Spirits & Wine Award Winners, Top Scoring Products, Beverage Industry Trends and Best Wine and Spirits Lists

Of all the tequila categories blanco, or unaged, is the most pure. The lack of additional flavor from wood aging leaves the pure agave flavor exposed. Lunazul Blanco, the Chairman’s Trophy winner for Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2018, scored 96 Points and stands as a benchmark example of what blanco tequila can and should accomplish. Vividly tropical notes of green mango, passion fruit, and hot sand burst forth on the nose. Subtle citrus dances with black peppercorn and ripe white peach with a soft, rounded texture that is pleasing on the palate. Stimulating and well-rounded.

Ultimate Spirits Challenge’s results for the bourbon category are hotly anticipated every year. As distillers continue to expand their offerings we are delighted to evaluate both new and old favorites. At USC 2018, 5 bourbon entries scored over 95 Points and we can definitively call these the best 5 bourbons available.

Canadian Whisky can easily fly under the radar in the category of world whiskies, but ignoring them would be to miss out on some seriously high quality spirits. Here, we’ve rounded up the top scoring spirits to present the 4 absolute best Canadian whiskies.