Whatcom County whiskey company wins five awards at international Worlds Spirits Competition
Doc Swinson’s, a whiskey company born and raised in Ferndale, recently claimed five awards from the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, an international alcohol-judging event.
The local company was started in 2017 by a group of friends — some lifelong Whatcom County residents and a few Western Washington University graduates.
“We’re not a typical producer that most people are used to; we are not a distillery, and we do not have a tasting room,” co-founder Keith Seidel told The Bellingham Herald in 2023. “Instead, we’re focusing on the art of bringing old-world blending techniques to the very traditional American craft of bourbon and rye whiskey. We intentionally source the best spirits we can find to blend, age and finish in house to create something that is better than a sum of its parts.”
Doc Swinson’s won four double gold medals and one gold medal at the competition.
“This achievement highlights the company’s mastery in blending and finishing bourbon, establishing it as a leader among the industry’s elite,” a news release from the company states.
These products won the double gold medals:
▪ Doc Swinson’s Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey, a 100-proof whiskey aged for at least seven years that is made with 95% rye and 5% malted barley.
▪ Doc Swinson’s Golden Hour Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Rum and Port Casks, a 98-proof whiskey with tasting notes of brown sugar, banana bread and raspberry.
▪ Doc Swinson’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Moscatel Casks, a 115-proof whiskey blend of two bourbons aged for five years with tasting notes of caramel and stone fruits.
▪ Doc Swinson’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Toasted French Oak Casks, a 108-proof whiskey that won the Finished Bourbon of the Year at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition is aged for years in American white oak and then new French oak to create tasting notes of vanilla buttercream, orange, toffee and baking spices.
Doc Swinson’s won a gold medal for L’Esprit, a 114-proof bourbon whiskey that is aged in oak for five years, with notes of honey, raisins, creme brulee, dark chocolate and dried tobacco.
Doc Swinson whiskeys can be purchased online at the company’s website and at local stores such as Haggen, Whole Foods Market and BevMo.
Some Bellingham restaurants and bars also serve Doc Swinson’s whiskeys, including The Temple Bar, The Admiralty Lounge, Bantam Kitchen & Bar, Scotty Browns, Redlight Kitchen & Bar and The Blue Abode Bar.
