Heaven Hill, New Riff among winners in the 2020 John Barleycorn Awards Taste and Marketing + Design competitions.

The awards program, conducted by the John Barleycorn Society of Spirits Writers & Marketers, is designed to honor creative excellence in all aspects of the spirits industry. Taste entries were blind-tasted and scored on a 100-point scale for appearance, aroma, taste and finish.

Some of the major award winners include Heaven Hill as Large Distillery of the Year and New Riff being named Small Distillery of the Year.

Other winners include: Best Bourbon, Four Roses Small Batch; Best Rye, New Riff Balboa Rye Whiskey, and Best American Whiskey, Uncle Nearest 1856. A complete list of winners and comments from judges can be found at www.barleycornawards.com. 

Judges included a number of spirits and lifestyle writers, authors and other media members, including author Fred Minnick.