IWSC North American Whiskey & RTD Judging in Kentucky: judges’ deliberations

This week, our 2024 Global Judging events is coming to a close with the inaugural IWSC North American Whiskey and RTD Judging in Kentucky. Overseen by Spirits Judging Committee members Richard Paterson OBE and Dawn Davies MW, our team of international and US judges have been tasting hundreds of whiskeys and RTDs, finding some outstanding quality across both categories. We caught up with the panels to find out their thoughts on the event, current whiskey/RTD trends and hear which flights impressed them so far.

The Straight Bourbon entries have been performing exceptionally well at the judging, with our panel awarding 9 gold medals to bourbons from Kentucky, Indiana and the wider USA, as well as many silver medals. In one particularly impressive flight of USA straight bourbons, three entries in a row were awarded gold medals.

As expected, Kentucky whiskeys have been the stars of the Straight Bourbon category with almost every entry from the Bluegrass state winning silver or gold medal. One Gold medal winner from Kentucky was described as "the perfect autumn whiskey with classic pumpkin spice latte notes", while another was awarded a coveted gold medal thanks to the "authentic sweetness", with the judges describing it as a "very clean whiskey".

"Kentucky straight bourbons demonstrated why the state is known as the Bourbon capital of the world, and renewed our confidence in the staying power of the category," shared our experts.

The flight of Indiana Straight Bourbon put on a strong performance, winning several bronze and silvers, as well as a gold medal. This high-scoring gold medal winner was highlighted by the judges for its age and structure, as well as notes of "warmth and baked tropical fruit" found in the glass. While our panel was pleased with the overall quality of Indianna Bourbon, they felt that better results could be achieved with extra aging.

The wider Bourbon category is seeing impressive results, with several high-scoring silver medals. A single cask Bourbon captured the attention of our judges who awarded it a gold and 97 points, describing it as "luxurious and elegant with great length and complexity".

Rye whiskey is also showing consistent quality, having earned many medals, with several exceptional entries achieving gold and even gold outstanding awards.

Canadian Rye whiskeys have taken away several silver medals. One of these was praised for a delicate nose with notes of "sweet caramel, balanced by a long white pepper finish".

As with Bourbon, Kentucky Rye Whiskey stole the show with two gold medals and a gold outstanding going to a spirit that revealed notes of "chocolate orange, spice, and cinnamon toast". The judges praised its silky texture and proclaimed it a "delicious drinking whiskey". The other two gold-winning Kentucky Rye entries were highlighted by the panel for the well-integrated barrel notes, as well as their "elegant flavours".

While not as prevalent in the US as they are in Scotland, Single malts are also seeing a solid performance at our Kentucky judging. With an array of medals, the panels have been intrigued by the category. "The USA single grain category was extremely interesting, with all the spirits winning medals. It was a lovely snapshot of diversity, and we would be keen to see more activity in this category," shared the judges. 

One entry that captured our judges' attention was a gold outstanding single malt with a depth of nose, and a cohesive finish, our Spirits Judging Committee Dawn Davies MW describing it as "insanely drinkable".

RTDs showed remarkably well at the IWSC Kentucky, with an impressive 9 golds awarded to a diverse array of styles of ready-made cocktails. In one particularly impressive flight, the judges awarded 5 gold medals and several strong silvers. 

"We continue to be impressed with the rising overall quality of the RTD category and the flights we tasted today were certainly no exception. RTDs have proven to be a category with staying power rather than a pandemic-fuelled trend of necessity. Consumers are becoming more educated and eager about cocktails which has created a compelling and creative RTD sector," shared the judges.

Some of the gold medal winning RTDs include a Mango Margarita that was labelled as "lovely and inviting", a Peach Vodka that had a pleasant peach note without being overly dominant, and a particularly high-scoring White Russian that was "velvety and delicious". The panel also awarded two gold medals to Bloody Mary cocktails that were both perfectly balanced with a sense of fun that our judges loved.

The full medal results will be announced on 16 September. Producers with the strongest medal results will be shortlisted for the IWSC World Whiskey Producer Trophy and our newly-introduced Bourbon Producer Trophy, with the winners of both revealed at our Awards Celebration in November.