The International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) has become one of the drinks world’s most reliable arbiters of quality. Its new Top 50 Wine and Spirit Producers program shines a light on the houses that don’t just score the odd medal, but deliver award-winning bottlings across their entire range, year after year. This piece zooms in on some of the individual bourbon expressions that helped those producers secure their place on the list.
Based in London and founded in 1969, the IWSC now fields thousands of entries from more than 90 countries, judging them side by side under rigorous blind-tasting protocols. As part of the Top 50 initiative, and in partnership with the IWSC, I’ve compiled an honor roll of spirits that seem to be permanent fixtures in the winners’ circle.
To earn a spot, a spirit must have collected gold medals in at least three of the last five competitions—a demanding benchmark that values sustained excellence as much as star power. Out of the many thousands of submissions spanning every major category, only 46 expressions met that standard. Just two of them are bourbons.
This feature highlights those two bourbons, offering concise background notes and personal tasting impressions. Together, they show how different approaches to blending and barrel management can produce the layered complexity, depth, and quiet opulence that define top-tier aged bourbon.
Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 65% ABV, 750 ml. $269
Blanton’s is one of the landmark names in modern bourbon history. In 1984, Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee created Blanton’s for what is now Buffalo Trace, drawing inspiration from his mentor Colonel Albert B. Blanton. At a time when bourbon was struggling and “single barrel” wasn’t yet a consumer concept, Blanton’s was marketed as the first modern single-barrel bourbon, built around hand-selected casks from Warehouse H at the Frankfort, Kentucky distillery.
Straight From The Barrel (SFTB) is the most intense and uncompromising expression in the Blanton’s line. It’s based on Buffalo Trace’s “high-rye” mash bill #2. Buffalo Trace does not disclose details of its mash bills, but the high-rye #2 is believed to be 60% corn, 15% rye, and 25% malted barley. In addition to Blanton’s, this is the same mash bill used for Elmer T Lee, Ancient Age, Rock Hill Farms, and Hancock’s Reserve.
The age is not stated, but it is typically in the 6–9-year range, depending on the barrel. The proof also varies by barrel but is usually in the 120–135 proof / 60–67% ABV range. Maturation traditionally takes place in Warehouse H, a metal-clad rickhouse known for faster, more intense maturation.
The bourbon is usually bottled uncut, at the barrel’s natural strength and non-chill-filtered.
Originally, SFTB was reserved for export markets in Japan and parts of Europe, as well as for travel retail. Its limited availability in the US added to its cult status among enthusiasts. It’s now more widely available but still scarce, and usually sells at a premium to its recommended retail price. Each bottle carries a unique barrel number, dump date, and proof.
Since this series consists of single-barrel bottlings, each batch will vary slightly, even though it shares a common DNA.
The bourbon is very aromatic with a pronounced sweetness on the nose and a layered complexity featuring aromas of dark/burnt caramel, butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla, and toasted marshmallow. There are fruity notes of orange peel, baked apple, dark cherry, raisin, and dried fig.
The whisky features classic high-rye spice notes of cinnamon, clove, cracked black pepper, allspice, and a hint of nutmeg. As the whiskey opens up, aromas of charred oak, tobacco leaf, old leather, cocoa, and roasted nuts emerge.
The addition of a little water smooths out the alcohol bite, releasing additional notes of sweet honey, citrus oils, seasoned oak, and subtle floral aromas.
It’s robust, full-bodied, sweet, and oily on the palate, with pronounced mouth weight, a chewy texture, and pronounced alcohol heat. It showcases flavors of molasses, dark honey, caramel corn, vanilla cream, toffee, dark chocolate, and orange marmalade.
The high-rye component adds flavors of cinnamon Red Hots, clove, black pepper, and a hint of mint, along with seasoned oak, charcoal, cigar box, toasted coconut, and roasted pecan.
A splash of water brings out a velvety, almost syrupy texture, enhancing the sweetness and citrus notes.
The finish is exceptionally long, with lingering notes of dark caramel, cocoa, orange peel, charred oak, baking spices, leather, faint herbal tobacco notes, and a gentle tannic grip.
Four Roses Small Batch, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45% ABV, 750 ml.
Four Roses has one of the most complicated bourbon production processes. They use two mash bills: a high-rye mash bill of 65% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley, and a low-rye mash bill of 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley. Additionally, they use five proprietary yeast strains, resulting in 10 distinct bourbon profiles.
Those ten recipes are the building blocks for every Four Roses expression. The standard Small Batch is crafted by mingling four of the ten recipes, chosen to balance richness, fruit, spice, and floral notes. Traditionally, these are two “B” high-rye and two “E” low-rye recipes with “O” as the standard straight-bourbon code and “K/O/S” yeast variants.
The bourbon is typically aged 6–7 years. It varies slightly from batch to batch, reflecting barrel variations. The bourbon is distilled at Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg and aged in new, charred American oak in single-story rickhouses at their Cox’s Creek facility.
Stylistically, Small Batch sits between Four Roses’ entry-level Yellow Label, now renamed “Four Roses Bourbon,” and the Single Barrel expression. It’s designed to showcase the house character—fruity, floral, spicy, and refined—at an accessible price and proof.
The bourbon is fruity, a hallmark of certain Four Roses yeast strains, featuring aromas of red berries, ripe apricot, baked apple, and stone fruit along with caramel, honey, and vanilla custard.
It’s also floral and herbal, with notes of rose petal, honeysuckle, and a hint of fresh herbs, along with baking spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, a touch of clove, and white pepper.
It’s smooth, sweet, and medium-bodied on the palate, showcasing flavors of honey, toffee, and vanilla, along with ripe stone fruit and red berry jam. There are rye spice notes of cinnamon and allspice, a touch of black pepper, subtle floral notes of rose petal and orange blossom, and seasoned oak.
The finish is long and silky, with lingering notes of caramel, vanilla, dried fruit, seasoned oak, and subtle rye spices.
Seen side by side, Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel and Four Roses Small Batch capture two very different visions of what great bourbon can be. Blanton’s channels the raw intensity of a high-rye, single-barrel, barrel-strength whiskey—dense, powerful, and unabashedly oak-driven—while Four Roses leans into precision blending, layering ten distinct recipes into a seamless balance of fruit, florals, spice, and gentle wood.
Both have earned their place on the IWSC’s honor roll by doing the hardest thing in modern spirits: showing up, year after year, with bottles that don’t just impress once but consistently clear a very high bar. For bourbon drinkers, they offer two compelling paths to the same destination—depth, complexity, and the quiet confidence of whiskeys that have nothing left to prove. Simply put, these bourbons are indispensable, timeless classics that no home bar should be without!