Dueling Grounds and Jeptha Creed also medal in 10-state competition sponsored by KyCorn
In a blind judging supervised by the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) last week in Chicago, Barrel House Distilling’s Rock Castle Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was judged Kentucky’s top craft whiskey. The competition, sponsored in part by KyCorn, drew more than 75 whiskey entries from ten states. The day-long competition required that judges evaluate each spirit within its appropriate category (bourbon, corn whiskey, etc.). Top state medals were awarded to those achieving the highest scores in their respective states, regardless of category.
“Competition entries exceeded our expectations by quite a bit so medalists persevered from a large pool,” stated Margie A.S. Lehrman, executive director of ACSA. “Today, each of these states has a group of craft spirits distillers that produce high-quality whiskey, so claiming best of state is a significant achievement.”
The competition was limited to spirits that use some corn in the distillation process. The competition was underwritten by several state corn marketing associations.
“Our goal was to send a message that corn is used in a diverse range of products and our industry supports those who support us,” said Laura Knoth, executive director of KyCorn.
Barrel House is located in Lexington, and the winning bourbon is distilled with both local corn and wheat. Two other Kentucky distilleries earned three additional medals in the craft competition for their respective categories. Jeptha Creed in Shelbyville earned two bronze medals and Dueling Grounds in Franklin earned one.
Heartland Spirits Fest Competition judges taste corn-based spirits at the competition held in Chicago in May.