2022 American Whiskey Masters Awards: Buffalo Trace Distillery Wins Big

Buffalo Trace Distillery, Weller 12
Weller 12 Year; Overall winner of the 2022 AWMC

The winners from the 2022 American Whiskey Masters Competition (AWMC) are in. You’ll notice some familiar faces (cough, Buffalo Trace), but you’ll also see some whiskey winners which may be new to your palate.

The AWMC is just one component of the broader Global Spirits Masters Competitions which in total has 21 different spirit categories, each category having its own judgement day. The results of each competition are published in The Spirits Business.

The 2022 AWMC took place in London with 5 different judging panels, each comprised of qualified whiskey tasting pros. There were hundreds of American Whiskey entries.

The Highest Award Goes To…

6 different labels were chosen with the distinctive honor of “MASTER”, and the overall highest award “TASTE MASTER” going to a Buffalo Trace Distillery’s “Weller 12 Year Bourbon”.

The awards pecking order are as followed: Taste Master > Master> Gold > Silver

COMPANYPRODUCTAWARD
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller 12 Year OldMaster & Taste Master
LuxcoRemus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon WhiskeyMaster
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller Craft Your Perfect BourbonMaster
Distillery 291291 Colorado Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves, Barrel Proof Single BarrelMaster
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Rye 6 Year OldMaster
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Single Barrel RyeMaster

Distillery With The Most Wins….

Some, OK many would say not shockingly, Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY came away with the most awards with 16 medals. Including the highest honor of Taste Master and their Weller CYPB (Craft Your Perfect Bourbon) grabbing Master. Also of notice, BTD wreaked havoc in the “Bourbon – No Age Statement” category earning 11 of the 15 awarded medals. All but one of those being gold.

Four Roses and Wild Turkey also grabbed multiple Golds.

In the American Single Malt category, Virginia Distilling Co cleaned house.

Luxco’s “Remus Repeal Reserve Bourbon Whiskey” snatched a coveted Master award. Could that be a game changer for them? Along those lines, Colorado based 291 Distillery grabbed their own Master medal. That certainly won’t hurt their brand reputation and elevation.

Now, we bring you the AWMC awards, broken down by category….

EXCHANGE RATE: 1 Euro = 1.02 US Dollars

Bourbon – Premium (£0‐£30, $0 – $30.74)

BrandProductMedal
Four Roses DistilleryFour Roses Small Batch BourbonGold
Four Roses DistilleryFour Roses Straight BourbonGold

Bourbon – Super Premium (£31‐£50)

BrandProductMedal
High West DistilleryHigh West American Prairie BourbonGold
Four Roses DistilleryFour Roses Single Barrel BourbonGold
Four Roses DistilleryFour Roses Small Batch Select BourbonGold
Angel’s EnvyAngel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine BarrelsGold

Bourbon – Ultra Premium (£51+)

BrandProductMedal
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller 12 Year OldMaster & Taste Master
LuxcoRemus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon WhiskeyMaster
Buffalo Trace DistilleryEagle Rare 17 Year OldGold
Campari GroupWild Turkey Rare Breed BourbonGold

Bourbon – No Age Statement

BrandProductMedal
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller Craft Your Perfect BourbonMaster
Buffalo Trace DistilleryStagg JrGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller AntiqueGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryElmer T Lee Single BarrelGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryColonel EH Taylor Jr Small BatchGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller Single BarrelGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller Full ProofGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryColonel EH Taylor Jr Single BarrelGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryEarly Times Bottled in BondGold
Distillery 291291 Colorado Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves, Small BatchGold
Zamora CompanyYellow Rose Harris CountySilver
Zamora CompanyYellow Rose OutlawSilver
Buffalo Trace DistilleryWL Weller Special ReserveSilver
Vok Beverages5 Square Mile BourbonSilver
Buffalo Trace DistilleryColonel EH Taylor Jr Barrel ProofSilver

Bourbon – Aged up to 7 Years

BrandProductMedal
LuxcoGeorge Remus Straight Bourbon WhiskeyGold
Bently Heritage Estate DistilleryBently Heritage Estate Distillery Bourbon WhiskeyGold
Campari GroupWild Turkey 101 BourbonGold

Bourbon – Aged Over 8 Years

BrandProductMedal
Buffalo Trace DistilleryEagle Rare 10 Year OldGold
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Rye 10 Year OldGold

Bourbon – Single Barrel

BrandProductMedal
Campari GroupWild Turkey Kentucky SpiritGold
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Single Barrel BourbonGold
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Rye 13 Year OldGold

Bourbon – Cask Strength

BrandProductMedal
Buffalo Trace DistilleryA Smith Bowman Cask StrengthGold

Tennessee – Super Premium (£31‐£50)

BrandProductMedal
Uncle Nearest Premium WhiskeyUncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch WhiskeyGold
Uncle Nearest Premium WhiskeyUncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged WhiskeyGold
Emporia BrandsDaddy RackGold

Tennessee – Ultra Premium (£51+)

BrandProductMedal
Uncle Nearest Premium WhiskeyUncle Nearest Master Blend Edition – Batch No.001Gold

Single Malt – No Age Statement

BrandProductMedal
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction Sherry Cask WhiskyGold
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction Cuvée Cask WhiskyGold
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction Bourbon Cask WhiskyGold
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction American Single MaltGold

Single Malt – Aged up to 7 Years

BrandProductMedal
Bently Heritage Estate DistilleryBently Heritage Estate Distillery Single Malt WhiskeyGold

Single Malt – No Age Statement

BrandProductMedal
Westland DistilleryWestland American Single MaltGold
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction Cuvée Single Cask WhiskyGold
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction Bourbon Single Cask WhiskySilver
Virginia Distillery CompanyCourage & Conviction Sherry Single Cask WhiskySilver

Rye – Super Premium (£31‐£50)

BrandProductMedal
High West DistilleryHigh West Double RyeGold
Campari GroupWild Turkey Rare Breed RyeGold

Rye – Ultra Premium (£51+)

BrandProductMedal
Distillery 291291 Colorado Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves, Barrel Proof Single BarrelMaster
High West DistilleryHigh West Rendezvous RyeGold

Rye – Aged up to 7 Years

BrandProductMedal
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Rye 6 Year OldMaster
Campari GroupWild Turkey 101 RyeGold
LuxcoRossville Union Master Crafted Straight Rye WhiskeyGold
LuxcoRossville Union Master Crafted Straight Rye Whiskey Barrel StrengthGold
Bently Heritage Estate DistilleryBently Heritage Estate Distillery Rye WhiskeyGold

Rye – No Age Statement

BrandProductMedal
Zamora CompanyYellow Rose RyeGold
WhistlepigWhistlepig Piggyback RyeGold
Buffalo Trace DistilleryColonel EH Taylor Jr Straight RyeGold
Distillery 291291 Colorado Rye Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves, Small BatchSilver

Rye – Single Barrel

BrandProductMedal
Campari GroupRussell’s Reserve Single Barrel RyeMaster

Flavoured Whiskey

BrandProductMedal
Ole Smoky DistillerySalty Caramel WhiskeyGold
Ole Smoky DistilleryPeanut Butter WhiskeyGold