The 50 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2021, Ranked.I also filled in as many tasting notes as I could but relied on the distillery/bottler/blender or Ascot Award notes where I couldn’t.Īlso Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months I kept this focused on bottles that you may be able to find (for a price at either a high-end liquor store or whiskey bar). Look, unless you live next to a random liquor store that got the barrel pick or are in a random club that did, you’re never getting those bottles. That means that I skipped the private club and individual store barrel picks. I’ve narrowed these down to bottles you might actually be able to get. To that end, I’m calling out 45 of the Double Platinum bourbon winners. Long story short ( too late), the Double Platinum winning bourbons are the prime cuts from the hundreds of entries the judges at the Ascot Awards blindly taste. Likewise, the “Double Platinum” medalist are then sent to finals where a “Best in Class” winner is blindly chosen.

Skipping to the end of the blind tasting panels, expressions that received top marks from all the judges at the table earn the “Double Platinum,” which is similar to how it works at the SF World Spirits Competition. From there, there’s a point system based on 100 points - hinged on appearance, aroma, taste, and finish - that denotes a “Gold,” “Platinum,” and “Double Platinum” medal. The medals are “Honorable Mention” for spirits that meet the minimum standard. The Ascot Awards are their own thing with a unique set of judges (offering a unique POV). Below, I’m going to call out every bourbon that you can actually (maybe) find that won a coveted “Double Platinum” award.īefore I get to that, a few background notes. This week noted bourbon reviewer Fred Minnick dropped the medals from his spirit’s awards, the Ascot Awards - named after Minnick’s signature neckwear. We’re getting deep into awards season in the spirits industry.

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