The LA Spirits Awards recently announced its 2026 award winners and, as ever, we are taking a look at some of the best whiskeys in the competition. Today, we are specifically taking a look at the Platinum medal and special award-winning bourbons.
Augusta Distillery’s Wheated Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon was named both Best Bourbon and Best Single Barrel Bourbon, while Barrell Craft Spirits picked up wins for Best Small Batch Bourbon and Best Unique Barrel-Finished Bourbon. Unreined Bourbon Four Grain Full Proof also earned Platinum and was named Best Straight Bourbon.
Below, we take a closer look at the bourbons that stood out at the LA Spirits Awards 2026, including what we know about how they are made, where they come from, and what kind of drinker each bottle might appeal to.
Quick whisky question
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Augusta Distillery Wheated Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Medal: Platinum
Award(s): Best Bourbon, Best Single Barrel Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Honeyed grain, baked bread, orchard fruit, toasted oak, baking spice, caramel, vanilla
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READ THE STORYFind Your Next Bottle: $89.99
Augusta Distillery’s Wheated Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon was the biggest bourbon winner at the LA Spirits Awards 2026, taking both Best Bourbon and Best Single Barrel Bourbon.
Launched just a few months ago, it is a cask-strength, unfiltered Kentucky straight bourbon made with wheat in the mash bill, which typically gives bourbon a softer, rounder profile than rye-based recipes. Whilst the company has not confirmed the mash bill on its product page, it has been reported as 70% corn, 21% wheat, 9% malted barley. Augusta describes this release as being aged for an average of seven years.
The Wheated Single Barrel was launched alongside a second Small Batch Bourbon.
Upon its launch, Alex Castle, Master Distiller, said: “Like all Augusta Distillery expressions, these releases were built with purpose. Small Batch provides a dependable foundation for our portfolio, while the Wheated Single Barrel expands the conversation without compromising our standards.”
Barrell Aged 12 Years Bourbon Finished in Toasted American Oak
Medal: Platinum
Award(s): Best Small Batch Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Cinnamon rolls, maple syrup, strawberry jam, herbs, licorice, cloves, baking spices, tobacco, campfire ash, Earl Grey tea, ginger, mint, melted chocolate, lychee berries
Find Your Next Bottle: $159
Barrell Craft Spirits has made its name by sourcing, blending, finishing, and bottling mature American whiskey, and this 12 year old bourbon sits firmly within that approach. It is part of Barrell’s Red Label Series, a collection built around older, limited-release whiskeys.
This bourbon is a blend of 12 to 15 year old straight bourbons sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. After blending, it was finished in slow-toasted American oak casks and bottled at 113.4 proof, or 56.7% ABV.
Whilst not as out-there as some of the brand’s other experimental cask finishes (ice wine, peated Scotch, Jamaican rum, and so on), this 12 Year Old demonstrates a careful and considered approach to bourbon blending and finishing that ultimately lets the selected whiskeys speak for themselves.
Barrell Cigar Blend Bourbon
Medal: Platinum
Award(s): Best Unique Barrel-Finished Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Boston cream pie, grape soda, cedar, pipe tobacco, pu’er tea, cola spices, pecan pie, sweet vermouth
Find Your Next Bottle: $80
Speaking of the unique production that we often see from BCS, Barrel Cigar Blend Bourbon clinched the ‘Best Unique Barrel-Finished Bourbon’ title at the 2026 LA Spirits Awards.
Cigar Blend bourbons are becoming increasingly popular. The name refers to the idea that this particular type of bourbon pairs well with a cigar. They often feature experimental cask finishes, which is exactly what we can see here.
This limited-release blend is made from straight bourbons aged between 7.5 and 18 years, distilled in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, then crafted and bottled in Kentucky.
The finishing casks are central to its identity. Barrell used Madeira, Armagnac, rum, and Hungarian oak casks to build additional depth around the mature bourbon base. It is bottled at 111.2 proof, or 55.6% ABV.
Unreined Bourbon Four Grain Full Proof
Medal: Platinum
Award(s): Best Straight Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Caramelized banana, red apple, toasted spice, decadent caramel, honeyed fig, vanilla, syrupy sweetness, melted dark chocolate, baking spice warmth
Find Your Next Bottle: $80
Unreined Bourbon Four Grain Full Proof is the newest name among these LA Spirits Awards 2026 winners. The brand launched in 2025 and is based around a “born in Kentucky, raised in Texas” idea, combining sourced whiskey with further aging, blending, and bottling tied to Texas.
For its Four Grain Bourbon, Unreined starts with a 6 year old Kentucky straight bourbon made from 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. It then adds a 7 year old Texas wheated bourbon made from 74% corn, 14% wheat, and 12% malted barley, plus a 6 year old Kentucky wheated bourbon made from 70% corn, 21% wheat, and 9% malted barley. A 6 year old Kentucky high-corn bourbon, made from 90% corn and 10% malted barley, completes the blend.
Unreined does not publish the exact proportions of each component, so the final mash bill cannot be stated precisely.
The Full Proof version of the bourbon is non-chill filtered and bottled at 118 proof.
Final Thoughts On The LA Spirits Awards Bourbon Winners
The LA Spirits Awards 2026 bourbon winners make for an interesting list because each bottle gives drinkers something concrete to consider.
Augusta’s Wheated Single Barrel has the appeal of cask-strength, unfiltered Kentucky bourbon, with a higher wheat mash bill. Barrell’s 12 Year Toasted American Oak release brings older sourced bourbon together with a secondary oak finish, while Cigar Blend uses several finishing casks to create a fuller, more layered style. Unreined Four Grain Full Proof is perhaps the most transparent of the four, with the brand publishing the age, origin, and mash bill of each component in the blend.
As always, the medal is only part of the story. The real question is whether the whiskey itself sounds like something you would want in your glass. So, which of these winners (if any) would you like to try? Would you like to have seen something else on the list? Let us know in the comments below.
Coming up…we explore the rest of the Platinum medal-winning bourbons from the LA Spirits Awards 2026.
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