The spirits awards are rolling in fast these days. This week, the John Barleycorn Awards — what a name! — announced their Best of Spring 2022 winners. The award announcement cut straight to the chase and didn’t tease out the best of the best with separate double gold and finalists announcements. We got them all at the same time.
Naturally, I thought it wise to share all the John Barleycorn Awards Best of Spring 2022 whisk(e)y winners (they’ll announce a Best of Fall 2022 later in the year). But before we dive in a little context. The John Barleycorn awards were created by journalists and industry pros (marketers mostly) who wanted a deeper look at the spirits world. If the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is like the Oscars of the award circuit, the John Barleycorn Awards are the Critics’ Choice Awards since they’re founded and led by writers and critics mostly. That lean into creativity comes through in the name as well, which is a nod to the “John Barleycorn” of myth who was the metaphorical representation of the farmer/distiller/folk hero associated with making and drinking spirits.
Okay, all of that aside, the list of whiskeys below represents a wide range of great whisk(e)y from around the world. I’m going to provide my own tasting notes where I can and the judge’s notes from the awards where I can’t. Hopefully, you’ll find a whisk(e)y to add to your home bar cart. Let’s dive in!
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Best Bourbon — Pursuit United Batch 002
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $65
The Whiskey:
As mentioned above, this is a vatted from 40 total barrels from three different states. While the team at Pursuit United doesn’t release the Tennessee distillery name, we know the juices from Kentucky and New York are from Bardstown Bourbon Company and Finger Lakes Distilling, respectively. This final release of 2021 from Pursuit United put 9,342 bottles on the market in six states (Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky) and is available online via Seelbachs.com.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a rush of cedar next to Christmas spices steeped in sweet red wine. That sweetness tends to lean into fresh honey with a touch of caramel and maybe a little dark chocolate on the end. The taste holds onto the honeyed sweetness with burnt sugars, light cedar, chocolate tobacco leaves, and a hint of orange oils. That orange is what builds and powers the finish to its silken end, concluding with an orange-choco vibe and a very soft landing.
Bottom Line:
This was one of my favorite bourbons of 2021, so you’ll get no argument from me on this one.
Best Single Barrel Whiskey Bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey — Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This was first introduced in 1997. The juice is hand-selected from barrels on the upper floors of Jack’s vast rickhouses. The whisky is bottled at a slightly higher proof to allow the nuance of the juice to shine.
Tasting Notes:
The classic Jack banana notes are drawn way back here and replaced by a clear sense of toasted oak. That oak is the underpinning for notes of caramel corn, mild spice, and plenty of oily vanilla beans. The sweet banana fruit is there and marries well to a peppery spice, cherry gum, and mulled wine that amps up as the end draws near with plenty of that toasted wood lingering the longest.
Bottom Line:
This is a modern classic. The whole single barrel program at Jack Daniel’s has been instrumental in reintroducing the brand to a whole new generation and this bottle is at the forefront.
Best Luxury Whiskey — Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Spring 2022
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $1,276
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was distilled and laid down in barrels back in 2004. The barrels were vatted after 17 years and proofed down to the bottled-in-bond standard of 100 proof and then bottled in the iconic Old Fitz decanter for a Spring 2022 release.
Tasting Notes:
A hint of woodiness comes through on the nose via cherry tree bark with the faintest echo of dried rose next to soft vanilla oil, a hint of cedar, a distant thought of old leather, and a touch of burnt orange peels. The palate starts off softly with a lush vanilla cream that builds towards a winter spice matrix of nutmeg, allspice, and clove with a touch of cherrywood that sweetens toward dried cherries. That mid-palate builds on the cherry with spices (nutmeg and allspice) and sticky tobacco vibes as the finish arrives next to a super creamy dark cherry in vanilla cream feel with a dusting of dark chocolate and more of that dry cherry tree bark.
Bottom Line:
This is just straight up one of the best whiskeys of 2022. If it’s not in my top ten at the end of the year, I’ll be shocked.
Best American Single Malt — Cedar Ridge Distillery The QuintEssential
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is all about a grain-to-glass experience. The juice is made with 100 percent 2-Row Pale Malted Barley (the same stuff used in some of the biggest craft beers) from up in Saskatchewan. The whiskey is then matured in ex-bourbon barrels for an undisclosed term. That whiskey is then finished in a combination of brandy, rum, wine, port, and sherry barrels before it’s vatted. The whiskey’s blend is finally made using the solera method — where the vat is never fully emptied before the next barrel is added.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is full of bright fruit with a peach and pear vibe that leans into a malty banana bread with plenty of butter, cinnamon, and walnut next to a touch of Almond Joy (but the good ones from a high-end shop). The palate is soft and subtle with hints of spiced malted gingersnaps, light cream soda vibes (maybe a light sasparilla), and a mellow and creamy base of chocolate that’s not dark but not milky either. The mid-palate has a nice sweetness that’s slightly apple adjacent with an apricot hint that mellows into a final note of chewy toffees with rum-raisin lurking on the very backend.
The Bottle:
I really enjoyed this American single malt. It’s a great example of the huge potential for the style. It’s also a damn fine sipper.
Best Rye Whiskey — BLACKENED X Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished In Madeira Casks
ABV: 54.8%
Average Price: $159
The Whiskey:
This new release from Metallica’s BLACKENED is a masterful collaboration with Willett. The rye is a blend of whiskeys that were aged around six or seven years (with one barrel up to eight years old) that are vatted and then finished in Madeira casks. After an undisclosed amount of time mellowing in those casks, the whiskey is then bottled as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
This is a berry bomb on the nose with raspberries mingling with Bing cherries, blackberry, and maybe even some tart red currants while this strawberry-mint vibe veers the nose towards a hint of burnt spices. The taste leans into fruit with a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler feel next to plenty of vanilla, bitter cacao nibs, cherry-kissed oak, and a hint of, I want to say, Chardonnay. The savory and tart end of the fruits really kicks in late with figs and more rhubarb leading the charge towards a subtly sweet and spicy end that’s like a spicy plum pudding wrapped in a cherry tobacco leaf.
Bottom Line:
This is a delicious whiskey. I do prefer it over a single rock to help bring out all that dark fruit, but it’s perfectly fine neat.
Best Single Barrel Rye — 291 Colorado Whiskey Finished with Aspen Staves, Barrel Proof Single Barrel
ABV: 64.3%
Average Price: $108
The Whiskey:
291 uses a quick aging process. For this single barrel expression of rye whiskey, they added Aspen wood staves into the barrels to accelerate the aging process while adding depth to the spirit. Once those barrels hit just the right flavor profile, they were bottled as a single barrel expression with no fussing, filtering, or cutting.
Tasting Notes (from the John Barleycorn judges):
“Rich caramel is braced by a medley of sweet and herbal spice. This high octane offering is built sturdy and is packed with flavor. A few drops of water tames the beast!”
Bottom Line:
291 always hits it out of the park with their single barrel program. Their single barrel bourbons are stellar — so it makes sense that this would be too.
Best World Whiskey — Single Malts of India Neidhal
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $105
The Whiskey:
This Peated Indian single malt whisky is from the famed Amrut Distillery. The juice is a special release of 12,000 bottles that highlight the “Neidhal” or coastal region and the tropical vibes of Southern India.
Tasting Notes (from the John Barleycorn judges):
“This is a light and smoky peated whisky, with a cooling, inviting peat character. A big, robust nose that gets the mouth-watering, and on the palate it doesn’t disappoint.”
Bottom Line:
Coastal peated single malt is my jam. I’m looking forward to tracking this one down and diving in.
Best Tennessee Whiskey — Uncle Nearest Master Blend Edition Batch 009
ABV: 59.2%
Average Price: $150
The Whiskey:
While Uncle Nearest is distilling their own juice these days, this is still the work of Master Blender Victoria Eady Butler with carefully sourced Tennessee whiskey barrels. In this case, Eady Bulter hand-selected the best-of-the-best from their inventory to create the perfect whiskey to exemplify the brand and Tennesee whiskey traditions.
Tasting Notes:
This draws you in with a piping hot fresh batch of cinnamon rolls with plenty of white sauce frosting, cinnamon and brown sugar filling, a touch of nutmeg, pecans, firewood bark, and a hint of pipe tobacco. The palate delivers on the bigger notes of the nose with pecan shells, cinnamon sticks dipped in cherry syrup, wet corn husks, old leather gloves that have worked in dirt and firewood, and mild yet spiced cherry tobacco. That mild cherry sweetness drives the mid-palate toward a hint of maple syrup that leans woody as firewood piled in black dirt rounding out the finish with an echo more of that peppery tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is quality juice. It’s also a great example of the heights ahead for Uncle Nearest as a brand.
Best Canadian Whisky — Found North Batch 004
ABV: 62.4%
Average Price: $145
The Whiskey:
This blended whisky is a mash-up of corn and rye whiskies, which equate to a mash bill of 80 percent corn, 19 percent rye, and a mere one percent malted barley. Those whiskies are sourced from barrels that are between 21 and 25 years old. Once vatted, the whisky is bottled as-is with no water, filtering, or coloring.
Tasting Notes (from the John Barleycorn judges):
“A very balanced dram where fruit meets solid foundation meets long finish. An absolute stunner.”
Bottom Line:
This sounds so interesting, especially given the age of those barrels. I’m looking forward to trying this one soon.
Best Flavored Whiskey — The Old Nick Williams Co. CoatTail Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey
ABV: 42.5%
Average Price: $26
The Whiskey:
This Carolina whiskey uses wood and spice to create its flavor profile. Oak chips and cinnamon sticks are added to the barrel during aging to create a cinnamon underbelly. The whiskey is then cut down to 85 proof with no added sugars, artificial flavors, or colors.
Tasting Notes (from the John Barleycorn judges):
“Cinnamon on the nose translates to great ground cinnamon texture and taste on the palate. Full of flavor and not oversweet.”
Bottom Line:
Okay, you had me at “not oversweet.” I generally stay far away from these whiskeys due to way too much sugar usually being involved. This is intriguing. I might chase a bottle down.
Best Scotch Whisky — Aberlour 18
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $172
The Whisky:
The expression from Speyside’s Aberlour also uses old bourbon for its primary maturation and ex-sherry for its finishing maturation. Finally, it’s proofed down with soft Speyside water and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in with a note of hard butterscotch candies next to a touch of chinotto (bittersweet Italian orange), butter toffee, and the slightest wisp of peach pits. The taste builds out from that peach pit layer with a note of ripe peach flesh and fuzzy skin while jammy blackberry leads towards a soft cedar. The finish really takes its time and leaves you with a silken texture next to a honeyed sweetness and a final roundness of vanilla cream.
Bottom Line:
This is a stellar single malt. Pour it over a single rock to let it bloom and take your time enjoying this one.
Best Irish Whiskey — Waterford The Cuvee
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $85
The Whiskey:
Waterford is an interesting experiment in whiskey, in general. This expression utilizes the distillery’s many single-farm-origin whiskeys to create something heightened. The whiskey is a blend of those single farm whiskeys that highlight the terroir from all around Ireland, along with Waterford’s high-level skills.
Tasting Notes:
Red apple peels and rye crust open the nose before soft soil and green grass takes over. The palate is all about the butterscotch candies, with light florals, oat cookies, orange peels, and fresh mint acting as support. The mid-palate has a clove candy vibe that leads to white pepper, grapefruit peel, dark chocolate and cherry tobacco, and a final note of poppyseed cake.
Bottom Line:
This is interesting whiskey. It’s light yet deep while having a malty backbone that still feels familiar. It’s a damn nice pour, especially with a little water or a rock.
