🏆 WHISKEY OF THE YEAR: The Sweet Sixteen Finale! (Battles 7 & 8)
The opening round of the 2025 Whiskey of the Year Tournament concludes today! After 12 months of evaluations, it all comes down to the final two spots in the Elite Eight.
In this episode, we face our final #1 seed taking on a high-scoring Wildcard, followed by a clash between our final #2 and #3 seeds. Will the heavy hitters hold the line, or are we about to witness the ultimate “Giant Slayer” upset right before the quarterfinals?
🥃 In This Episode:
We wrap up the Sweet Sixteen with two massive matchups that pushed our palates to the limit.
- Battle 7: A high-proof showdown where one bottle “sings” with complexity while the other brings a “bag of peanuts” to the face.
- Battle 8: A battle of the “beast mode” noses. One bottle smells like a Crème Brûlée dessert, while the other offers an intriguing ginger-spice balance.
Watch as we break down the nose, palate, and finish—completely blind—to see which two bottles survive the gauntlet to join the Elite Eight.
📉 The Sweet Sixteen Scorecard
The competition in this opening round was incredibly tight. To give you an idea of the caliber of these whiskeys, here is how the scoring broke down across all 16 contenders:
- Average Winner Score: 93.5 (Elite Eight Bound)
- Average Eliminated Score: 92.1 It is rare to see a tournament where the “losers” are still scoring in the 90s! This proves that every bottle in this bracket truly earned its spot among the best of 2025.
🏆 The Elite Eight Reveal
Stick around for the end of the video where we finally pull the tape! For the first time, we reveal the 8 Bottles moving on to the Quarterfinals.
The Elite Eight Field includes:
✅ Our final #1 seeds that held the line.
✅ The “Giant Slayers” that pulled off the upset.
✅ A mix of Heritage Kentucky brands and Craft powerhouses.
📢 Join the Journey!
Who are you rooting for in the Elite Eight? Did your favorite bottle get eliminated too early? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to follow the rest of the bracket as we head toward the Grand Finale!
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🥃 THE ROAD TO 2025 WOTY: We spent 12 months hunting for the best juice—see our complete selection process and the 100% blind bracket logic on our website: https://yourbourbonjourney.com/2026/01/01/the-road-to-the-2025-whiskey-of-the-year-the-blind-bracket-revealed/
NOTE: All spirits in this tournament were purchased by us for the purpose of evaluation. We were not compensated by any producer for reviews or inclusion in this series. These rankings are based solely on our blind tasting scores and the performance of the liquid in the glass throughout the 2025 season.
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