beer), I asked my dad, “Why don’t we make whiskey?”, to which he replied without taking his eyes off the road, “Because we’re good at one thing, and that’s beer.””
Despite this, this Coloradan bourbon has won multiple awards, and proven that Coors can make whiskey, after all.
Garrison Brothers Guadalupe Bourbon
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Berry fruit, ripe plums, strawberry butter, morning biscuits, chocolate, cinnamon, lavender honey, toasted coffee beans
BUY NOW: $130
Garrison Brothers Guadalupe has quickly become one of the brand’s most prominent expressions, with fans across the globe.
Guadalupe is a bourbon that spent four years in virgin American white oak barrels, charred to exact specifications, and was then finished for two years in Tawny port casks from Portugal.
The expression was first launched in 2022, after Master Distiller, Donnis Todd, selected 122 30-gallon barrels with a 2016 vintage and decanted the remaining liquid into 35 50-gallon port casks for finishing. The brand’s website claims that Garrison Brothers Guadalupe is “arguably the best vintage bourbon we’ve ever made.”
Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Honey, crème brûlée, baking spices, ginger snap, Chai, green apple, black pepper, orange zest, oak spice, marmalade, vanilla bean
BUY NOW: $50
Raj Bhakta makes an appearance yet again with his new and innovative whiskey brand: Hogsworth. Continuing his work in combining bourbon, Armagnac…and pigs, Bhakta launched Hogsworth, a new bourbon brand that promises to “shake up” American whiskey.
Hogsworth takes the ethos of BHAKTA Spirits one step further. Rather than finishing bourbon in Armagnac casks, Hogsworth is a blend of American bourbon and French Armagnac, sourced from BHAKTA’s Château in France.
The very first bottling of Hogsworth, Batch 1 Blend #9, was released earlier this month to great acclaim. The blend is comprised of the following:
- 42% 2019 Tennessee Bourbon (4 years, five months old)
- 10% 2019 Minnesota Bourbon (4 years old)
- 22% French Armagnac (11 years old)
- 21% 2010 French Armagnac (13 years old)
- 5% 1982 French Armagnac (42 years old)
Maker’s Mark 1917 Grand Reserve Statler Edition
Medal: Double Gold
Tasting Notes: Brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, spice, oak, milk chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, smoke
BUY NOW: Exclusively available at 8th Street Pantry, Great Room, and Zenia Bar & Grille – $175
Last, but certainly not least, is one of Maker’s Mark’s exclusive bottlings. This one was for Marriott St. Louis Grand: The Maker’s Mark 1917 Grand Reserve Statler Edition. The Statler Edition is named for the original hotel which opened in 1917 and came about as a result of Marriott St. Louis Grand’s participation in the Maker’s Mark Private Selection program.
According to a press release, the Statler edition was matured in Maker’s Mark barrels which had been coopered from a very specific combination of staves. The profile was:
- 1 part Baked American Pure 2
- 3 parts Seared French Cuvée
- 3 parts Maker’s Mark 46
- 2 parts Roasted French Mendiant
- 1 part Toasted French Spire
This very specific stave combination housed the whisky for 9 weeks, with different notes and flavors slowly influencing the spirit.
The 1917 Grand Reserve Statler Edition was bottled at 111.3 proof (55.65% ABV) and is available exclusively at Marriott St. Louis Grand venues.
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