Imagine spending a week as a judge in a competition “sipping, spitting, and double-blind tasting” some of the best American whiskey, along with vodka, tequila, rum and assorted spirits. It turns out that dream job is harder work than you might think.
Don’t get me wrong. The judges from around the world who were recently in Kentucky for the Third International Wine & Spirts Competition (IWSC) had a blast, working and playing hard. After the judging duties wrapped each day, the group was ‘whiskey-and-dined’ during behind-the-scene tours at Angel’s Envy, James B. Beam Distillery, Heaven Hill Distillery, and The Beam Institute at the University of Kentucky.
I was fortunate to be invited along on the afternoon the group toured Maker’s Mark Distillery and Star Hill Farm in Loretto, Kentucky. My few hours with the group completely changed my perception of the value of tasting competitions and the importance of the awards that come from them. These people are passionate, committed to finding the best, and they really know what they’re doing.
The group started its day outside the Maker’s Mark Visitors Center, looking out across the beautiful and historic distillery and farm. The first guide of the day was none other than Rob Samuels, eighth-generation whisky maker and managing director of Maker’s Mark Distillery. Samuels talked about how his grandfather, Bill Samuels, had left the family whiskey business, but wasn’t finding success in anything else.
“It was my grandmother, Margie, who would whisper in his ear after watching him flounder around,” Samuels said. “She was the one who said, ‘Why don’t you think about getting back into the whiskey business?’ And he agreed.”
“But when (Bill) agreed, he said it was gonna be on his own terms,” Samuels continued. “So they were standing right here in 1952, looking down, imagining the future. This is why we built this terrace and transformed what was originally just an old country farmhouse. We wanted folks to appreciate the vision, looking down into the heart of the distillery.”
“And as (Bill) was imagining a new style of whiskey, essentially a bourbon for people that didn’t like bourbon,” Samuels said. “You know, could you create a bourbon that was a little more refined, a little more elevated, a full strength bourbon that you could hold on your tongue without the bite, without that abrasiveness? He was imagining Maker’s Mark.”
Samuels went on to describe the commitment to regenerative agriculture, creating the Regenerative Alliance with all the farmers who supply Maker’s Mark with its grains and yeast. “We have been on a journey for the last 12 years to bring life back into the soil. to regenerate the life of the soil. And we’ve made tremendous progress,” Samuels said.
Kiss the Ground, a leading nonprofit advocating regenerative agriculture describes it as “holistic farming practices that aim to restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, with benefits for climate and wellness.”
Samuels continued, “Our agricultural footprint today in Kentucky…sourcing all of our corn and all of our wheat from within 35 miles of the distillery spans 50,000 acres. Wow. 50,000 acres!”
After touring the distillery and then dipping their own bottles of bourbon in the iconic Maker’s Mark red wax, the group loaded up in vehicles to visit the Maker’s Mark lakeside tasting room, overlooking the spring-fed lake that is the distillery’s water source. The secluded cabin is normally only open for Private Selection barrel picks and other special events.
Once there, Chef Jamie Prouten, Star Hill Farm Executive Chef, welcomed everyone and described the outstanding menu he was about to serve, including Wagyu beef hotdogs.
While we munched on our delicious Waygu hotdogs and other gourmet picnic victuals, I got a chance to talk with judge Jack Beguedou, who is know as the “Hood Sommelier.” His bio: “Spirits educator, digital creator, and cultural storyteller, focused on making whiskey and fine spirits more accessible.”
“It’s my first time judging,” Beguedou said. “It’s been a very interesting week. I like that they incorporate more than just judging. We get a chance to actually visit the distilleries and learn more about their history. Dawn (Davis, lead judge) and the team are very, very strict. And the first rule is we’re not here to just give participation trophies, right? We are here to truly determine the best of the best. And also understand the intention of the makers as they actually are making their whiskey.”
(Editor’s Note: See my quick conversations with three other judges below)
Next the panel of judges earned their lunch when they rolled up their sleeves and planted several white oak trees on the property of the Star Hill Farm.
A final stop found the judges out standing in the (wheat) field for a tasting of the second generation of Star Hill Farm Whisky, made from hard and soft red winter wheat grown here on the farm.
I’m not sure the folks at Maker’s Mark got the word that these judges do their tastings in a double-blind format and there was no way to influence their decisions. (I’m kidding). The afternoon in Loretto was one of the most complete examples of Kentucky bourbon hospitality I’ve ever witnessed. A toast to the Maker’s Mark team for pulling out all the stops for these international visitors.
My main takeaway from the day was how completely my thoughts on whiskey and spirits judging competitions changed after meeting the judges and getting to talk with them. Professionalism and passion are just the first two words that come to mind. The third word might be lucky. They are very lucky to have such refined palates that the IWSC chose them for this exceptional week of tasting and touring in Kentucky bourbon country.
A Quick Conversation with Lead Judge Dawn Davies:
Davies is the Head Buyer at the Whiskey Exchange in the United Kingdom and one of the most respected spirits buyers anywhere.
TBT: Tell me about the week you’ve had so far here in Kentucky.
Davis: “It’s been fantastic. This is my third year coming out to judge, and I think what I really love about judging when you’re in the country is, one, you have lots of different perspectives. So we’re coming from the UK to bring, like, the UK consistency of scoring. But it’s great to judge with the American judges and the Asian judges, because actually, you get a real kind of exchange of interesting ideas and thoughts, and we’re super rigorous when we do the judging.”
“I think, for me, it’s the most rigorous competition out there, for sure. It’s really important that people understand what we’re doing here is not just giving Golds away like presents or something. We really think about it, we really debate it.”
“I always say to the guys, when we start, ‘Okay, so Bronze is a bottle of whiskey you’d love to recommend to a friend. Silver… It’s one you want to recommend, but it’s just a little bit more interesting, got a little bit more depth. Gold, you’re drinking pretty much half the bottle. I want the ones that win to really win on merits. You don’t give a lot of Golds away…when someone gets a Gold, then we actually see they’ve risen to meet the rigor of the competition.”
“I love coming to Kentucky, because you’re talking to the families that have been here since the beginning of the industry. It’s living history and such a rich style of story telling.”
A Quick Conversation with Judge Owen Martin:
Martin is the Master Distiller at Angel’s Envy Distillery in Louisville.
TBT: Is it interesting being a judge, given your day job?
Martin: “Yes. In some sense, it’s more of the same, but different. Right, but it’s the same base spirit. A good example…we tasted 12 bottled-in-bond whiskeys in one big session earlier. We (Angel’s Envy) make a bottled-in-bond too, so it was the most interesting set to me, because it was the most apples to apples. We did American single malts, and we had all these different proofs. We had new oak, we had used oak, we had sherry finished. I actually really enjoyed the bottled-in-bond, because I was able to just go, ‘Hey, this one’s nutty, this one’s fruity, this one’s drinking a little bit hot, this one drinks really well for 100 proof, and that sort of thing.”
TBT: What does it mean for the judges to be in Kentucky for this global contest?
Martin: “It’s a huge deal. I think it’s our chance to show off our goods (as an industry). Shout out to our hosts today, Maker’s Mark. I think they do it as well as anyone. And we (Angel’s Envy) got to show people our warehouses just a couple days ago. For me, I feel some commonality there, right? Because I trained in Scotland. I’m not from Kentucky. I’ve been here for 3.5 years and half of the fun has been discovering Kentucky myself.”
TBT: Have you had any surprises this week…good or bad?
Martin: “The surprise, maybe, was sitting down very first thing in the morning, and you have a table of four (judges) and we have to calibrate our palates together, which is lovely. But the very first thing we had to drink was vodka at nine in the morning. And maybe if there was a surprise, it was that. Luckily, that was the only vodka of the day, both days.”
“But no, it’s been lovely. Even amongst our table, we found that two folks had similar preferences, and the other two had another set of preferences. And not to say there’s debate or whatever, but it’s like a spirited conversation.”
“Probably the most fulfilling thing is just the insightful and thoughtful comments on delving into the flavor because that’s what I do every day and seeing people do that from maybe a bartender’s perspective or a buyer’s perspective…all that confluence of different backgrounds into what we’re tasting.”
TBT: Until I got here today, I didn’t put much stock in awards, contests, and judging. But now I realize, these people are working hard.
Martin: “We tasted, I want to say, 60 or 70 pours within a few hours time. Half the battle is keeping your palate as fresh as you can. We were joking because one of the writers was just housing crackers. So everybody’s got their different tricks, you know, I try to reset my nose in the crook of my elbow, that sort of thing. But everybody, no matter what their background is, whether it’s a maker or a writer, their passion in judging is reflective of the passion that went into making the spirit.”
TBT: Final question: How are you enjoying living in Kentucky?
Martin: I love it.”
A Quick Conversation with Judge Georgie Bell:
Bell is the Co-Founder of the Heart Cut and Baby Let’s Backstroke in the United Kingdom and is a respected whisky educator and consultant.
TBT: How has the week of judging gone so far?
Bell: It’s been great. I think what’s been so exciting here is tasting like the variety of American whiskeys that we’ve been exposed to. I think the category has come on so much, and the diversification of the category is really developed.
And the quality as well, which is just skyrocketing: character, complexity, depth of flavor, integration of spirit.
Because I think sometimes with whiskeys, especially if you’re using new wood, especially if you’re in hotter climates, there can be a lot of wood at play, and there can be a lot of alcohol at play. But I’ve been really pleasantly surprised over the last few days of how well integrated some of the whiskies are.
What does it mean to be in Kentucky for this experience.
Bell: “Oh, my God, everything, because you’re living it, right? And I think tasting whiskey is so…emotive. Even within these competitions, we’re stripping away brands. We’re stripping away marketing, we’re stripping away bottle design.
We’re just focusing on the whiskey in the bottle. But we’re still tasting it in the heart of Kentucky. We’re tasting and evaluating American whiskey in one of the homes of American whiskey.
About The IWSC
(From the organization): Since 1969, the IWSC has set the global standard for beverage excellence. Known as the "Olympics of the drinks industry," the IWSC evaluates more than 12,000 entries annually from 90-plus countries. Judges are key decision-makers in the industry, including Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, Master Distillers and Senior Buyers. These experts assess wines, spirits and alternative drinks using a rigorous panel process that ensures fair evaluation. The IWSC stands out for its expert judging, consistent attention, comprehensive categories and global recognition. For producers, it offers benchmarking, recognition and business connections. For consumers, IWSC medals guide excellence in a wide selection of drinks. Partners of IWSC's Global Judging in Kentucky include: James B. Beam Distilling Co., Maker's Mark, Angel's Envy, Heaven Hill Brands, Kentucky Eagle, Glencairn, Total Wine & More, Mint Experiences, and Buzick Construction. About the IWSC Competition Global Judging Since 2022, the IWSC has held in situ Global Judging events, an initiative introduced by Strategy and Business Development Director Christelle Guibert. The IWSC is proud to be the first international drinks competition to institute a series such as this. Until today, wine and spirits have been judged in Italy, Austria, Georgia, Turkey, Italy, Argentina, Australia, the United States, South Africa and China. The competition is committed to the initiative due to the opportunities it gives all producers in a region to take part, no matter what their size is, and allows for the drinks entered to be judged in context by judges who are up to date with the region and its most recent developments.
