Nashville continues to be well-represented at national spirits tasting competitions, winning some big prizes recently at the first big shows of the year: the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the ASCOTS and the SIP Awards. In fact, they have racked up so many medals that I’m just going to tell you who won platinum or gold awards, lest your eyes glaze over like after a round of intensive spirits tasting (speaking from experience.)
At the SF awards, some relative newcomers received recognition for new products, with Borchetta Bourbon and woman-owned Happenstance Whiskey taking home bronzes and a gold, respectively. Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery received a double gold for the Nelson’s Brother Rye, and Carey Bringle’s Peg Leg Porker Spirits hit it big with three bourbons and a rye. His white label and gray label both won double golds, and his 12-year-old black label and 8-year-old rye both won golds.
Nashville Barrel Co. continues to do well in national awards competitions, picking up a double gold for a single barrel rye and golds for a single barrel bourbon and two small batch ryes and bourbons. The talented team at NBC also was named Tennessee Blender of the Year by the New York Spirits Award.
The master bourbon taster and writer will be at Nelson’s Green Brier on June 22
Louisville-based spirits expert Fred Minnick looked kindly upon Nashville with the results of his annual ASCOT Awards, recognizing Nashville Barrel Co.’s single-barrel and small-batch bourbons and ryes with four double platinums. The ASCOT judging panel also awarded Nelson Green Brier’s sherry-cask-finished whiskey with a double platinum and named it a Top 4 finisher in the “Other American Whiskey” category. The judges also awarded Nelson’s Rye a platinum medal and a double medal for their rye.
Finally, the annual SIP Awards shone a spotlight on O.H. Ingram River Aged Whiskey awarding their straight bourbon whiskey a platinum and naming it Best in Class. Bringle’s white label Peg Leg Porker Tennessee straight bourbon whiskey garnered a “People’s Choice” award and a platinum from the SIPs.
Congrats to all the winners!
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If you’re searching for a potential winner for next year, may I suggest the new Jeptha Creed 6-Year Wheated Bourbon? Joyce Nethery is the master distiller and CEO of the Shelbyville, Ky.-based distillery, and she’s quietly been putting out some fantastic spirits since 2016. Along with her daughter Autumn, Nethery is a strong believer in “ground-to-glass” distilling and maintains an important focus on where she sources her base grains.
This new wheated bourbon is made up of a mash bill of 75 percent bloody butcher corn, 20 percent malted wheat and 5 percent malted barley and is bottled at a robust 93 proof. People who love bourbons made with wheat instead of rye as a secondary grain are pretty adamant about their preference for the softer and sweeter flavors of wheat versus the spicier rye notes. This is definitely a whiskey for those “wheater” fans.
The aroma in the glass is buttery and malty, almost like a biscuit. Then the sweet of the wheat comes across in the first sip in the form of a bready and honey character, accompanied by the creamy mouth feel that wheat often imparts. The finish is unsurprisingly long considering it’s a 6-year-old whiskey, but it is pleasingly complex, leaving peppery chocolate notes on the tongue as it fades.
I really enjoyed this whiskey and consider it worth seeking out for about $60 a bottle. It is a limited release, but Tennessee is one of the states lucky enough to receive an allocation, so hunt for it on your local liquor store shelves.
