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You Can Decide Who Has the Best Whiskey at the Second-Annual Bottled-in-Bond Competition

The competition features three blind-pour whiskey tastings paired with specially crafted charcuterie boards.

By Katherine Barrier on Thu, Feb 23, 2023 at 11:51 am

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Photo: Broesis/Pixabay

The Bottled-in-Bond Competition will decide who has the best whiskey.

Whiskey enthusiasts can help decide who has the best spirit in the second-annual John G. Carlisle Bottled-in-Bond Competition and Celebration.

The competition will be hosted by meetNKY and The B-Line at Smoke Justis in Covington Friday, March 3 from 6-8 p.m. The event is a celebration of the day the Bottled in Bond Act, which set stringent standards and an authentication process to improve the quality of American-made whiskey, was passed in 1897. John G. Carlisle was a Covington man who helped get the law passed.

“This event was such a fun way to celebrate Covington’s strong historical ties as a leader in setting high standards for the whiskey industry,” meetNKY president and CEO Julie Kirkpatrick said in the release. “We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to Smoke Justis to celebrate one of Kentucky’s signature industries, bourbon and whiskey, with a little fun competition to honor John G. Carlisle.”

As part of the competition, attendees will take part in a guided blind-pour tasting of three of the best Bottled in Bond whiskey varietals in the country, says a press release. They will also get to enjoy specially crafted charcuterie boards designed to complement the flavor profiles of each whiskey. Attendees then get to vote for which whiskey will receive the John G. Carlisle Award. New Riff Distilling was crowned the winner at the inaugural event in 2022.

“We can’t wait to see who is crowned the next winner of this event and share some great food, drinks and fun with spirit enthusiasts,” Smoke Justis owner Richard Dickmann said in the release.

This year’s Bottled-in-Bond competition will kick off with a welcome drink and a short lesson on the Bottled in Bond Act and Carlise’s role in passing it before moving into the tastings.

Tickets for the competition are $25 and can be bought here.

Smoke Justis, 302 Court St., Covington. More information about the competition: meetnky.com.