Each summer season, one of the best whiskeys from throughout the U.S. and Canada go head-to-head in one of the crucial revered competitions within the trade. The 2025 North American Bourbon & Whiskey Competitors simply wrapped, and the outcomes are in.
Three bottles rose to the highest. One is a tribute to a Canadian mixing legend. One is a straight rye that has been setting requirements for many years. And one comes from a fast-growing Tennessee distillery rewriting American whiskey historical past.
Right here’s a better take a look at the highest three whiskeys of the yr.
What Is the North American Bourbon & Whiskey Competitors?
The North American Bourbon & Whiskey Competitors (NABWC) is an annual blind tasting occasion that started in 2014. It was created by Wine Nation Community, Inc., the identical staff behind Wine Nation Worldwide® Journal and different skilled beverage competitions.
Entries have to be made within the U.S. or Canada. That features bourbon, rye, Tennessee whiskey, moonshine, and blended expressions. The judging panel options spirits specialists, sommeliers, bartenders, patrons, and grasp distillers.
All entries are scored utilizing a 100-point scale. Any whiskey that scores 95 or greater receives a Double Gold. From that prime tier, the judges style once more to resolve the general winners. The three highest-rated whiskeys are named 1st, 2nd, and third Place Better of Present.
These should not reputation contests. Each bottle is judged blind, purely on what’s within the glass. That’s what makes the NABWC such a beneficial barometer for high quality and craftsmanship.
1st Place: Mister Sam Tribute Blended Whiskey
Tasting Notes: Cigar field, pipe tobacco, Madeira cake, toffee, oaky vanilla, limestone, cereal, woody, floral, spicy, raisins, prunes, mince pie, candied walnut, chocolate-covered cherries, heather honey, toasted marshmallow, praline, nougat, pecan pie.Â
BUY NOW: From $1,675
On the prime of this yr’s competitors is a whiskey with one of the crucial private tales in North American spirits.
Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey was created to honor Samuel Bronfman, the legendary head of Seagram’s. It’s produced by the Sazerac Firm and blended by Drew Mayville, who as soon as served as grasp blender for Seagram’s. Immediately, he’s carrying on that custom with a mix that crosses borders.
The whiskey is crafted from a choice of high-end Canadian and American whiskeys. The precise recipe is a carefully held secret. It’s bottled at cask power and solely launched in small batches annually. Manufacturing takes place on the Previous Montreal Distillery in Quebec, the place Bronfman himself as soon as labored.
This yr’s profitable launch is highly effective, layered, and polished. Official tasting notes spotlight daring spice, dried fruit, oak, and wealthy toffee sweetness. It’s a whiskey constructed for sluggish sipping and deep appreciation.
Mister Sam is a tribute to the person who formed the world of whiskey mixing within the twentieth century. Its win at NABWC 2025 is a becoming nod to that legacy.
It’ll set you again a reasonably penny, although, with costs beginning at $1,675 at retail, partially due to its restricted annual launch.Â
2nd Place: Sazerac 18 12 months Previous Rye
Tasting Notes: Oak, leather-based, ripe plum, rye grain, wealthy smoke, darkish cherry, licorice, tobaccoÂ
BUY NOW: From $1,300
The second-place winner on this yr’s competitors is not any stranger to awards.
Sazerac 18 12 months Previous Rye is a part of the Buffalo Hint Vintage Assortment, one of the crucial sought-after sequence in American whiskey. It’s a daring, well-aged rye that continues to impress each collectors and judges.
This expression is distilled at Buffalo Hint in Kentucky utilizing a high-rye mash invoice. It spends a full 18 years getting older in new charred oak barrels. That lengthy relaxation offers the whiskey its signature character: deep, oaky, and balanced.
It’s bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV), which permits the complexity to shine with out overpowering the palate. The distillery describes it as wealthy with baking spice, citrus, leather-based, and darkish sugar. The end is lengthy and warming.
The title Sazerac comes from the well-known New Orleans cocktail, believed by many to be America’s first. The rye whiskey utilized in that unique drink is what impressed this contemporary expression.
Incomes second place on the 2025 NABWC reinforces what many already imagine. Sazerac 18 is a traditional.
third Place: Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Whiskey – Batch 3633
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, leather-based, oak, white paper, marzipan
BUY NOW: From $85
The third-place winner is a whiskey rooted in legacy and propelled by momentum.
Uncle Nearest is likely one of the fastest-growing American whiskey manufacturers in historical past. It was based in 2017 to honor Nearest Inexperienced, the previously enslaved distiller who taught Jack Daniel tips on how to make whiskey. Immediately, the model is led by CEO and founder Fawn Weaver, with mixing overseen by Victoria Eady Butler, Inexperienced’s great-great-granddaughter.
The Single Barrel Whiskey is likely one of the model’s most unique expressions. Every barrel is hand-selected by Butler herself. Batch 3633, the bottle that positioned on this yr’s competitors, was bottled at barrel power and filtered utilizing the model’s signature triple charcoal course of.
It’s a Tennessee whiskey, which means it follows the Lincoln County Course of. After distillation, the spirit is filtered by means of sugar maple charcoal earlier than getting older. This mellows the whiskey with out stripping away its depth.
Although no official age is listed, most barrels are well-matured. Every one is exclusive, however followers can anticipate a daring taste profile full of oak, spice, and wealthy sweetness. The excessive proof packs a punch, however the filtration offers it a easy, clear end.
A 3rd-place end on the NABWC provides to a rising listing of accolades. Uncle Nearest isn’t simply making whiskey. It’s making historical past.
