A Northern Kentucky distillery is getting some national recognition after being named the Best Bourbon in the World at an event many call the Oscars of the spirit industry.
Augusta Distillery won the honor at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition for their Buckner’s 13-year single barrel expression. The competition featured more than 3,700 entries, and Buckner’s was up against more than a dozen finalists from various categories for the competition’s highest award.
“Augusta Distillery’s bourbon has been judged by the world’s foremost experts to be ‘the finest bourbon in the world’,” Ryan Edwards, Augusta Distillery co-founder and COO, said in a press release. “This international recognition puts Augusta, Kentucky, and our distillery on the map in a big way and confirms what fans of the brand already know – this is a world-class bourbon.”
The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is also the same competition responsible for propelling Tito’s Vodka to fame.
And Augusta Distillery is racking up the awards: Their Buckner’s 15-year expression was also recently named both the Best Craft Bourbon and Best Craft Whiskey in the U.S. by the American Distilling Institute, a major trade association in the industry whose tasting competition is regarded as the world’s most prestigious.
Next for the distillery is national expansion, according to the release. Augusta Distillery will release three limited-edition bourbons, including the Buckner’s 13-year single barrel, which is considered a classic Kentucky bourbon with fruity notes and a caramel finish; the Buckner’s 15-year single barrel, which contains “a striking first impression on the nose, followed by layered complexities on the way to a lingering finish;” and Old Route 8 – a newly released eight-year single barrel cask strength expression that offers an elevated everyday bourbon experience and uses the same mash bill as the Buckner’s.
Augusta Distillery (located at 207 Seminary Ave. in Augusta, Kentucky) is also open for tours. More info: augustakydistillery.com.
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This article appears in Jun 14-27, 2023.
