Bourbon sits at the center of the L.A. Spirits Awards, and the Straight Bourbon category remains one of the most closely judged each year. In 2025, only a small number of bourbons earned the competition’s highest distinction, the Platinum Medal, setting them apart in a category defined by tradition, regulation, and technical precision.
Those medals are awarded by panels made up of working industry professionals, including bartenders, beverage directors, spirits buyers, educators, and consultants. The judging process is designed with an emphasis on inclusivity and a broad range of perspectives from across the spirits industry. All spirits are assessed blind, with medals determined collaboratively during the medaling round.
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A Platinum Medal is only awarded to bourbons that receive unanimous Gold votes from the panel in the initial round.
The bourbons below all met that threshold at the 2025 L.A. Spirits Awards. Together, they offer a clear snapshot of where straight bourbon stands today, spanning heritage distilleries, independent blenders, and newer brands finding their footing. Let’s take a look at them.
Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Award: Platinum Medal
Tasting Notes: Caramelized sugars, vanilla wafers, banana pudding, honey latte, fruit syrup, toasted oak
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Find Your Next Bottle: $60
Angel’s Envy built its reputation on finishing bourbon in secondary casks, so this release stands out before it is even poured. The Cask Strength Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon was the brand’s first straight bourbon with no finishing step at all.
It was released in 2024 as part of the Angel’s Envy Distillery Series and was designed to spotlight the core whiskey beneath the finishes that made the brand famous. Bottled at 100 proof under the Bottled-in-Bond Act, it reflects a deliberate decision to work within historic constraints rather than push intensity or novelty.
Although some sources list the mash bill as undisclosed, it is also said that the bourbon is made from Angel’s Envy’s traditional mash bill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley. It was aged for just under six years in new charred American oak.
The release was overseen by master distiller Owen Martin at the Louisville distillery. Availability was limited, with an initial run of 375ml bottles sold primarily through the distillery, positioning it as a focused technical release rather than a permanent addition to the range.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon
Award: Platinum Medal
Tasting Notes: Ripe apricot, lemon, leather, crème brûlée, oak, pastry, spice
Find Your Next Bottle: $55
For Bardstown Bourbon Company, the Origin Series represents a clear shift from contract distillation toward defining its own house style. While the distillery has been producing whiskey for other brands since opening, the Origin Series marked the first time its own fully mature, estate-distilled bourbons have taken center stage.
This bourbon carries a six-year age statement and is matured entirely in new charred American oak barrels. The mash bill replaces rye with wheat, using 53% corn, 39% wheat, and 8% malted barley. The whiskey is distilled, aged, and bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky, with no sourcing involved.
Bardstown Bourbon Company has framed the Origin Series as a long-term commitment rather than a one-time milestone, and the Wheated Bourbon is widely distributed across the United States.
Barrell Foundation Double Barrel Bourbon
Award: Platinum Medal
Tasting Notes: Dark chocolate, leather, dried fruit, toasted marshmallows, white paper, nits, orange zest, mint, cherry
Find Your Next Bottle: $50
Barrell Craft Spirits built its reputation on high-proof, limited blends, often released in small batches with minimal repetition. Foundation Double Barrel Bourbon represents a different objective.
Introduced as part of the Foundation Series, it was created to deliver Barrell’s blending approach in a format designed for consistency and wider use. The focus is on structure, balance, and crafting easy-drinking bourbons without compromising quality.
The bourbon is a blend of straight bourbons distilled in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and Maryland, with component ages ranging from five to nine years. After blending, the whiskey undergoes a second maturation in new charred American oak barrels.
The derived mash bill averages approximately 73% corn, 23% rye, and 4% malted barley. Foundation Double Barrel is bottled at 100 proof and released as a permanent expression.
Green River Full Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Award: Platinum Medal
Tasting Notes: Warming spice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate-coated peppermints, cinnamon, dried cherry, leather
Find Your Next Bottle: $44
Green River Distilling Co. operates from DSP-KY-10 in Owensboro, one of Kentucky’s oldest distilling sites. The distillery dates back to the late nineteenth century and has been revived in recent years with a focus on transparency and classic bourbon styles. The Full Proof release builds directly on that approach. It was introduced in 2024 as a higher-proof counterpart to Green River’s core 90-proof bourbon.
The bourbon is made from Green River’s standard mash bill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. Barrels for this expression are carefully selected, blended, and bottled at barrel strength.
Barrel selection focuses on specific warehouse lots at the Owensboro site, where brick and tile construction influences maturation. Full Proof is an ongoing release rather than a limited edition, with distribution expanding steadily as the brand grows its national footprint.
Shucked Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Award: Platinum Medal
Tasting Notes: Caramel, brown sugar, butterscotch, vanilla, walnuts, leather, oak
Find Your Next Bottle: $59.99
Shucked Straight Bourbon Whiskey began as an idea tied to Broadway rather than bourbon tradition. The brand was created by producers of the musical Shucked, which features a fictional corn-based whiskey as part of its storyline. Rather than treating the bottle as a novelty, the team chose to ground the project in credible sourcing and age. The result is a straight bourbon designed to stand on its own, independent of the show that inspired it.
The bourbon is distilled in Indiana at Ross & Squibb Distillery and aged for seven years. It uses a classic high-rye mash bill of 75% corn, 21%rye, and 4% malted barley, according to Breaking Bourbon.
Shucked is bottled at 90.4 proof, a deliberate decision aimed at approachability rather than power.
Christopher Allen and Kevin Duda, founders of Shucked Bourbon, are confident in the brand’s ability to move beyond the stage saying, “Bourbon is set to become an instant classic, much like the hit Broadway musical itself.”
Shucked Bourbon followed the musical on its tour of the United States in 2025, and is now available to buy on the brand’s website.
