The 2022 Best Whiskey Awards by Whiskey Raiders: Which Brands Came Out on Top This Year?

2022 was a fantastic year for whiskey, and we want to make sure the producers who put out delightful releases over the course of the year get their due. Thus, we’re introducing the 2022 Best Whiskey Awards by Whiskey Raiders, in which we give credit to the best brands and whiskeys of the year.

Keep your eyes peeled for our best overall whiskey of 2022, which will be revealed in a separate article Thursday, Dec. 29.

Best New Brand: Blue Run Spirits

While this brand technically launched in 2020, Blue Run Spirits truly burst onto the whiskey scene in a major way in 2022, and we tried Blue Run for the first time in January of this year.

Blue Run catches some flak from many whiskey heads for being a newcomer with high price tags, but make no mistake, Blue Run is here to stay, and the brand is doing terrific work. Distilled at Castle & Key, Blue Run launched a wild amount of whiskey this year and is on a rip-roaring trajectory. In August, the company announced plans to move from bottler to distiller status by building a $51 million distillery.

The release that sold us on Blue Run this year was batch 1 of its High Rye Bourbon, a four-year-old expression that drinks much older and was produced under the guidance of former Four Roses master distiller Jim Rutledge. Blue Run knocked it out of the park again in October with the launch of Alpine Meadows Bourbon, a member of its Flight Series.

In September, Bloomberg named Blue Run one of 2022’s 50 most innovative startups in the U.S. With Rutledge and Wild Turkey alum Shaylyn Gammon on board, Blue Run is on a tear and shows no signs of slowing down.

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Read More: With a Former Politician and a Nike Designer on Board, Blue Run Spirits is Attacking the Booze Game in its Own Way

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Best Craft Producer: Starlight Distillery

Borden, Indiana’s own Starlight Distillery is a true comeback story.

“I’m really surprised to be talking about this producer, because years ago, I had one of their first products, and I swore that I would never drink anything from this distillery again,” Whiskey Raiders Editor in Chief and Spirits Critic Jay West said on a recent episode of the Whiskey Raiders Podcast. “I was like, ‘this is the worst thing I’ve ever had. I will never go back.’

But here we are. Starlight has really taken off and made unbelievable improvements. This producer has a great handle on what bourbon drinkers are looking for in 2022 and is always experimenting.

Our favorite of the Starlight whiskeys we reviewed this year was its Double Oaked Bourbon.

Best Bourbon: Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17 Year

Distilled by Heaven Hill using a mashbill composed of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley, this spectacular bourbon was evidence that Heaven Hill can still push out hyper-aged whiskeys the way it used to.

Bottled at 118.2 proof, this is a blend of 28% 17-year bourbon, 44% 19-year bourbon and 28% 20-year bourbon. The secret to this release is the composition of much older whiskey, and it shows in bringing the additional complexity that balances each element so nicely.

Retailing for just under $300, this whiskey is worth the pricetag and features an enticing, fruit-forward nose, a sweet, rich, decadent and viscous palate and a spicy finish.

Read our full review of Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17 Year here.

Best Rye Whiskey: Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye

We found this year’s Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye to be exceptional. This whiskey can be tough to track down, but if you can find it and are willing to pay the premium price it commands (the suggested retail price is $100), it’s reliably great every year. This whiskey delivers a complex nose with notes of sugar, molasses, toffee and cocoa. On the palate, there’s burnt brown sugar, heavy clove, rye spice, cocoa, tobacco and black pepper with a pecan pie note on the back palate and a spice-laden finish with lots of cocoa and caramel.

Read our full review of Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye here.

Best Finished Whiskey: WhistlePig Boss Hog IX: Siren’s Song

This was the most experimental whiskey of 2022, and WhistlePig absolutely nailed it. The Vermont brand gave this rye whiskey a double finish in casks of Greek fig nectar and farm-scratch tentura, a Greek liqueur. Both finishes were created by WhistlePig on its Vermont farm using Greek and local ingredients. The tentura was made from cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, orange peel and honey.

Priced at $600, this is a hyper-premium whiskey, but damn is it good. This is a deliciously spicy rye, filled with pepper, clove, anise, maple and angostura bitters. It’s wildly succulent, savory and peppery on the palate with an absolutely wild finish that’s sweet then savory, peppery then salty, acidic then sweet, fatty and rich.

This is without a doubt the most interesting whiskey we tasted in 2022, and while it may not be for everyone, it is an absolute success.

Read our full review of WhistlePig Boss Hog IX: Siren’s Song here.

Best Scotch Whisky: Glendronach 29 Year Single Cask 1992 #217 Oloroso Sherry Butt

Yielding 383 bottles, this single-cask bottling from Glendronach was distilled in 1992 and bottled in 2021 for the U.S. market for a 2022 release. Priced at $820, this 29-year whisky saw maturation in an Oloroso Sherry Butt and was bottled at 55.4% ABV with no coloring or filtering.

This rich whisky features notes of tobacco, cherry tart, caramel candies and burnt toffee on the nose; blackberry, currants, apple pie, cinnamon and pepper on the palate; and black tea, peppery spice, tobacco and rich raisin bread on the long finish.

Simply exquisite, this whisky delivers a near-perfect blend of spicy and sweet, wine and malt.

Glendronach continues to impress with some of the heaviest-hitting single-cask sherry-cask-aged Scotch in the business.

Read our full review of Glendronach 29 Year Single Cask 1992 #217 Oloroso Sherry Butt here.

Best Irish Whiskey: Gold Spot 9 Year 135th Anniversary

Distilled by Midleton and matured in a blend of bourbon barrels, sherry butts, Bordeaux wine casks and port pipes, this whiskey is bottled at 51.4% ABV with no coloring or filtering.
Intensely sweet on the nose and rich on the palate, this whiskey is silky with a lot going on. Honey, berries, cherry, orange peel, coconut, vanilla cream and a rich, tannic spice develop on the palate, and the sipping experience is finished off by a long finish with some spice.

This is a lightly nutty whiskey that is concurrently complex and easy to enjoy. Overall, despite the modest age statement, this release is a winner through and through with tons of character, balance and complexity. Few things can prove age is just a number this effectively, as Gold Spot’s release is a fitting anniversary bottling, rich with flavor and complexity.

Read our full review of Gold Spot 9 Year 135th Anniversary here.

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