At the World Whiskies Awards, held in London on March 22 this year, a new Best Bourbon in the World was crowned. That bourbon? It’s one you may already be familiar with, but if you’re not, you’re going to want to be (especially before liquor stores start jacking up the price because of the honor and what will most likely be a higher demand): 1792 Full Proof Bourbon, which is put out by the Barton 1792 Distillery.
1792 Full Proof was originally introduced in summer 2016 and was intended to be a limited expression. It’s now released annually. The bourbon is bottled at barrel-entry proof (125) and expresses strong notes of caramel and spice on the nose before moving into a palate that bursts with caramel, oak, vanilla, spice — all the things you expect to find in a good bourbon. The finish, like you might expect, is pretty long.
This is the third year in a row a distillery owned by the Sazerac Company has taken top honors in the category. In 2016 and 2017, the honor went to A. Smith Bowman Distillery (first for their Abraham Bowman Port Finished Bourbon in 2016 and then for their John J. Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon in 2017).
Another Sazerac-owned company, Buffalo Trace, also took home a slew of honors in the past year, specifically in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2018. The most notable of the awards, World Whisky of the Year, went to Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon, but the distillery also got nods in Bourbon of the Year, Rye of the Year, Best American Whisky No Age Statement, Best American Whisky 9 Years and Under, Best American Whisky 10 Years and Over, Best Rye No Age Statement, and Best Rye 11 Years and Over.
(They’re going to need another distillery just to hold all of the awards, it seems.)
If a full-proof bourbon isn’t up your alley, Barton 1792 produces other expressions. The flagship is 1792 Small Batch, but they also release a series of limited expression that include Single Barrel, Bottled in Bond, High Rye, Port Finish, and Sweet Wheat.
