The best bourbons of 2023 in the world have been chosen, at least according to the legendary San Francisco World Spirits Competition—one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of booze.
Each year, the SFWSC awards distinction ranging from honorable mention all the way to double gold—the ultimate honor for a bottle of whiskey.
From the double gold pool, finalists will battle it out for the “Best in Show” award later this month in a blind taste test. Bourbon is one of the most popular categories at the SFWSC, in terms of entrants, judge enthusiasm, and big-win potential.
Bourbons have been regularly featured in the finals, and even if they didn’t rise to the top of the broader whiskey category, the covetable double gold medal for a recent year might well be as good as a first-place trophy—it’s definitely a conference championship.
Like any fantasy football team manager, you should worry less about champions and more about your own needs. The right kicker can change your destiny, or at least elevate a cocktail on your home bar.
The SFWSC breaks bourbon into the following categories:
- Straight Bourbon
- Wheated Bourbon
- Small Batch Bourbon Up to 5 Years
- Small Batch Bourbon 6-10 Years
- Special Barrel-Finished Bourbon
- Single Barrel Bourbon Up to 10 Years
- Single Barrel Bourbon 11 Years and Older
It’s helpful information for you, the consumer, especially if you prefer older spirits or mostly consume cocktails. How you use this information is up to you, but having tasted almost all of these ourselves, we can’t point to any undeserved accolades.
Best Straight Bourbon
- 15 Stars 13-Year-Old Timeless Reserve Bourbon
- 1845 Distilling Preemption Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Blackened x Wes Henderson Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Blue Note Crossroads
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- Blue Note Juke Joint
- Brother’s Bond Cask Strength Bourbon
- Breckenridge High Proof 105 Bourbon Whiskey
- Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey
- Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Detroit City Butcher’s Cut Straight Bourbon
- Evan Williams Black
- Few Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
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- Fox & Oden Double Oaked Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond
- Heaven’s Door Decade Series Vol. 1 10yr Bourbon
- J. Rieger & Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
- Kentucky Owl The Wiseman Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- McFarlane’s Reserve Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Old Forester King Ranch Edition
- Old Louisville Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Pinhook Vertical Series Bourbon 7 Year
- Pursuit United Straight Bourbon
- Sweet Grass Bourbon
- William Heavenhill 9th Edition Bourbon
Best Wheated Bourbon
- Southern Star Paragon Cask Strength Single Barrel Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey
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- W. L. Weller 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Best Small Batch Bourbon Up to 5 Years
- Axe and the Oak Distillery First Stake Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
- Bainbridge Whiskey 40 Saloon Bottled In Bond
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- Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem! Small Batch Bourbon
- Ghostwood Blended Bourbon Whiskey
- Hidden Barn Whiskey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Small Batch Series One Batch #5
- Mystic Farm & Distillery Mystic Broken Oak
- New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond Without Chill Filtration
- Penelope Private Select Batch 22-302
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- ROCKER Spirits Bourbon Whiskey
- Still & Oak Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
- Still Austin Whiskey Co The Musician Cask Strength Bourbon
- The Bullock Distillery Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch #2
- Wilderness Trail Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Woodford Reserve Bourbon
Best Small Batch Bourbon 6 to 10 Years
- 2XO The Phoenix Blend
- Art of the Spirits Whiskey Cask Strength “Frogman” Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Eagle Rare 10 Year Old
- Ezra Brooks Bourbon Old Ezra 7 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- George Dickel Bourbon
- Joseph Magnus Murray Hill Club Bourbon Blend
- Kings County Distillery Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Laws Whiskey House Bottled in Bond Four Grain Bourbon
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- Peg Leg Porker Spirits Straight Tennessee Bourbon Whiskey
- Traverse City Whiskey Co. Barrel Proof Bourbon
- WhistlePig PiggyBack Bourbon
- Widow Jane 10-Year Bourbon
Best Special Barrel-Finished Bourbon
- Angel’s Envy 2022 Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels
- Art of the Spirits Whiskey Cask Strength “Final Run” Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in a Ruby Port Cask
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- Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series – Chateau de Laubade II
- Chicken Cock Chanticleer Finished in Cognac Casks
- Doc Swinson’s Exploratory Cask French Toasted
- Hillrock Estate Distillery Solera Aged Bourbon Tawny Port Finished
- Hidden Barn Whiskey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Small Batch Series One Finished in Madeira Casks
- Frank August Case Study: 01 | Mizunara | Japanese Oak
- Everwild Spirits Seekers Toasted Oak
- Neeley Family Distillery The Old Jett Brothers Sauternes Finished Bourbon
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- Rabbit Hole Distillery Dareringer Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in PX Sherry Cask
- World Whiskey Society Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Cask
- Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
Best Single Barrel Bourbon Up to 10 Years
- Blanton’s Original Single Barrel Bourbon
- Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel Single Barrel Bourbon
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- The Clover Whiskey Straight Bourbon
- Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
- Holladay Distillery Ben Holladay One Barrel Bourbon
- Kings County Distillery Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey #2022
- Nashtucky Single Barrel Bourbon
- Puncher’s Chance The Undisputed Bourbon
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- Red Line Whiskey Company 6-Year Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
- Whiskey Thief Distilling Company Single Barrel 12 Riders on the Storm
- Wyoming Whiskey Single Barrel Bourbon
Best Single Barrel Bourbon 11 Years and Older
- Augusta Distillery Buckner’s 13 Year
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- Elijah Craig 18-Year
- Russell’s Reserve 13 YO
See more results from the 2023 San Francisco Spirits Competition
Related: Best World Whiskeys of 2023 Announced at Spirits Competition
Related: Best Rye Whiskeys Revealed: 2023 SF World Spirits Competition
