The best bourbon on the planet – based on the London Spirits Competition 2024

The results of the 2024 London Spirits Competition are in and there are some serious surprises. As one in every of Europe’s most prestigious tasting events, the annual judging brings together 40 distinguished palates from all areas of the alcohol industry. What they recognize as the very best of the very best – in a complete of 29 different categories – can provide an enormous boost to brands, especially emerging artisan businesses.

Today we take a more in-depth take a look at what they named the very best straight bourbon of the yr: Charles Goodnight Bourbonproduced by Foley family wines.

If you were expecting something from Kentucky, that is comprehensible. The Bluegrass State, in spite of everything does make up almost 95% of total bourbon production. But save your cowboy hats, folks, because this one hails from the center of Texas. Sourced from an unknown distillery (or Distilleries) Inside, Charles Goodnight is a high rye expression aged for six years and bottled at a flavorful 115% ABV.

Although it’s an uncompromisingly aggressive pour, with that heat comes wonderful flavors. Namely dark roast coffee, s’mores and molasses. There’s also a posh finish to ponder – an extended escapade through which the aforementioned sweeter elements dissolve into oak spice.

Apparently the judges in London were convinced by this complexity. And perhaps they even added a drop or two of room temperature water to the glass to reinforce it much more. In my experience, that is one dram that advantages from such a maneuver.

The London Spirits award represents one other major victory for brand founder Bill Foley, who named the whiskey after his great-granduncle (a celebrated Nineteenth-century Texas rancher). Coincidentally, he also owns the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL team that took home the Stanley Cup last June, just six years after joining the league.

Foley owns award-winning wineries in Oregon, California and in Martinborough, New Zealand. And not removed from this famous Kiwi wine region, he claims air conditioner, an estate known for its Relais & Châteaux-Lodge. So he isn’t any stranger to receiving outstanding achievements. In fact, he’ll probably need to construct a bigger trophy room for his next project.

But he is not the one big winner here. This marks one other remarkable moment within the rapid rise of Texas whiskey. Fifteen years ago, this subcategory was virtually non-existent, nevertheless it has turn into one of the respected manufacturing regions within the United States. The liquids are winning fans with a flavor profile as big and daring because the state they represent. So keep watch over the space. And keep watch over my column for more big winners from the 2024 London Spirits Competition in the approaching days.