Last month I told you that Carey Bringle has released a limited allotment of a new product, 12-year-old Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey, made from spirits that Bringle had run through a charcoal filtration made from his own hickory charcoal from his barbecue pits. More than simply a novelty, this process has apparently impressed the judges at one of the most prestigious liquor competitions in the world, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
A panel of distinguished and experienced judges tasted Bringle’s offering and awarded it a Double Gold, meaning that every judge on the panel personally deemed the spirit worthy of a Gold medal after a blind tasting. The actual designation of a Gold winner according to the contest is “an exceptional spirit that is near the pinnacle of achievement; sets the standard for its category,” so that’s some pretty heady stuff!
Once the organizers of the competition determine the unanimity of approval from the judging panel, they award it a Double Gold, which they describe as being “awarded to the very few entries that receive a Gold medal rating by all members of the judging panel; among the finest products in the world.” All Double Golds move forward to compete for Best in Class and then Best in Show premium awards.
Eventually, an extremely small batch (like a barrel’s worth) from Barrel Craft Spirits won the award for Best Bourbon, and it is notable that the base spirit for that product was also a whiskey distilled in Tennessee, like Peg Leg’s. The prize for Best in Show went to WhistlePig’s Boss Hog IV ‘The Black Prince’ Rye Whiskey, distilled in Canada and aged and bottled in Vermont. I’ve tasted and told you about previous iterations of Boss Hog before; I can imagine how special (and rare) this one must be.
So it’s even more impressive that Peg Leg Porker’s whiskey has reached the big leagues with this competition. The 93.9 proof 12-year-old Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey has now hit the shelves, but the initial run is only 136 cases, so you’d better get busy if you want to catch it before it’s gone! Retail price is around $85.95, but for an award winner, that’s a bargain.
