The 136 Best Bourbons of the Year, According to the World’s Top Whiskey Experts

The numbers are in: bourbon has never tasted so good.

Published May 14, 2024

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Updated May 23, 2024

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) is the Oscars of the whiskey world. The prestigious annual contest, run by the Tasting Alliance, has categories for every imaginable category of spirit-related alcoholic beverage and a tiered rating system where spirits are awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold Medal, with the very best bottles earning a coveted Double Gold Medal.

At last year’s competition, 83 bourbons took home a Double Gold Medal. At the time, I found it to be a pretty impressive feat that showed the strength of the bourbon industry today. But this year’s results blow last year’s out of the water. An incredible 136 bourbons earned the highest rating from the SFWSC’s 70 judges this year, a number that leads me to believe bourbon has never tasted better.

Every bourbon that won Double Gold at the 2024 SFWSC

10,000 Drops Craft Distillers Single Barrel Bourbon
15 STARS Platinum Batch 2
15 STARS Triple Cask
15 STARS Sherry Cask Finish
1792 Bottled in Bond
1792 Full Proof
1792 Single Barrel
1792 Small Batch
1792 Sweet Wheat
1845 Distilling Co Preemption Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
1845 Distilling Co Preemption Reverence Texas Straight Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey
1st Round Whiskey Boom Boom Bourbon Reserve
A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength
Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels
Art of the Spirits Cask Strength “Final Run” Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in a Ruby Port Cask
Art of the Spirits Cask Strength “Airmen” Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bainbridge Whiskey Forty Saloon
Bardstown Bourbon Co. Discovery Series #11
Barmen 1873 Bourbon
Barrell Foundation
Benchmark Full Proof
Benchmark Single Barrel
Benchmark Small Batch
BHAKTA Spirits 2013 Armagnac Cask Finish Bourbon
Big Creek Single Barrel
Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Blanton’s Gold Edition Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 103 proof
Blanton’s Original Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 93 proof
Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Blue Note Crossroads
Blue Note Juke Joint
Blue Run Trifecta
Branch & Barrel Wheated Bourbon
Brother’s Bond Original Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Brother’s Bond Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Brush Creek “Cognac” Cask-Finished 15 Yr Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bushwood Long Ball Bottled in Bond Kentucky Gold
Bushwood Long Ball Gold Label Barrel Proof
Coastline Whiskey Coastline Cask Bourbon
Dark Arts Whiskey House Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Cask Strength, Single Barrel
Dark Arts Whiskey House Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in an Armagnac Cask
Dark Arts Whiskey House Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Toasted Jupilles Fleur French Oak Staves – Small Batch
Dark Arts Whiskey House Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Cask Strength, Single Barrel
Doc Swinson’s Exploratory Cask Moscatel
Doc Swinson’s Exploratory Cask French Toasted
E.H. Taylor Single Barrel
E.H. Taylor Small Batch
Eagle Rare Straight Bourbon
Elements by Red Line The Hive Edition
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A124
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C923
Elijah Craig 18 Year Old
Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond
Evan Williams Black
Ezra Brooks Old Ezra 7 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
FEW Bottled in Bond Bourbon
Four Gate Whiskey Company Split Stave by Kelvin
Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
Fox & Oden Double Oaked Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Frank August Case Study: 01 Mizunara Japanese Oak
Frank August Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey | Cask Strength | Barrel No: 0006
Farm Strength Uncut, Batch #12
Garrison Brothers Distillery Lady Bird Bourbon
Garrison Brothers Distillery Guadalupe Bourbon
George Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years
George Dickel Bottled in Bond, Spring 2011 Aged 12 Years
George T. Stagg Straight Bourbon
Ghostwood Blended Bourbon
Heaven’s Door Revival Tennessee Straight Bourbon
Heaven’s Door Decade Series 10yr Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond
Henry McKenna Single Barrel 10 Year
High Wire Distilling Co. Jimmy Red Bourbon Whiskey
Highline Spirits Bourbon
Hillrock Estate Distillery Solera Aged Bourbon Cathy’s Cuvee
Hirsch The Single Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Double Oak
Hugh Hamer Straight Bourbon Double Oak 103
Ironweed Straight Bourbon Finished in Rum Barrels
J Henry & Sons Patton Road Reserve
Jim Beam Black 7 Years Aged Bourbon
K.LUKE Whiskey Company Small Batch Barrel Strength Bourbon
K.LUKE Whiskey Company Small Batch Toasted Barrel Barrel Strength Bourbon
King’s Family Distillery Tennessee Standard
Larceny Barrel Proof A124
Larceny Small Batch
Leather & Oak Spirits Bourbon Whiskey
Maker’s Mark Cask Strength
Maker’s Mark 46
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged
MannCave Straight Bourbon 4 Year Cask Strength Distillers Reserve
Mile High Spirits Fireside Bottled in Bond
Mystic Broken Oak
Neeley Family Distillery Hidden Barn Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Series One Batch 23B
New England Barrel Co. Small Batch Select: Bourbon
New England Barrel Co. Single Barrel Select: Bourbon (Wheated Mashbill)
New England Barrel Co. Small Batch: Bourbon
O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Old Elk Distillery Wheated Bourbon – 8 Year
Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Fall 2023
Old Hansford Cask Strength Bourbon
Old Hickory Straight Bourbon
Peg Leg Porker Spirits Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey White Label
Peg Leg Porker Spirits Straight Tennessee Bourbon Whiskey 8 year old Grey Label
Penelope Barrel Strength Straight Bourbon
Pinhook Vertical Series Bourbon 8 Year
Pure Antique 20 Year Straight Bourbon
Pursuit United Small Batch Bourbon
Rabbit Hole Distillery Cavehill Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Rabbit Hole Distillery Dareringer Finished in PX Sherry Casks Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Ragged Branch Cowboy Cut Barrel Proof Wheated Bourbon
Rare Character Whiskey KBT Bourbon
River Roots Barrel Company Founder’s Reserve – Batch: The Dawn
Savage & Cooke Bourbon Whiskey
Savage & Cooke Bloody Butcher Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond
Shortbarrel Single Barrel Series
Smokeye Hill Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof
Southern Collective Spirit Company Last Alarm Josh Bischof & Tim Rodriguez ( Charity Barrel- Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base)
Southern Star Paragon
Stagg Straight Bourbon
Starlight Distillery Mizunara Reserve Finished Bourbon Whiskey
Storyhouse Spirits Straight Bourbon
The Jacksontucky Danneskjöld’s Gold
The Wiseman Bourbon
Two Souls Spirits 6-Year Wisconsin Straight Bourbon Whiskey Featuring J. Henry & Sons
Very Olde St. Nick Straight Outta Bardstown
Watershed Distillery Uncut Unfiltered Bourbon
Widow Jane 10 Year Old Bourbon
Widow Jane Lucky 13 Bourbon
Wild Turkey Rare Breed
William Heavenhill 10th Edition Bourbon
William Larue Weller Wheated Bourbon
W. L. Weller 12 Year Old Wheated Bourbon
W. L. Weller Full Proof Wheated Bourbon
Wood Duck High Rye Bourbon
Woodinville Whiskey Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 8 years
Yellowstone Special Finishes: Toasted

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get good bourbon

evan williams bourbon bottle next to some nuts — Evan Williams is one of the cheapest bourbons you can get … and one of the best.

Have a look at the list and you’re bound to see more than a few familiar names, including several you probably regular stock on your bar cart because they’re so damn affordable.

Evan Williams Black Label (~$17), Maker’s Mark 46 (~$35) and three bottles from Buffalo Trace’s entry-level Benchmark label (~$15 – $28), among other affordable tipples, all took home the highest award.

With bourbon as a whole never being more expensive thanks to hype culture and a booming enthusiast market, it’s comforting to know that some of our favorite cheap whiskeys are still worth buying.

Unique cask finishes are all the rage

Another thing that jumps out at me among the winners are all of the crazy cask finishes. Sherry and port finishes, cognac and armagnac finishes, finishes using toasted staves or barrels made from French oak and Japanese Mizunara oak are just some of the unique finishes applied to some of the winning bourbons, showing that experimentation has never been more rampant (or delicious) in the bourbon game.

Is 1792 the country’s best distillery?

1792 bourbon bottle — 1792 Bourbon had an impressive showing this year with five of its eight bottles earning Double Gold.

Although a number of labels had more than one bourbon earn a Double Gold Medal, 1792 comes away as the most impressive. Coming out of the Barton Distillery in Bardstown, 1792 has always been a solid choice for those in the know, but the brand’s dominance this year is sure to turn some heads.

Five different bottles of 1792 all earned Double Gold accolades — Bottled in Bond, Full Proof, Single Barrel, Small Batch, Sweet Wheat — and since the brand only offers eight bottles total as of this writing, that’s pretty damn impressive.

More winners are on the way

While the medals have been awarded, those 136 Double Golden bottles will be further whittled down to four best-in-class bourbons during the week of July 1.

At the time, the judges will decide which of the above bottles rank as the Best Straight Bourbon, Best Small Batch Bourbon, Best Single Barrel Bourbon and Best Special Barrel-Finished Bourbon, giving four whiskeys the ultimate bragging rights.