My Time Judging the 2025 Heartland Whiskey Competition

 

Are you curious how a whiskey competition works?

 

Every two years, the American Craft Spirits Association partners with state corn grower associations for the Heartland Whiskey Competition. The competition invites brands from around the country to submit their whiskeys – the only caveat is that the mashbill must contain corn. It can be 100% corn-based, yet only the inclusion of a single kernel is required.

 

The competition is only open to craft distillers, meaning that the Big Boys don’t get a seat at the table.

 

“[It] is more than just a contest—it’s a celebration of small distilleries, family-owned farms, and the agricultural roots that make American whiskey so special.” – American Craft Spirits Association

 

For 2025, the Heartland Whiskey Competition took place on Tuesday, July 15^th in Westfield, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis, and was hosted by West Fork Whiskey Co. This year’s competition was sponsored by 21 state corn associations. However, brands from all 50 states are invited to participate.

The judging panel consisted of industry professionals and expert mixologists, including your friendly neighborhood Whiskeyfellow. Also judging were some longtime friends and folks I’ve met for the first time. Everyone involved was a respected colleague.

So, what’s involved in judging a whiskey competition? While each one is handled in its own, unique manner, some things are universal. Whiskeys are presented in flights, and each flight is categorized separately. Brands can select the category in which their whiskey will compete.

 

Does that seem weird? Yeah, a bit, until you consider what the categories are. As an example, let’s say you have a 6-year Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. This whiskey qualifies to compete against Bourbons over four years old and Bottled-in-Bond Bourbons. This particular whiskey, however, cannot compete in both categories; you must select one or the other.

 

The categories included Blended Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond, Bourbon, Corn Whiskey, Flavored Whiskey, Four Grain, Light Whiskey, Ready to Drink (RTD), Rye Whiskey, and Straight Whiskey. As you can imagine, one whiskey can fit many categories.

 

When you consider that there can be many dozens of whiskeys entered, it isn’t feasible to have every judge taste every whiskey. Judges are placed in groups (in the case of the Heartland Whiskey Competition, we were grouped in fours), and each group explores a flight of whiskeys from a single category. In other words, Group A may have American Ryes under four years, Group B may have Flavored Whiskeys, Group C may have Corn Whiskeys, etc.

We explored various aspects of each whiskey, including its appearance, discernibility of the corn component, its nose, palate, texture, body, flavor, and finish, and took each into account.

 

Regarding scoring, the Heartland Whiskey Competition, like many others, uses a 100-point system. While I use a Bottle, Bar, or Bust system, you might think it'd be challenging for me to convert to a points-based one. Yet, in reality, the 100-point system is more similar to mine than not.

 

That’s because each whiskey can win either a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal. As such, I’m deciding which of those three medals a whiskey should receive. The additional points indicate where an individual whiskey should be placed within its medal category.

 

And now, for a brief segue: The quiet fact of every whiskey competition I’ve looked into is that everyone is a winner. Remember, I’m voting on which medal the whiskey earns. Take that to its logical conclusion, and Bronze represents something drinkable (a/k/a a participation trophy), Silver is something good, and Gold is something excellent. Is it possible not to earn anything? Yes, but it would have to be something incredibly awful that, between the involved judges, can’t muster an average of 70 points. And, to answer your question, I’m aware of at least one that fits that description.

 

Back on point: After the flight, the points for each whiskey are averaged. That determines which medal it earns. As such, while these whiskeys are all in the same category, they’re being judged individually, not against each other. You could have a flight of all Bronze, all Silver, or all Gold medals. Usually, it's a mixed bag, and it isn’t unusual for there to be significant scoring gaps between the judges.

 

Now, here’s the cool part that isn’t universal for competitions: The Heartland Whiskey Competition asks judges for feedback on each spirit tasted. We have the opportunity to tell the distiller what they did right and, conversely, what could be improved, and that is where my experience as a reviewer comes into play: Did it need more time in oak? Was there too much influence from the finishing cask? Is it proofed too low or too high? There were also opportunities to say Well done! and explain where a whiskey shines. The brands can (and do) request the commentary on their whiskeys.

 

The whiskey with the highest score in each whiskey category is named Best in that category. Once that is determined, those whiskeys are then put up against each other in a tasting flight involving all the judges to determine which is the Best in Show.

The Heartland Whiskey Competition has other awards, too. There was Best-In-State, reserved for those from each of the sponsored states, and the Top Farmer-Distiller Awards: Best Farmer-Distilled Bourbon, Best Farmer-Distilled “Beyond Bourbon” Whiskey, and the Top Farmer-Distiller Trophy.

 

The official winners have not yet been announced, and each judge is sworn to keep that information confidential until the announcement is made. As such, no, I cannot disclose the winners. If you’re curious, keep watching the American Craft Spirits Association’s website.

 

I'll say this much: judging the 2025 Heartland Whiskey Competition was a fantastic experience and one that I’ll remember fondly, and I also cherish the new friends I’ve made.

 

Below are some random photos I took of the distillery. Cheers!