The World’s Best Bourbon—According To The 2024 London Spirits Competition

From Forbes:

The results are in from the 2024 London Spirits Competition and there are some serious surprises in the mix. As one of Europe’s most prestigious tasting events, the annual judging brings together 40 esteemed palates from throughout all walks of the booze industry. What they ordain as the best of the best—across a total of 29 different categories—can provide a massive boost to brands, especially upstart craft purveyors.

Today we’re going to take a closer look at what they named as The Best Straight Bourbon of the Year: Charles Goodnight Bourbon, produced by Foley Family Wines.

If you were expecting something out of Kentucky, it’s understandable. After all, the Bluegrass State does account for nearly 95% of total bourbon production. But hold on to your cowboy hats, folks, because this one is from deep in the heart of Texas. Sourced from an undisclosed distillery (or distilleries) therein, Charles Goodnight is a high-rye expression, aged for six years and brought to bottle at a palate-punching 115 proof.

Though it is an unapologetically aggressive pour, there are wondrous flavors that come along with that heat. Namely, dark roast coffee, s’mores, and molasses. There’s also a complex finish to ponder—a lengthy escapade in which those aforementioned sweeter elements resolve themselves in oak spice.

Clearly, the judges in London were won-over by this complexity. And perhaps they even added a drop or two of room temperature water to the glass in order to accentuate it all. In my experience, this is a dram that benefits from such a maneuver.