Next up in the BBAs 2023 is a big one in the bar world - American Whiskey. Here's how it went...
The American whiskey session featured two protagonists. First among them was Gruppo Campari’s Wild Turkey 101, which took gold on taste (“big and bold with coffee, oak and green notes”), a high-scoring silver for its looks and a near-perfect 24/25 on value for money, on account of being just rrp £35.
Totalling 86/100, our American whiskey panel thought it was just right for their purposes. It was also the third-best scoring product in the BBAs overall.
Second in this league (and seventh overall) was WhistlePig PiggyBack. The Moët Hennessy-distributed, Vermont-based rye specialist was praised for PiggyBack’s taste, edging into gold medal territory (41/50). Its “coherent, premium and ergonomic” looks and “good bang for buck” (rrp £45) earned it golds across all three measures.
In third was Jack Daniel’s Triple Mash, which took silver in taste (36/50), and at rrp £45 was seen as sporting a “decent price too”. The augmented JD looks earned it a gold for design.
The top-tasting American whiskey was Uncle Nearest Master Blend Edition – Batch 012. It took the joint highest score on taste in the entire BBAs, but its design and price (rrp £131.75) tempered appeal. Stablemate Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged in fifth was seen as better value for money.
The Bartenders' Brand Awards follows a three-step process to mirror buying behaviour, with each product blind-tasted, judged on value for money and by design. For more on the methodology behind the BBAs, read more here.