The Tasting Alliance runs the San Francisco World Spirits Competition each year.<\/p>\n
The Tasting Alliance<\/p>\n
The Tasting Alliance<\/a> has released its Platinum Medal recipients for the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC). A Platinum Medal is one of the most rigorous awards in the spirits industry, requiring consistent product quality over time.<\/p>\n The Path To Platinum<\/p>\n Achieving a Platinum Medal at the SFWSC is the result of a multi-year judging progression. After a product is entered into the competition, it is scored blind by a panel of industry professionals on a 100-point scale. If every judge on the panel awards the product a Gold score, it earns a Double Gold Medal. If that same product achieves a Double Gold score for three consecutive years, it is upgraded to a Platinum Medal.<\/p>\n 2026 SFWSC Platinum Medal logos<\/p>\n The Tasting Alliance2026 Platinum Medal Winners<\/p>\n The following products have achieved Platinum Medal status in 2026, including competition-supplied notes (where available).<\/p>\n American Whiskey<\/p>\n Bainbridge \u2013 Battle Point Barrel Proof Wheat Whiskey: From an organic island distillery in Washington’s Puget Sound, an all-organic-wheat whiskey bottled at full barrel strength.<\/p>\n Blanton’s \u2013 Straight from the Barrel Cask Strength Single Barrel Bourbon<\/p>\n Brother’s Bond \u2013 Cask Strength Straight Bourbon: Founded by Vampire Diaries co-stars Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, whose on-screen brotherhood inspired the name.<\/p>\n Eagle Rare \u2013 Straight Bourbon: Distilled at Buffalo Trace and aged a minimum of 10 years.<\/p>\n Fox & Oden \u2013 Double Oaked Straight Bourbon: A Michigan-born bourbon finished in a second char-oak barrel.<\/p>\n Lost Woods \u2013 110 American Single Malt Whiskey<\/p>\n Peg Leg Porker Spirits \u2013 Grey Label Tennessee Straight Bourbon: From championship pitmaster Carey Bringle, who lost his leg to cancer at 17 and became the first BBQ pitmaster to launch a bourbon. His World’s Best Bourbon title actually came at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating out Kentucky’s heavyweights.<\/p>\n The Notch Nantucket Single Malt Whiskey \u2013 15 Year Old<\/p>\n Whiskey War \u2013 Double Double Oaked<\/p>\n Scotch Whisky<\/p>\n Aberfeldy \u2013 Madeira Cask 16 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch: A richer twist on Aberfeldy’s signature heather-honey style.<\/p>\n Ardbeg \u2013 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch: The oldest whisky in Ardbeg’s core range, bottled from incredibly rare casks.<\/p>\n Benriach \u2013 The Thirty Single Malt Scotch: A Speyside thirty-year-old that showcases the distillery’s signature multi-cask maturation.<\/p>\n Benriach \u2013 The Twelve Single Malt Scotch: A three-cask Speysider (bourbon, sherry, and Port).<\/p>\n Benromach \u2013 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch<\/p>\n Dewar’s \u2013 Double Double 21 Year Old Blended Scotch: Built on master blender Stephanie Macleod’s four-stage “double double” aging process, an unusually meticulous method for a blended Scotch.<\/p>\n Dewar’s \u2013 Double Double 32 Year Old Blended Scotch: The pinnacle of the Double Double range.<\/p>\n Glen Scotia \u2013 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch: A briny, maritime single malt.<\/p>\n Glenglassaugh \u2013 Sandend Single Malt Scotch: Built around its salty, maritime character.<\/p>\n Levenside \u2013 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch<\/p>\n Loch Lomond \u2013 12 Year Old Inchmoan Single Malt Scotch<\/p>\n Nobel Rebel \u2013 Smoke Symphony Blended Malt Scotch<\/p>\n Royal Brackla \u2013 Oloroso, Palo Cortado & Pedro Xim\u00e9nez 21 Years Old Single Malt Scotch: One of only three distilleries ever granted a royal warrant, here finished across a trio of distinct sherry casks for layered dried-fruit complexity.<\/p>\n Sassenach Spirits \u2013 Spirit of Home Scotch: Created by Outlander star Sam Heughan, this Madeira-finished blend won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in its very first year of release and has continued the trend.<\/p>\n The Glendronach \u2013 Aged 18 Years Single Malt Scotch (“Allardice”): A richly sherried Highland single malt.<\/p>\n The Glenrothes \u2013 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch: A Speyside single malt long beloved by blenders, known for its rounded, sherried house style<\/p>\n The Glenrothes \u2013 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch<\/p>\n The Singleton of Dufftown \u2013 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch: A gently sherried Speysider designed for smoothness.<\/p>\n Irish Whiskey<\/p>\n Redbreast \u2013 12 Year Old Cask Strength Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey: The undiluted, full-proof expression of the whiskey widely regarded as the definitive single pot still Irish \u2014 a style that briefly nearly went extinct.<\/p>\n Redbreast \u2013 27 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey: A rare ruby-port-cask-finished flagship, among the oldest age-stated releases in the celebrated Redbreast lineup.<\/p>\n Spot Whiskey \u2013 Yellow Spot Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey<\/p>\n Other World Whisky<\/p>\n Kavalan \u2013 Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky<\/p>\n Rum<\/p>\n Calazan \u2013 Ron A\u00f1ejo Reserva<\/p>\n Cotton & Reed \u2013 White Rum: A Washington, D.C. distillery, born in a former warehouse near Union Market.<\/p>\n Gin<\/p>\n Gale Force \u2013 Gin<\/p>\n Gervasi Spirits \u2013 Pink Peppercorn Gin: A contemporary gin built around the bright, floral spice of pink peppercorn.<\/p>\n Gindome \u2013 Mermaid Navy Strength Gin<\/p>\n Prohibition Liquor Co. \u2013 Juniperus Gin: A juniper-forward gin that leans hard into the classic.<\/p>\n Tanqueray \u2013 London Dry Gin: One of the most awarded and bartender-trusted gins in the world.<\/p>\n Tanqueray \u2013 No. TEN Gin: Distilled using whole fresh citrus rather than dried peel.<\/p>\n Tequila & Mezcal<\/p>\n Black Sheep Tequila \u2013 A\u00f1ejo<\/p>\n Maria Bonita \u2013 Ensamble Mezcal: Truly showcases the mezcalero’s art of balancing different agaves in one expression.<\/p>\n Mezcal Vago \u2013 Elote: Maestro mezcalero Aquilino Garc\u00eda’s family adds roasted corn from their own Oaxacan farm between distillations \u2014 the toasted-corn note carries all the way to the finish.<\/p>\n Pantalones Organic Tequila \u2013 A\u00f1ejo: Co-founded by Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila.<\/p>\n Perro Verde Mezcal \u2013 Tobasiche: Made from wild-harvested Tobal\u00e1\/Tobasiche agave, a slow-maturing variety that grows in the wild rather than cultivated rows \u2014 prized for its complexity.<\/p>\n Tequila Ocho \u2013 Plata: The first tequila to be bottled by single estate and vintage, like wine, so each release tastes of the specific field and year the agave was grown.<\/p>\n Brandy & Cognac<\/p>\n Camus la Grande Marque \u2013 Very Special Cognac: From the largest family-owned independent Cognac house, now five generations deep.<\/p>\n Golden Wat Spirits \u2013 Cognac Virtue VSOP<\/p>\n Intipalka \u2013 Puro Italia Pisco: A single-varietal Peruvian pisco made entirely from the aromatic Italia grape grown in the brand’s own Ica Valley vineyards. <\/p>\n Torres \u2013 15 Year Old Brandy: From Spain’s famed Familia Torres of Pened\u00e8s, a solera-aged brandy from one of the most storied wine-and-spirit families in Catalonia.<\/p>\n Vodka<\/p>\n High Bank Distillery \u2013 Vodka<\/p>\n Soju & Shochu<\/p>\n Iichiko \u2013 Saiten Shochu: Built specifically to shine in cocktails \u2014 a bartender-friendly gateway to authentic shochu.<\/p>\n Minhwa Spirits \u2013 Yong Soju: A 100% rice soju.<\/p>\n Ready-To-Drink<\/p>\n Knox & Dobson \u2013 Improved Whiskey Cocktail: True craft cocktail culture in a bottle.<\/p>\n Mission Craft Cocktails \u2013 Jalape\u00f1o Pineapple Margarita: A sweet-heat balance in a can\/bottle. <\/p>\n Other<\/p>\n CR Citrus \u2013 Smoked Orange<\/p>\n Top Note \u2013 Classic Tonic<\/p>\n More 2026 SFWSC NewsForbesMore Top Whiskey Finalists From The San Francisco World Spirits CompetitionBy Chris Perugini<\/a>ForbesAmerican Whiskey Finalists At The San Francisco World Spirits CompetitionBy Chris Perugini<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tasting Alliance runs the San Francisco World Spirits Competition each year. The Tasting Alliance The Tasting Alliance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[45836,153905,86758,153902,153906,153901,153904,101,103,102,104,106,105,153903,86085,15018],"class_list":["post-380634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-bourbon","tag-cognac","tag-gin","tag-irish-whiskey","tag-mezcal","tag-platinum-medal-winner","tag-rum","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-single-malt-scotch","tag-tequila","tag-vodka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}