The list of award-winning bourbons from the 2025 ADI International Spirits Competition continues to impress. This second group of gold medalists highlights producers who aren’t afraid to take risks with finishing techniques, regional styles, or barrel strength.
Independent distillers submitted a wide range of entries. From small-batch Tennessee whiskey to French oak finishes and Mizunara-aged experiments, these six bottles each brought something different to the table.
This final installment covers the remaining gold medal winners. Every one of them delivers quality in the glass and has the story to back it up.
Let’s get into it.
Old Log Cabin Bourbon Whiskey French Oak Finish
Award: Gold Medal
Tasting Notes: Toffee, chocolate covered cherries, prunes, leather, Maduro cigar, caramel apple, apricot, cognac
Find Your Next Bottle: $150
Seattle’s Old Log Cabin Distillery is one of the few West Coast producers working with both traditional and wine-influenced bourbon finishes. Their French Oak expression begins with a high-rye bourbon (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley) that is finished in French oak casks previously used to age red wine.
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The finishing adds soft spice, stone fruit, and cocoa to the base whiskey’s caramel and vanilla profile. Bottled at 124 proof, it shows layered depth without overpowering heat.
The ADI judges gave it a gold medal, and it has earned praise elsewhere for its richness and balance. This is a whiskey that rewards slow sipping and shows what patience in the barrel can do.
Ole Smoky Distillery James Ownby Reserve Tennessee Straight Bourbon
Award: Gold Medal
Tasting Notes: Caramel, vanilla, chocolate
Find Your Next Bottle: From $44
Ole Smoky is best known for its flavored moonshines, but its James Ownby Reserve bourbon proves the distillery can deliver serious whiskey, too. This Tennessee Straight Bourbon is made using the Lincoln County Process, where the spirit is filtered through sugar maple charcoal before aging. It’s aged for at least six years and bottled at 94 proof.
The mash bill is undisclosed, but the whiskey is soft and approachable. You’ll find notes of toasted oak, vanilla, caramel, and subtle banana bread. The finish is smooth and lightly spiced.
Named after a Revolutionary War veteran and ancestor of Ole Smoky’s founder, this bourbon honors heritage while pointing toward the brand’s future. It earned a gold medal at ADI 2025 and continues to gain ground among Tennessee whiskey fans.
Painted Stave Distillery Delaware Style Bourbon
Award: Gold Medal
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, caramel, spice, apple, spiced cookie, oak, corn sweetness, cinnamon, raisin, white pepper
Find Your Next Bottle: $50
Painted Stave Distillery in Smyrna, Delaware, has been defining its own style since day one. Their “Delaware Style” bourbon is crafted using a deliberate approach. The mash bill leans heavily on rye, with 66% corn, 26% rye, and 8% malted barley. Aged for over six years and bottled at 94 proof, it balances heat with nuance.
Expect bright spice up front, followed by cinnamon, dried apple, and toasted oak. It finishes dry with just enough sweetness to round it out.
Painted Stave has long been a staple in Delaware’s craft scene, but this release helped put them on the national radar. The ADI gold medal confirmed what locals already knew: this is serious bourbon from a small but confident producer.
Starlight Distillery Japanese Mizunara Reserve Bourbon
Award: Gold Medal, Best of Category
Tasting Notes: French vanilla, baking spice, sandalwood, coconut
Find Your Next Bottle: $399.99
Starlight Distillery in southern Indiana continues to push the boundaries of American bourbon with this limited-release Mizunara finish. The small-batch blend combines two mash bills: one a three-grain (60% corn, 20% rye, 20% malted barley), the other a four-grain recipe with added wheat. All corn, rye, and wheat are estate-grown and non-GMO. The malted barley is locally sourced.
After seven years in new charred American oak, the whiskey is finished in Mizunara casks made from 200–500-year-old oak harvested in Hokkaido, Japan. Bottled at 58% ABV, it’s non-chill filtered and distilled using a Vendome pot still.
Aromas of vanilla and baking spice lead to rich flavors of sandalwood, coconut, and dried fruit. It took home Best of Category and Gold at ADI 2025, as well as Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Only eight barrels were produced.
Tennessee Hills Distillery Cask Strength Bourbon
Award: Gold Medal
Tasting Notes: Caramel, tobacco, charred oak, herbs, spice
Find Your Next Bottle: $69.99
Tennessee Hills Distillery was founded by husband and wife team Stephen and Jessica Callahan and operates out of a historic salt house in Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee. Known for its grain-to-glass approach, the distillery uses locally grown corn and mountain spring water in its small-batch production.
Their Cask Strength Bourbon is part of the Black Label series. It’s uncut and unfiltered, with recent batches bottled at around 115 proof. The mash bill hasn’t been publicly disclosed, but the whiskey leans into rich Southern character: brown sugar, charred oak, molasses, cinnamon, and subtle leather.
This release picked up a gold medal at the 2025 ADI Competition. It’s bold but approachable, and a clear step forward for a distillery steadily gaining respect in the regional bourbon scene.
The Bond Bourbon: Eternal Bottled-in-Bond
Award: Gold Medal
Tasting Notes: Baked apple, medjool dates, sweet pipe tobacco, earthiness, sorghum molasses, pound cake, dark chocolate, tannins
Find Your Next Bottle: $80
Vincero Spirits blends intention with execution in The Bond: Eternal, a small-batch Bottled-in-Bond bourbon distilled and aged at MGP, then bottled in Bardstown. It’s built from four barrels of 7-year-old bourbon, all from the same run, including sister barrels #23-045 and #23-046. The mash bill is 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley.
Aged in new charred oak and bottled at 100 proof, it offers a high-rye profile with fig, dried orange peel, vanilla, and a peppery finish. It’s unpretentious and focused, with enough spice to keep things lively.
This release earned a gold medal at the 2025 ADI Competition. For a sourced bourbon, it’s an example of how smart selection and restraint can deliver real clarity in the glass.
