The 2025 Worldwide Whisky Competitors has topped its bourbon champions, and the outcomes are a showcase of daring taste, regional satisfaction, and progressive craftsmanship. From Virginia to Texas, these 4 bourbons rose to the highest of their classes, proving that excellence in American whiskey is available in many types. Whether or not cask power, bonded, or double-barreled, every winner stood out in a crowded subject judged by a few of the trade’s most revered palates.
Right here is every thing you might want to know in regards to the world’s greatest bourbons in keeping with the Worldwide Whisky Competitors 2025.
What Is the Worldwide Whisky Competitors?
Based in 2010, the Worldwide Whisky Competitors (IWC) has earned a status as one of the vital rigorous and clear awards packages within the spirits world. In contrast to many competitions that hand out medals freely, the IWC follows an Olympic-style mannequin: just one Gold, Silver, and Bronze is awarded per class.
Every whiskey is judged double-blind by a panel of seasoned consultants, with no data of the distillery, bottle, or proof. Entries are scored on a 100-point scale, assessing aroma, style, end, and stability. The result’s a contest that rewards standout high quality above all. Successful an IWC class is a transparent sign {that a} whiskey has risen above robust competitors.
Finest Bourbon Whiskey: 1st Place – A. Smith Bowman Cask Energy Batch #4 (97.01 factors)
Tasting Notes: Leather-based, plums, apple, raspberry, chocolate, stone fruit, cinnamon
BUY NOW: $649.98
Taking prime honors within the general bourbon class with a rating of 97.01 factors, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Energy Batch #4 is a daring displaying from one in all Virginia’s most historic distilleries. This annual restricted launch has constructed a quiet following, however its 2025 win places it firmly within the highlight.
The A. Smith Bowman Distillery traces its roots again to the post-Prohibition period, when the Bowman household started distilling on their farm in northern Virginia. Now a part of the Sazerac household (which additionally owns Buffalo Hint), the distillery operates independently in Fredericksburg, utilizing a novel manufacturing mannequin. Distillate is first produced in Kentucky, then shipped to Virginia for a closing run by way of Bowman’s copper pot nonetheless (named “Mary”) earlier than getting old on-site.
Batch #4 is bottled at an eye-watering 139.7 proof and is non-chill filtered. It was aged for at the very least 10 years in new charred oak, saved upright in Virginia’s climate-controlled warehouses. The result’s a small-batch, high-proof bourbon that blends depth with complexity.
Launched by lottery yearly, the whiskey is priced at $99.99 plus taxes upon launch. Nonetheless, costs on the secondary market in a short time creep up.
Finest Bourbon 10 Years and Older: 1st Place – 1792 Aged Twelve Years (94.51 factors)
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, cocoa, fruit notes, smoky end
BUY NOW: From $70
Scoring 94.51 factors, 1792 Aged Twelve Years took the highest spot within the 10 Years and Older class.
Produced by Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, this expression builds on the distillery’s long-standing status for wealthy, high-rye bourbons. Barton has operated repeatedly since 1879 and is now owned by Sazerac, giving it entry to a few of the deepest getting old shares within the trade.
This launch makes use of the distillery’s high-rye mash invoice (roughly 75% corn, 15–18% rye, and the rest malted barley) and is aged a full twelve years in new charred American oak. That prolonged time within the barrel permits the whiskey to develop deep complexity with out dropping stability.
Bottled at 96.6 proof, it’s a limited-release bourbon that builds on the success of the usual 1792 Small Batch, providing additional maturity for many who take pleasure in a richer, oak-driven profile.
Finest Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon Whiskey: 1st Place – Early Instances Bottled-In-Bond (92.37 factors)
Tasting Notes: Caramel, oak, black pepper, honey, chocolate, cinnamon, spice
BUY NOW: From $20
With a rating of 92.37 factors, Early Instances Bottled-in-Bond secured first place in one in all bourbon’s most traditionally important classes. This win additionally marks a full-circle second for a model that has seen dramatic highs, lows, and a serious resurgence lately.
Initially established in 1860 by Jack Beam (uncle of Jim Beam), Early Instances turned a family identify by the mid-Twentieth century. Its Bottled-in-Bond expression, first launched in 1945, was as soon as the best-selling bourbon within the U.S. By the Eighties, nonetheless, the model had shifted towards a less expensive blended product, and the bonded model disappeared from cabinets.
That modified within the late 2010s when Brown-Forman reintroduced Early Instances Bottled-in-Bond as a budget-friendly, full-flavored straight bourbon. The mash invoice of 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% malted barley delivers a basic bourbon profile, and it’s distilled and aged in compliance with bottled-in-bond legal guidelines: one distiller, one season, 4 years minimal, and bottled at 100 proof.
Now owned by Sazerac and produced at Barton 1792 Distillery, the recipe and yeast pressure stay unchanged. The IWC award confirms what many bourbon drinkers already knew: Early Instances BiB is without doubt one of the greatest worth bourbons in the marketplace, full cease.
Finest Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey: 1st Place – Rebecca Creek Spanish Oak Double Barrel Whiskey (93.95 factors)
Tasting Notes: Spicy rye, candy pecan, espresso, roasted nuts, darkish chocolate
BUY NOW: N/A
Texas made a robust assertion at this yr’s competitors, with Rebecca Creek’s Spanish Oak Double Barrel Bourbon profitable Finest Single Barrel Bourbon with a rating of 93.95 factors. It’s a notable win for a comparatively younger distillery that’s been quietly experimenting with daring getting old strategies.
Based in 2009 in San Antonio, Rebecca Creek Distillery is one in all South Texas’s early post-Prohibition craft distilleries. The Spanish Oak Double Barrel expression displays the distillery’s dedication to innovation, significantly in the way it makes use of wooden to form taste.
This single barrel launch begins with a high-rye mash invoice of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% 2-row malted barley. It’s first aged in new Spanish oak barrels, a much less widespread selection in bourbon making, the place American white oak is commonplace. After an preliminary 4 years, the whiskey is transferred to used American oak barrels for a secondary maturation interval of round two years.
The result’s a posh, full-bodied bourbon usually bottled at cask power, sometimes starting from 120 to 128 proof. It’s a standout instance of how regional types and artistic maturation can push the boundaries of conventional bourbon and win massive on the world stage.
