It’s time for the first annual Whiskey Ring Awards!

At this time of year, there are so many awards being handed out, lists of best and worst of the year, and holiday gift idea suggestions it can be hard to tell who’s telling their truth and who’s bullshitting. It’s also hard, honestly, to create a set of criteria that fit what you want to accomplish.  

To create my criteria, I looked to a few writers and reviewers to whom I look up. To paraphrase Picasso, good writers copy; great writers steal. Though I read many lists and awards, tops on the list is Jeff Schwartz, aka Whiskeyfellow, whose own Whiskeyfellow Awards were announced just a few days ago. Most of my criteria are adapted from Jeff’s own, and I thank him profusely for letting me steal and adapt his criteria.

Here are my criteria for the spirits in the 2022 awards (hint: ‘reasonable’ is a frequent word):

-       I have to have tried it. Simple as that – if it didn’t touch my lips, it won’t touch the list.

-       It has to be specifically a 2022 release or released for the first time in 2022 with plans for longer-term distribution. Products released in previous years I tried for the first time this year are not eligible.

-       The bottle has to be available or have been reasonably available during the course of the year. If it was a limited edition (e.g. Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill) or batched product (e.g. Booker’s, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof), it had to be reasonably available for a period of time after its release.

-       Prices had to be reasonable as set by the producer and also reasonable once the bottles hit store shelves. For me and for the purposes of these awards, that means approximately MSRP. Prices can and do vary across the country, and in New York we pay a premium – products won’t be dinged for local price influence. No bottle on the list will be above $500 MSRP.

o   Note: yes, I know ‘reasonable’ price is probably the most relative term here, and what’s reasonable for you may not be reasonable for another. Price is not a factor in my final ratings, but it is a factor when determining what is available and accessible, and the awards will reflect that. 

-       Taken directly from Whiskeyfellow, as I couldn’t improve upon it in any way: “It must be pretty reasonable to get your hands on. I’m not suggesting that you can walk into any liquor store to find it – the three-tier distribution system makes that promise impossible beyond Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, Evan Williams Black Label, and Jim Beam White Label. But, it also won’t be something you’d have to sell your soul to see in person, let alone acquire, and when you do, hopefully, you don’t have some [asshole] charging many times retail for it.”

-       No store picks, group picks, or distillery-only releases. Store picks and group picks reflect the palates of the groups involved, not that of the producers. Distillery-only releases are often small, highly limited, and unavailable to the larger community.

o   One exception: single barrels/small batches chosen by the distillery, as long as they are not distillery-exclusive. Since these reflect the intentions of the producers, I’ll allow them as valid products. Independent bottling releases are also not excluded.

Other notes:

-       I make no distinction between craft, heritage, or other for distilleries. The definition of “craft” is nebulous at best and I don’t want to disqualify a spirit from one category or another based on incredibly fungible terms.

-       I have no categories based on or divided by age. I truly believe each spirit stands on its own: some peak at three years old, others take decades. To divide them by, for example, under or over four years would be arbitrary.

I’m sure there are things that will change in future years, and I can guarantee there are things I tasted this year I thought would be on this list from the moment I tasted them. Due to these criteria, however, sadly they are not.

There will also be a few crowdsourced categories, such as “Most Surprising Personnel Move”, where your vote will determine the winner!

Finally, these are my categories, choices, and rules. If you’ve got suggestions, let me know!