In a historic, game-changing victory, Journeyman’s Corsets, Whips and Whiskey single-grain, cask-strength wheat whiskey has won three of the highest honors bestowed at the 2022 ASCOT Awards, including Double Platinum, Best Wheat Whiskey, and Best in Class: Whiskey of the Year. Additionally, Journeyman’s Silver Cross Four Grain Whiskey earned a Gold Medal in this year’s awards.
Journeyman Distillery’s victory is a landmark in more ways than one. Besides this whiskey outshining more than 800 submissions for Best in Show—including spirits from some of the most acclaimed distilleries in the world—wheat whiskeys are often overlooked. To be honored with this accolade having been tasted alongside bourbon, scotch, and Irish and Tennessee whiskeys emphasizes the colossal achievement. In laymen’s terms:
“This is like a minor-league team beating the Yankees at the World Series…this is Rich Strike winning the Kentucky Derby,” says Fred Minnick, founder of the ASCOT Awards. “For the first time in any major spirits competition, a wheat whiskey was judged to be best.”
Corsets, Whips and Whiskey showcases the quality and terroir of the organic Michigan wheat used to produce it, offering a soft, sweet smoothness brought to you by the golden hour sunsets overlooking the wheat farm directly behind the distillery and aquifer flowing just beneath the Featherbone Factory. The distillery’s fervent commitment to hand-made quality is precisely what made this victory possible. As one of the few certified organic distilleries in the nation, Journeyman works hard to ensure every one of their grain-to-bottle spirits reaches full potential.
“Journeyman started in 2010 and was built on the core principle of ‘Always a Journeyman.’ A mindset of never a Master but always in pursuit of distilling excellence,” says Bill Welter, founder of Journeyman Distillery. “It’s amazing to have competed with some of the true Masters of the trade and to have fared so well!” – Bill Welter, Founder of Journeyman Distillery.
To commemorate the accolades, the Corsets, Whips and Whiskey Summer Celebration will take place at the Distillery in Three Oaks, Michigan from June 23-26 including a multi-course dinner hosted by founder Bill Welter, backyard BBQs with live music as well as special distillery tours and features at Staymaker, the distillery’s on-site family-friendly restaurant. The distillery will also be releasing a limited Corsets, Whips and Whiskey bottle that was finished in Schramm’s Mead barrels at the celebration.
The competition created by famed spirits personality Fred Minnick, the ASCOT Awards highlight spirits from across the globe. Submissions underwent a blind taste test by a panel of industry-leading experts, who then determined winners for both individual categories and the Best in Show. See all category winners here.
Judges include Minnick; author, bar owner, and educator Martin Cate; the world’s first female Master Bourbon Taster and founder of the nationwide organization Bourbon Women Peggy Noe Stevens; educator, influencer, and highly sought-after special events bartender Tiffanie Barriere; world-renowned mixologist and spirits industry educator Francesco Lafranconi; craft cocktail entrepreneur Denaya Jones; and author and bourbon columnist Susan Reigler.
